True Temper was not a company during WWII, it was a brand, used by the American Fork & Hoe Company, first trademarked in 1929. It became the name of a company in 1949, when American Fork & Hoe changed their name to True Temper. It became a brand again in 1999, when True Temper was bought by Ames, becoming Ames True Temper, and later, The Ames Companies, then just Ames.pjones wrote:Wingnutt may know exactly what they supplied from his contract data.
I didn't know any of this before the CPA War Supply Contracts books! Not being able to find ay listing for True Temper in the contracts books, when we obviously see so many examples of 'True Temper' shovels, aces, and hammers, led me to do further reading.
All the WWII 'True Temper' marked tools out there were supplied by the American Fork & Hoe Company, to include Kelly Works axes. American Fork & Hoe bought Kelly Axe Mfg Co in 1930. They used the name Kelly Works for a few years, but eventually began incorporating it with the True Temper brand. Those True Temper Flint Edge Kelly Works axes were supplied by the American Fork & Hoe Company, not True Temper (again, not a company), not Ames True Temper (which did not yet exist), and not Kelly Works, which no longer existed.
To prevent confusion, note that WWII tools (shovels, pitons, etc) marked 'Ames' or 'Baldwin' or 'Baldwins' were made by the Ames Baldwin Wyoming Company, which, at that time, was still completely separate from the American Fork & Hoe Company and its brand, True Temper. Ames Baldwin Wyoming Co was formed in 1933 with the merger of the Ames Shovel and Tool Company, the Baldwin Tool Company, and the Wyoming Shovel Works. (Note: this is not a reference to the state, but the Wyoming area of Pennsylvania.)
Ames Baldwin Wyoming of Parkersburg, WV, had multiple contracts with multiple Army agencies for shovels, hand shovels, "intrenching" shovels, and tools. They also got into other things too, including MK2 rocket motors and MK6 projector charges.
American Fork & Hoe, of Wallingford, VT, had multiple contracts with multiple Army agencies for hammers, axes, shovels, and tools.