May 2024 Volume 6

INDUSTRY NEWS

This Illinois-based manufacturer of striking tools and other complementary items celebrated its first century last year. Their hammers, axes, hatchets, pry-bars, and other tools have earned iconic status through attention to design and product quality. Even the Smithsonian’s American Museum of National History had to have one of their hammers. Estwing Manufacturing: Eyes on the Next 100 Years By Dean Peters, Consulting Editor

Estwing’s manufacturing facility in Rockford, Illinois

About 90 minutes northwest of Chicago is Rockford, Illinois, the fifth most populous city in the state founded about 200 years ago on the banks of the Rock River near the northern border of the state. Its location on the river made it an ideal location for industrial develop ment and the city became known for its output of heavy machinery, hardware, and tools. On the south side of town in an “old industrial neighborhood” can be found Estwing Manufacturing Company, whose products fit squarely and proudly within the mix of the region’s industrial output. Estwing was founded 101 years ago by Swedish immigrant Ernest Otto Estwing, an engineer who was inspired by his observations of those who wielded wood-handled hammers (and axes and hatchets) and thought of product designs to make their work easier (see A Century of Estwing sidebar for a brief company history) . Product Diversity Unless you are already an expert, just visit Estwing’s website to learn how much you don’t know about hammers and other striking tools. The company’s catalog offers dozens of hammer designs – nail hammers of varying types, roofing hammers, ball peen hammers, blacksmith hammers, hammers for masons and drywallers, rock

hammers, linemen’s hammers, hard- and soft-faced mallets, and others. The company also manufactures a complete line of axes, hatchets and splitting tools for those who prefer life outdoors, such as the campers, sportsmen, hunters, and rock climbers among us. And finally, they offer an assortment of other related tools such as prybars, nail pullers, and construction and wrecking bars. Estwing’s classic E24A axe is a special edition sportsman’s axe that is of solid steel construction with a genuine leather handle. Of the E24A, Steve Flosi, Executive Vice President of Manufacturing, says “this axe is considered a rite of passage for those active in scouting.”

This E24A axe with a leather handle is considered a “rite of passage” for scouts.

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