Village Blacksmith corn knife, approx 1950 Watertown, Wisc. Wood handle

Description

Village Blacksmith corn knife, 1907-60 Watertown, Wisc.  Wood handle.  16" curved blade.
"Village Blacksmith, Waterton, Wis." is clearly imprinted on the blade.  Handle is 5 3/4" long with 3 rivets and a hanging hole.  Very sturdy and solid construction.
From Waterton's historic site
: "We were very much surprised to see their nicely finished Hand Wrought Knives that had been ground on the
old time
sandstone, tempered by the old oven method, and whetted to a keen useable edge, that could be sold as low as 50 cents for a nice house knife.
Having visited large automatic producing eastern knife factories, we were very much struck by the thoroughness and the care given the goods, going through the VILLAGE BLACKSMITH shop.
The company manufactures the "
Village Blacksmith" brand
of butcher knives, cleavers, tools, corn knives, sickles, cold chisels, screw drivers, punches, etc., and their products are sold principally in the United States.
They furnish employment to from fifty to sixty hands, fifty per cent of whom are skilled workmen. Their plant has a floor space of sixteen thousand square feet and is supplied with the latest equipment, being remodeled, enlarged and new machinery being installed in 1917.
1950:
Watertown, too, has a concern that has achieved similar renown.
It is the cutlery plant which for many years was known as the Village Blacksmith Folks, but which now goes by the name of Village Blacksmith Co.
It is housed in a rambling plant which sprawls on the west shores of Rock river.
The Village Blacksmith Co. has operated in Watertown since 1907.  At that time the old Watertown Advancement Association induced the concern to move from Milwaukee to Watertown.  The firm had been operating in Milwaukee from the time of its founding in 1894.  The firm then was known as Lehrkind, Davil Co., but two years after the organization was launched it became the Washington Cutlery Co., using the brand, “Village Blacksmith” on its products.  The company makes cutlery of all kinds, including garden tools.
Hand-Wrought Products
The term “Village Blacksmith” was selected because it was felt to be a fitting description of the forged, hand-wrought products of the concern.  From 1907 to 1920 the factory operated under the title Washington Cutlery; then the corporate name was changed to Village Blacksmith Folks, retaining the blacksmith brand.
The factory is unique in that newer methods of manufacture have been introduced only when the quality of the product was not impaired thereby.  The company never has gone in for hurried or stepped up production, but has maintained a policy of careful work down to the most minute detail.
Today its products are sold all over America.  They include professional and household cutlery and cleavers.  Thousands of the latter were manufactured during the war for the quartermaster corps of the Army.