Retail Value: $ priceless

12 piece Antique E.C. Simons Keen Kutter Silver Cutlery in original Wood box w/warranty, This is used, but our techs have cleaned inside and out, checked all features, and item is in perfect operational condition and comes with our full 100% satisfaction warranty.

Specs & Features:

We usually ship same day in spite of the "handling time" stated

• 12 piece - 6 forks, 6 knives
• Antique 
• Brand: E.C. Simons  - St. Louis, 
• Keen Kutter 
• Silver Cutlery 
• in original Wood box
• case appears to be oak with dovetail-like finger joints. The case measures 10” x 5-½” x 1-⅝” and has brass-looking latch and hinges
• case interior is cloth-lined which is stained and a quite tattered due to age
• interior lid displays the Keen Kutter wedge and bar logo.
• cloth-lined insert blocks that hold the silverware are wood, not Styrofoam. (That says old!) 
• silverware pieces are in good condition but are very tarnished. These should polish up nicely or could be re-plated if desired. 
• The forks are “non-magnetic”, the knives are attracted to a magnet on both blade and handle. This set would be a great addition to any collection.
• E.C. Simmons & Co. was a wholesale hardware dealer that marked all types of tools and household goods. They were bought out by the A.F. Shapleigh Hdw. Co. in 1940. Their best known brand name KEEN KUTTER was founded by Edward Campbell Simmons and August Frederick Shapleigh circa 1870. Time line: 1847 Shapleigh Day & Company- 1863 A.F. Shapleigh & Company-1870 Keen Kutter name chosen by E.C. Simmons-1872 E.C. Simmons & Company-1874 Simmons Hardware Company 1922 Merger of Simmons Hardware & Winchester- 1923 Winchester- Simmons Company 1929 Simmons Hardware Company reverted to original status- 1940 Shapleigh Hardware Company The Keen Kutter brand of tools was originated in 1870 by the E.C. Simmons Company. In 1874 the organization was incorporated under new Federal corporation laws as the Simmons Hardware Company. It was the first company to take such a step. "KEEN KUTTER" was the name chosen by E.C. Simmons in 1870 for their high-grade tools and cutlery. The famous wedge and bar logo was adapted after 1904 . Shapleigh Hardware Company purchased all the assets of Simmons Hardware in 1940 , after the company's bankruptcy in 1939. The trademarked Simmons lines continued to be marketed by Shapleigh until it closed in the early 1960's.
• Explanation of “DWT 16”: T are 20 pennyweights per troy ounce so, 16 DWT refers to the amount of pure silver used to plate a given number of pieces (generally accepted to be 12). Tfore, for each dozen pieces, just under an of an ounce of silver was used to plate them. A manufacturer might have had the same pattern available in a variety of depth of the silver plating. It is roughly comparable to the usage of "triple plate" or "quadruple plate." These markings are not a very reliable indicator of quality, as their use varied so much between different manufacturers. 
• with all this history at hand, I date this set from between 1904 to about 1940 . That makes this set at least 70 years old and maybe as old as 106 years! Who knows what famous folks might have eaten with these utensils!!??
• ship weight 3 lbs.