A new whatzit tool.

[Wynter Sturtevant]

Good evening,

After a very good week of picking up treasures for the collection I ended up with a mystery tool. Along with a crystal gauge and Coats jewel gauge came this K&D (http://home.inreach.com/wynter/kd.jpg).

It’s well marked K&D. The body will slide up and down about ¼ of an inch. The blue hooks are one piece and move on a pivot. Then the portion they’re attached to turns.

The previous owner thought it was for untangling hairsprings. Another tool person thought maybe it was for truing. I’ve looked through several books and had no luck.

Any ideas out there?

Wynter

[Wynter Sturtevant]

Good evening,

After a very good week of picking up treasures for the collection I ended up with a mystery tool. Along with a crystal gauge and Coats jewel gauge came this K&D (http://home.inreach.com/wynter/kd.jpg).

It’s well marked K&D. The body will slide up and down about ¼ of an inch. The blue hooks are one piece and move on a pivot. Then the portion they’re attached to turns.

The previous owner thought it was for untangling hairsprings. Another tool person thought maybe it was for truing. I’ve looked through several books and had no luck.

Any ideas out there?

Wynter

[Steve Maddox]

Nope, I can't recall ever seeing one of those before, but it sure looks cool!

I wonder if anyone at K&D might know what it is?

Steve Maddox
President, NAWCC Chapter #62
North Little Rock, Arkansas

[Wynter Sturtevant]

Steve,

I didn’t think K&D was still is business. They don’t seem to show up in a Lebanon N. H. search. Any ideas where they’re located?

Wynter

[Steve Maddox]

Hmm……. I thought they were, but I've never attempted to contact them before. It was my understanding that replacement stakes, etc., were still available not too long ago, and I think that was discussed here in a thread about staking tools some time ago. I'll see if I can find that when I get a chance, and if I do, I'll post a link.

If they're gone now, it's too bad.

SM

[Maurice Richesson]

I have long been under the impression that K&D
has been out of business for many years but I am
not certain about that.

Does anyone know what K&D's street address was
when they were operating in Lebanon? I am just
curious because my daughter works in an old mill
building in Lebanon.

Maurice

[Steve Maddox]

At the moment, I can't recall where I found this info, but in a previous topic here, I listed the (then) current address of K&D as follows:

K & D MFG CORP
250 BANK STREET EXT
LEBANON, NH
(603)448-1113

A link to the complete former topic is: old ref::http://nawcc-mb.infopop.cc/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=2386079361&f=9486087461&m=1216097461[/url]

There used to be another very useful thread about staking tools (which I believe included prices, etc.), but it was apparently lost when all of the topics posted by a once frequent participant here were removed. The address of that topic was: [url="http://www.nawcc.org/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000051.html"]http://www.nawcc.org/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000051.html

SM

[Brian C.]

Kenderick & Davis of Lebanon, N.H. is long gone.
Brian C.
N.H.

[Steve Maddox]

Hey, you couldn't prove it by me, but.........

http://www.infousa.com/fs?BAS_fssession=753889211282002105043&BAS_vendor=190000&bas_type=FADA&BAS_page=9&DAT_maxrecords=10&BAS_flag=2&BAS_flag2=1&SCH_origdb=FADP&sch_fullphone=6034481113&Find.x=41&Find.y=9

How current that is, I have no idea, but it's still currently accessible.

SM

[Wynter Sturtevant]

Thanks to another tool collector this tool was found in the 1910 E.A. Cowan catalog. Thank you Bob.

I still can't quite picture it in use but it has been found. Here's he text from the catalog,

"K & D adjusters stand. ...one of the most valuable and convenient devices ever offerred watch repairers and adjusters. The verticle spindle revolves very freely on a tempered steel pivot; this allows us to bring any part of the suspended balance into operative position. The bar with the points also rocks in a vertical plane, enabling us to bring an attached balance cock level, if desired. The knurled sleeve moves with spring friction on the vertical rod rising from the base; this enables us to bring the rim of a suspended to any desired height from the bench".

[Wynter Sturtevant]

Here's a quick follow up. Maybe I was the only one that couldn't picture this K&D tool in use, but I just didn't see it. It turns out I was trying to make it more complicated than it is. It's basically a fancy balance tack. Thanks for the help Keith.

K&D tool in use (http://home.inreach.com/wynter/kdstand.jpg)

Wynter
Member Chapter #173
NAWCC member #93593