J W Mix chisel

[Ed Hilton]

Looking for information about this J W Mix firmer chisel I got from a friend. It was in rough shape when i got it, it’s cleaned up now. My question is … I see ads for G I Mix chisels, but nothing about JW. Did the company change names? Does this name help date the chisel?

[Jim Koepke]

If my memory is doing its job there is a Mix chisel in my accumulation. Not sure if it is a JW, GI or something else.

Often these coincidences occur from people from the same family sharing a trade.

One example is there are various Buck branded chisels with the best known being Buck Brothers. Charles Buck was one of the brothers who branded some chisels with his own name. There were also members of the family in England who used the Buck name on chisels.

My spoke pointer is branded G.N. Sterns when he passed his son took over the business and the brand became E.C. Sterns.

My first guess would be based on your chisel having a simple mark. It may be that JW Mix started the business and it passed on to GI Mix.

Okay, back from wondering around the interenet and discovered they may be father ( John Mix) and son (Gary I Mix).

Google Patents turns up a handful of patents issued to "G. I. Mix"
and "Garry I. Mix" between 1857 and 1874, all but one related to
the manufacture of spoons. The odd one out is a design for a
water cooler.

Yet another Google search (Google Books this time) located
a couple of photos related to Mix. One's an undated photo
of the exterior of the factory on Main Street in Yalesville.
The caption mentions that John Mix, G. I. Mix's father,
made bayonets nearby from 1810 to the 1830's. Tony, are
your framing chisels old enough that he could be the source
of the "JW" mark?

The second's a group photo, said to be from the 1880's, of
the Mix employees, showing about 50 or so people.

Here's a link:
http://tinyurl.com/34294t

If it doesn't take you right to the page, scroll down to
page 52. And in case the link rots, the photo's are in
_Images of America: Wallingford_ by the Wallingford
Historical Society (1999, Arcadia Publishing). On the
previous page are a couple of Jennings & Griffin photos.

The link of > http://tinyurl.com/34294t < still works.

It seems likely your chisel could be from before the Civil War.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

Yeah, before the “War Between The States” They were too busy making bayonets once the Yanks invaded.

[Jim Koepke]

Yeah, before the “War Between The States” They were too busy making bayonets once the Yanks invaded.

Don't forget there was a war back in 1812.

There were even quite a few songs about it.

In 1814 we took a little trip, along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Missisip. We took a little bacon and we took a little beans and we caught the bloody British in a town in New Orleans…

A poem, "The Defense of Fort McHenry" was written by Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of the fort in Maryland. It was later set to music and became our national anthem.

There were also a lot of natives who didn't really believe in "Manifest Destiny."

jtk

[Ed Hilton]

Thanks Jim.

[Mel Fulks]

Some people didn’t like “The Star Spangled Banner “, but the TV stations ‘signed-off’ on it’.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks Jim.

Glad to be of help.

Some people didn’t like “The Star Spangled Banner “, but the TV stations ‘signed-off’ on it’.

Up until it became a 24 hour world.

jtk