Founded in 1875 by Isaac P. Hyde, Hyde Tools has been crafting knives, blades, tools and more for a variety of industries. In honor of our 150th anniversary, we're taking a look back on our storied history.

How it all began...
Isaac P. Hyde is born in Stafford Springs, CT.

Now an orphaned teenager, Isaac takes a job with the Harrington Knife Company in Southbridge, Massachusetts. While business is booming during the American Industrial Revolution, Isaac learns the craft of turning raw steel into cutting knives for the nearby mills and factories.

The Hyde Manufacturing Company is officially incorporated.

Isaac begins manufacturing his own knives out of a carriage house in Southbridge.

Despite significant competition from other knife manufacturers in town, Isaac P. Hyde’s company is growing. Crisscrossing the town via horse and buggy, he visits local shoe and textile factories to learn what kind of knife they need for processing raw materials. He sketches them out by hand to the customer's specs; a few days later, after forging the knives by hand in the carriage house, Isaac hand-delivers the knives back to the customer.

Hyde builds its first factory on the corner of Main and Chestnut streets in Southbridge, MA. With plans to grow the company into the 20th century, the facility is built with plenty of extra space to accommodate expansion over the next several decades.

15-year-old Myron Clemence begins working in Mr. Hyde’s forge. His first job is straightening used nails so they can be re-used.

After graduating with a degree in accounting, Myron (pictured, left, later in life) is hired as Hyde’s bookkeeper. Three years later, along with 2 other investors, Myron purchases the Hyde Manufacturing Company.

As electrification sweeps across the U.S., the textile and shoe manufacturing industry shifts from water-powered mills to electrically-powered machines. Hyde begins selling directly to the companies that build the electric processing machines. By 1904 Hyde employs 40 people, producing about 1,800 knives per day for the cloth, leather, and burgeoning rubber industries.

Hyde experiences significant growth when they begin selling knives designed specifically for processing tobacco leaves in the nearby Connecticut tobacco fields.

Hyde breaks ground on a modern, large-scale manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Southbridge. Hyde tools are still made here to this day.

Hyde modifies its tobacco knife to create a wallpaper trimming knife, breaking into wall surface preparation tools for the first time. Within a few years, Hyde offers a full lineup of wallpaper trimmers, cutters and rollers.

Hyde releases the flexible putty knife. Customers love it for its usefulness in repairing imperfections on plaster walls after removing wallpaper.

Robert U. Clemence, son of Myron Clemence (pictured later in life), begins working at Hyde.

US Gypsum approaches Hyde Tools about its new wall covering product, called drywall. The company needs a tool that can apply and smooth the material between the boards. Hyde's engineers and designers immediately begin work developing a suitable tool. Two years later, Hyde sells its first joint knife, designed specifically to handle joint compound during drywall installation.

After America’s entry into World War 2, Hyde offers its facility and expertise to the war effort. Workers quickly begin manufacturing torpedo parts and soldiers’ meal kits in the Southbridge factory. (Photo: a Hyde-manufactured knife that was part of Allied soldiers’ mess kits during WW2.)

With the war over, a population and housing boom takes shape in America. As drywall sales explode, Hyde’s joint knives and other wall surface preparation tools become best-sellers, shipping around the world. This is also when Hyde releases Black & Silver, a lineup of high-quality tools designed for professionals.

Richard Clemence, grandson of Myron Clemence, begins working at Hyde. Hyde is now #2 in the paint tools industry nationwide. (Photo: Richard Clemence, right, with his father, Robert, at Hyde's 100th Anniversary ceremony.)

Hyde overtakes Red Devil as the #1 paint tools manufacturer in America. The 5-in-1 Painter’s Tool and “Delta Scraper” safety razor scraper are released, quickly becoming best sellers.

Tammy, Rick and Robert -- the great-grandchildren of Myron Clemence -- begin their careers at Hyde. The three siblings still run the company to this day. (Pictured L to R: Richard R. Clemence [grandson of Myron Clemence] with his three children, Robert, Tammy and Rick.)

Company leaders realize the need for two separate brands. Hyde Tools will serve the surface prep and painting market, and a new brand is launched to serve the manufacturing and materials processing sector: Hyde Engineered Products. Later, in 2009, Hyde Engineered Products is rebranded as Hyde Industrial Blade Solutions (IBS).

Hyde acquires Canadian tool manufacturer A. Richard Co. The Hyde Group greatly expands its product offerings, including a lineup of dust-free sanding tools.

After nearly a century of selling wall surface preparation tools, Hyde releases a full lineup of paint applicators, including over 100 different types of brushes and rollers.

Today, Hyde Tools is still owned and operated by the Clemence family. With over 130 employees in Southbridge, Massachusetts, we manufacture everything from glass scrapers to granulator knives used in recycling processes.
