The History of Hyde Tools

Isaac P. Hyde

He began as an engineer, craftsman, salesman and deliveryman. In those early days, Isaac P. Hyde, did everything.

New England's leather and shoe industry needed high-quality knives to cut and shape its wares. Hyde saw the need and filled it. By budgeting his time, he could fashion the knives by hand, finish them, load them in his buggy, distribute them, factory to factory, and get back to Southbridge in time to sweep up the workshop.

From this modest beginning, Hyde built first a reputation, then a factory. By the close of the 19th century, he had expanded his line of knives to include special ones for a variety of industrial uses.

In 1917 another factory was built, this one in the shape of a letter H. Beyond the initial coincidence of that shape and the company name, the new building was designed for efficient work flow, improved illumination and expected expansion.

And expand Hyde did. Today, Hyde is into its second century of service to American industry and the home handyman. To the uninitiated, the variety of uses for Hyde products is astonishing. In fact, if it's made of paper, cloth, plastic, leather, or rubber chances are a Hyde blade was involved in its manufacture. Likewise, Hyde helps harvest and process a wide variety of food products around the world. The diamond wheel industry relies on Hyde for the steel centers used to make their product run straight and true.

The essence of Hyde's success is concentrating on what it knows best; laser cutting, blanking, heat treating, grinding and polishing steel. The standards that Isaac Hyde established in the 1870's still hold true today: Make the best possible product from the most appropriate steel and try every day to improve on yesterday's best. Day after day, in every product, Hyde gives America the edge it needs.