Henry Cheney Hammer Company

[jtc]

Dear fellow tool collectors,

My name is Jeff Cheney. I live in San Francisco, CA. I collect Cheney Hammers, Cheney Anvil & Vises, and cast iron goods made by S. Cheney & Son of Manlius, NY. No, I don't know of any relation to those involved with these companies, but it is fun having a namesake to collect! There have been a surprising number of Cheney companies over the years...

No, I don't know of relation to Uncle Dick either...

I've created a site about the Henry Cheney Hammer Company: http://jtc.net/hchc/

I hope that others find the information that I've gathered useful.

Jeff

P.S. Thanks, Papaw for creating this forum!

[Papaw]

Glad to have you here! Welcome to Tool Talk, Jeff!

[Neals]

Hi Jeff! Welcome from Alberta. I don't recall ever seeing a Cheney tool.

[oldtools]

Welcome & Aloha from Hawaii...  Great site!, now I have a better understanding of the Cheney Brand... lets see more of your collection!

[rudeawakening55]

Welcome to Tool Talk from Oklahoma

[leg17]

Dear fellow tool collectors,

My name is Jeff Cheney. I live in San Francisco, CA.
I've created a site about the Henry Cheney Hammer Company: http://jtc.net/hchc/
I hope that others find the information that I've gathered useful.
Jeff
P.S. Thanks, Papaw for creating this forum!

Thanks for that Cheney site.
We hope you keep it up.
Its the accumulation of that kind of dedication that collectively is a huge benefit to all of us.
Thanks.

[jtc]

Thanks for the warm welcomes and kind words about my site!

I added a page for my Cheney Riveting Hammers.

It was a discussion about a Cheney riveting hammer in the Blacksmithing and Metalworking forum that lead me to this site. I'm glad that it did! Besides finding a great place to spend time online I found a vital clue to the history of the company -- its 1925 purchase by the Prentiss Vise Company. I had suspected this, but it was confirmed thanks to evidence pointed out by member rusty.

[gibsontool]

Thanks for posting a link to your site, it's very well done with lots of good information. I'm a ways up north and along with some of our other  members I have never seen any Cheney tools up this way. It's guys like you that make this site what it is. A big welcome from northern British Columbia.

[jtc]

Thanks, gibsontool! Your praise is very rewarding.

I don't know if I started something or not, but there's now a beautiful Silver King Cheney Nailer going for over $400 on ebay! The seller is very nice and gave me permission to use the photos on my site. FWIW, most, but not all, of the hammers pictured on my site are in my personal collection.

Update: It's back down to $100. Turns out it was a joker who ran it all the way up to $5,400 before retracting his bids...

Update II: It sold for $405.00! That's by far the highest price I've seen for a Cheney hammer.

[mikeswrenches]

jtc,  Enjoyed your web site.  Very well done!  I have a customer in FL who also collects Cheney hammers.  I believe he told me he had about 500 of them.  I sell him every one that I get...which isn't much anymore.  I only had one this last show, and one the show before.  And that one didn't have a handle.  I intend to tell him about your site when I see him in Feb.

I did find a small ball peen in an antique mall in Little Falls one time two years ago.  Most of the ones I've found have been in NY, which is what I would expect.  I have never had any as nice as the ones you have on your site.  Keep up the good work.

Mike

[jtc]

Thanks, Mike! With all this encouragement I'll probably spend more time than I should working on the site. ;-)

500 Cheney hammers?!? Wow! I only have a couple of dozen so far.  I gotta meet your friend in Florida!

Jeff

[Branson]

Terrific site.  Well put together, good graphics, and loads of information.

I'm curious though, about one thing.  I do understand that the Cheney nailers and the history of the wire nail.  One I have is a rather typical bell face hammer.  But I picked up a plain faced Cheney nailer some years ago that was clearly designed to hold cut nails.  It's the only one I've ever seen.   Do you know anything about such hammers?

[jtc]

I'm curious though, about one thing.  I do understand that the Cheney nailers and the history of the wire nail.  One I have is a rather typical bell face hammer.  But I picked up a plain faced Cheney nailer some years ago that was clearly designed to hold cut nails.  It's the only one I've ever seen.   Do you know anything about such hammers?

That sounds like Henry's 1871 Patent, known at the Cheney Patent Nail Holder. It has a slot beneath rather than on top of the claws, e.g.



Does yours look like this?

If not, please provide a more detailed description and if possible pictures. Thanks!

[bird]

I'd love ya even if your first name was "dick" ...... cheney.... did I spell that right?
Anyhow I'm glad you've joined this community. We'll love having you and hopefully you'll love having us!
cheers,
bird..

[jtc]

Thanks, bird! Yes, it's Cheney, which I pronounce chee-knee in the hopes that it will be spelled correctly. Doesn't always work...

It's dangerously close to politics, which I understand is verboten here, but I do enjoy mentioning Uncle Dick from time to time. It always catches people's attention -- and keeps them guessing. ;-)

I do love this forum and its members! I found a couple of vital clues here that helped me unlock the history of the Cheney Hammer Company. And the feedback I've gotten has been tremendous -- spurring me to spend way too much time digging through old newspapers for scraps of information. I've easily doubled the number of entries in my timeline just since I joined this forum!

Jeff