# Lamson & Goodnow files for bankruptcy



## mano (Aug 20, 2014)

177-year-old Lamson & Goodnow cutlery files for bankruptcy


http://www.recorder.com/home/13203856-95/177-year-old-lamson-goodnow-cutlery-files-for-bankruptcy


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## 99Limited (Aug 20, 2014)

:what: Tell me it ain't so

:idea: We need to buy a bunch of knives from that PLACE to save them. :devilburn:

:knifed:


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## larrybard (Aug 20, 2014)

Fair chance they will continue to operate. (They filed under chapter 11; not at all certain they will simply sell off all their assets and cease operations. Although one of their assets is their name -- registered marks, brands, etc., so some other company might purchase them, and then it's anyone's guess as to the future quality. But I don't know how much the brand might really be worth -- it's not got the same name recognition as Henckels, etc.)


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## cadberry (Aug 20, 2014)

Stopping production would be a great tragedy....but am I the only one thinking fire sale? :biggrin:


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## chibok (Aug 20, 2014)

Wonder what this means for the lamson rodrigue knife :--(


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## HHH Knives (Aug 20, 2014)

Hate to see this!! Yet honestly. I seen it coming.. Glad I listened to my GUT and canceled the 240's and Midway runs with L&G. That and the fact there was a lack of quality control on the products they tried to deliver to me as finished goods.. TWICE!!!  But that's another story. 



NOTE: I have nothing against Unions or their workers. But I have seen some of them drive up prices when at the same time the quality goes down and finally doors close and everyone looses. Which is what I think has happened here.


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## Mrmnms (Aug 20, 2014)

Sorry to hear this. I really hoped for a re birth. It's in a very cool little town.


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## Erilyn75 (Aug 21, 2014)

HHH Knives said:


> Hate to see this!! Yet honestly. I seen it coming.. Glad I listened to my GUT and canceled the 240's and Midway runs with L&G. That and the fact there was a lack of quality control on the products they tried to deliver to me as finished goods.. TWICE!!!  But that's another story.
> 
> 
> 
> NOTE: I have nothing against Unions or their workers. But I have seen some of them drive up prices when at the same time the quality goes down and finally doors close and everyone looses. Which is what I think has happened here.




Hmmm, could be another Hostess. Restructure the company under the bankruptcy and reopen without any union workers. Or they could up and move to a right to work state like Boeing.


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## Dave Martell (Aug 21, 2014)

http://www.cohnandcompany.com/properties/830


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## Von blewitt (Aug 21, 2014)

Dave Martell said:


> http://www.cohnandcompany.com/properties/830



Too bad you just signed a new lease Dave! This would have been perfect for D&R enterprises
Think of all the Moritaka's you could fix with that much shop space!


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## 99Limited (Aug 21, 2014)

Without close inspection, but just for grins. These buildings are ripe for dismantlement to reclaim all the timber. People pay big bucks for reclaimed old flooring and the rest of the timber refitted into some log homes. Get a cheap enough labor force and you might be able to save the bricks too.


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## Dinsdale (Aug 21, 2014)

Say what you will about unions but without them it will be a race to the bottom. They helped build the middle class in this country and as their membership has dropped inequality has gone up.
I work in a union environment in management, not in the bargaining unit. Quality standards are set by management and applied by the people performing the work. If people do not achieve quality standards and production standards there are disciplinary actions that can be taken up to and including termination. Any company or manager that says that the union is preventing them from doing anything is a load of BS. I have my issues with unions as much as some people but I do not use a union as an excuse for me not doing my job as a manager. Cheaper labor and stock prices are what's driving the labor market in this country.


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## Noodle Soup (Aug 21, 2014)

I talked to a much vilified custom maker at Blade about his line of equally vilified knives that L&G was going to make for a third party on contract. He said their quality control was a total disaster for him so he had to kill the project and find another maker. Too bad we can't even make a simple kitchen knife in the U.S. From my own time in a legendary far left NW union, I can say there are a lot of members that think the company and society in general owes them a high paying job with little work.


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## ecchef (Aug 21, 2014)

_Without close inspection, but just for grins. These buildings are ripe for dismantlement to reclaim all the timber.._

Bet you could get a lot of sayas out of the oak flooring!


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## bahamaroot (Aug 27, 2014)

Noodle Soup said:


> .....From my own time in a legendary far left NW union, I can say there are a lot of members that think the company and society in general owes them a high paying job with little work.



And there are many more that just want a decent wage for a hard days work.


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## Noodle Soup (Aug 31, 2014)

When we had meeting at the union hall a lot of the speakers would have made you think it was 1917 in Russia. This was the union founded by the "Wobblies."


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## Dave Martell (Sep 1, 2014)

Rumor has it that the person who was in charge decided to go with small name knifemakers - going in a new direction - and squandered the $$$ on this project and killed the company. Looks like someone took some bad advice to the bank.

Lamson existed as a mediocre knife brand for how long? Then they decided that overnight they could make Japanese caliber knives? Who gave them that stupid idea? Please, it takes a lot more than robots, prayers, and $$$ to make high end kitchen knives. Looking the part is different than being it. They should have stuck to what they do best, they likely could have continued in the middle lane forever.


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## 99Limited (Sep 1, 2014)

You know I was thinking. I had a need for a chef's knife to go with my other Japanese gyutos and pettys. I was thinking Lamson & Goodnow would have been just the place to fix me up. :devilburn:


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## Dave Martell (Sep 1, 2014)

99Limited said:


> You know I was thinking. I had a need for a chef's knife to go with my other Japanese gyutos and pettys. I was thinking Lamson & Goodnow would have been just the place to fix me up. :devilburn:




I see what you did there.


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## Zwiefel (Sep 2, 2014)

Hahahahaha. Nice work.


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## toddnmd (Sep 2, 2014)

99Limited said:


> You know I was thinking. I had a need for a chef's knife to go with my other Japanese gyutos and pettys. I was thinking Lamson & Goodnow would have been just the place to fix me up. :devilburn:



Well played, sir!


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## Mrmnms (Sep 2, 2014)

Lets not be "petty" now!


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## Keith Sinclair (Sep 8, 2014)

Looking at that old factory, so many of those 1800's business have gone by the wayside. It is the times there were quite a few cutlery makers in the US in the 1800's.

I was watching a show on PBS Craft in America. Was Lowels Boat Shop in Mesbury Massachusetts. The wood shop was still there with all the tools & no demand for wooden fishing dories and double end whaling harpoon boats. Graham McKay builds them from scratch, some go to people who like to row a classic wood lap straight boat. They were fishing Dories capable of holding over 1000 lbs. of fish.


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## chinacats (Sep 13, 2014)

Sad in a way...sad they haven't been able to make a knife that didn't have quality issues. Someone here should try to do mass production, quality control was the only thing lacking--seems like they were at least getting orders which should be the hardest part.


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## Namaxy (Sep 13, 2014)

chinacats said:


> Sad in a way...sad they haven't been able to make a knife that didn't have quality issues. Someone here should try to do mass production, quality control was the only thing lacking--seems like they were at least getting orders which should be the hardest part.



Unfortunately no. What killed them was cost of production, pure and simple. Quality wasn't great, but they could have lived with that if the labor and QC didn't cost them over $40/hour. $40/hour before benefits! That's Massachusetts.


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