WKC Stahl- und Metallwarenfabrik ("WKC Steel and Metalwork Factory"), formerly Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie., is a German sword manufacturing company located in

Solingen Solingen (; li, Solich) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located some 25 km east of Düsseldorf along the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and, with a 2009 population of 161,366, ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

. The company was founded in 1883 with the merger of two major Solingen sword-making companies, Weyersberg and Kirschbaum. In 1900 the company was the largest in Solingen, employing around 1,200 workers. WKC uses traditional hand forging in their production process. The company supplies over 50 militaries, military academies and police forces worldwide with ceremonial swords. The company also makes Japanese

Katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

s using the traditional hand forging process.

History

Weyersberg, Kirschbaum, and Cie. was founded in 1883 with the merger of two family-owned sword manufacturing and marketing companies in Solingen, Germany: Gebruder Weyersberg, founded by Wilhem, Peter and Johann Ludwig Weyersberg in 1787 and WR Kirschbaum & Cie, founded by Wilhem Reinhordt Kirschbaum. The newly founded company used traditional techniques for sword making and each of their then employees specialised in one task in the sword making process. This was in accordance to the Division of Labor act devised by the Sword makers Guild of Soligen. Prior to the merger Fritz Weyersberg had purchased the patent for a blade roll forge invented in England. This machine allowed the sword manufacturing plant to significantly increase blade production. By 1900 WKC's production was such that it employed around 1,200 workers and was the largest company in Solingen. At this time the company not only produced swords but weapons, motorcycles and bike parts as well. In the year 1922, WKC was bought by the company "Siegen Solinger Gussstahlverein" who was a previous supplier of theirs. The company continued to flourish until the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. During this time like most companies in Germany, WKC suffered greatly and worsened as during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the company was a target of Allied bombardment. These bombings resulted in almost all of the buildings and equipment owned by the company at the time being destroyed and so all operations there ceased. In 1955 the company again changed hands with Hans Kolping, a Solingen knife producer, buying the company. He restarted the company and produced swords, knives and pistols. Soon after he discontinued the production of pistols and concentrated on ceremonial sword production and so the company established its own blade etching plant. The company's first orders at this time came from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. On 1989 Hans Kolping died and left the company to his life partner, Margard Willms. Soon after the company changed ownership and Joachim Willms undertook large investments in the buildings and the equipment so as to further grow the company. In 1995, André Willms, the current owner, joined the company. In November 2005 the

Wilkinson Sword Wilkinson Sword is a formerly British brand for Safety razor, razors and other personal care products sold in Europe, owned by the US company Edgewell Personal Care. The company was founded as a manufacturer of guns made in Shotley Bridge in Co ...

factory of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

closed. In order to facilitate production of British ceremonial swords Wilkinson held a sealed bid for its assets. WKC participated and acquired the majority of Wilkinson's tools, spare parts and their roll forge. These items were transported to Germany and implemented in WKC's production process. This allowed the company to produce a greater number of sword types and to supply more countries. WKC won the contract to produce the Model 2011 Swords for West Point Cadets at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

Management

In 2001 André Willms took over majority ownership of WKC from his father Ernst Joachim Willms. He is the current Managing Director of the company.

External links

WKC official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wkc Stahl- Und Metallwarenfabrik Knife manufacturing companies Manufacturing companies established in 1883 Manufacturing companies of Germany Companies based in North Rhine-Westphalia Solingen

History

Management

See also

External links