Vintage Kraeuter USA 1/2″ Round Center Punch

Kraeuter & Company was an early tool maker, established in the mid nineteenth century and best known for their high quality pliers. Kraeuter & Company was founded by August Kraeuter, a German immigrant who came to America in 1859 at 22 years of age. Although the company's later catalogs and advertisements state that the company was established in 1860, the historical record doesn't seem to support such an early founding date. A biography of August Kraeuter on page 247 of Biographical and Genealogical History of the City of Newark (published in 1898) notes that Kraeuter began employment in Newark, New Jersey working for a pistol maker, and then worked with Henry Sauerbier in the manufacture of arms for the government. By the early 1960s Kraeuter had been acquired by Dresser Industries, a conglomerate making tools and machinery. Dresser later acquired Sherman-Klove (S-K) and Lectrolite, and by 1965 the Kraeuter line had been expanded to include sockets and drive tools. More info at

• http://alloy-artifacts.org/kraeuter-company.html
• http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2018/01/vanished-tool-makers-kraeuter-co-inc.html
• https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/kraeuter-fine-tools-since-1860.272897/
• https://papawswrench.com/vboard/index.php?topic=3937.0