WKC Solingen History
Swords have played a role in the history of the world for a long time. Some swords have been so important that a few have been given special names like King Arthur´s Excalibur or Siegfried´s Balumung . In the 16th century blacksmiths have been in high esteem so that Wilhelm Weyersberg was elected mayor of the city of Solingen in 1573 and 1574.
During this period the manufacturing of blades in Solingen became so well organized that people named it the Solingen Method . In fact, it was the guilds in Solingen who developed a system utilizing the division of labour.
The blades produced have been of such high quality, that the name Solingen became the first label for an international quality standard. Today, the label Solingen , which is protected by law, continues to imply world-class products made of steel.
Industrialization began at the start of the last century in England. During the course of the century, the Weyersberg family became very successful in producing and marketing blades. One reason for their success was due to the fact that during a trip to England, Fritz Weyersberg purchased the patent rights for an invention by V.C. Barnes. Although the invention had never been tested before in an industrial setting, this so called blade press soon gave the Weyersbergs a great advantage in forging blades.Still there were other important blade merchants in Solingen, like the Kirschbaum family.
The Weyersberg and Kirschbaum families joined forces, founding WKC (Weyersberg, Kirschbaum and Cie) in 1883. WKC soon became a company of the highest technological standard. One of its major guiding principles was the dedication to curiosity coupled with an openness towards innovative improvements. It was not just due to chance that WKC´s first telephone numbers were 1 and 2 in Solingen. Between 1883 and 1899 the number of employees increased from 240 to 700. The company continued to grow at a very high rate and in 1892 it had 1200 employees. One of WKC´s competitors purchased a controlling share of WKC in 1922, but with the beginning of the international financial crisis the newly formed company soon went bankrupt.
In 1955 the first modern chapter in the history of WKC began, when Hans Kolping, producer of high quality cutlery, purchased the company. During the following several years the manufacturing facilities, which had been destroyed in war, were completely rebuilt. With their completion a modern engraving facility also became available, which made it possible to etch blades with classical designs and inscriptions.
The end of the 1980´s marked a new era for WKC. Since then, the company is run by the Willms family. It is their goal to revive traditional manufacturing and keep the quality level as high as possible. This is the reason why WKC has customers in  more than 40 countries today. Most of the clients are military and Police forces as well as private collectors. Many kings and high ranked military persons have a WKC sword. The brand WKC has become world famous for excellent workmanship. Since 1995 the company is managed by André Willms, supported by Michael Schwerdtfeger since 1997.
WKC is now again producing high quality fencing equipment, these products had not been manufactured since WW II. This is the first step to increase WKC´s range of products and bring WKC into the new millennium.
WKC's philosophy since 1883 is to produce swords of highest quality and satisfying the requirements of their customers.