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E Jönsson / Bröderna Jönsson (1936 - 2020 )

The earlier days

Kånå-Jerk Erik Jönsson earliest days , or simply Erik Jönsson, is Jöns Persson's grandson https://oldmora.blogspot.com/2020/06/katrin-jons-persson.html. He carried on the knife-making tradition under the brand name E Jönsson (marked E Jönsson). He took over the workshop where his grandpa, father, and uncle Erik & Anders Jönsson had worked since 1908.

Kånå-Jerk Erik Jönsson began his career as a knife maker at FA Anderssons Täljknivsfabrik (ref:naboken Bygdeml i Mora page 158) http://oldmora.blogspot.com/2020/07/fa-anderssons-1870-1920.html and the KJ Eriksson factory.  https://oldmora.blogspot.com/2020/12/kjeriksson.html

KJE with staff outside the workshop in 1932, Erik Jönsson is among the staff

In the Mora book:
"It is told that when Kånå-Jerk Jönsson was out peddling his wares, he had second-rate KJ knives with him, stamped with the word UTSKOTT (reject) on the blade. When asked what the stamp meant, he is said to have fibbed: “Well, KJ has joined forces with someone with that name and he wants his name on the blade, too.”

The beginning of the company


Above: Jönsson's Knife Factory in 1925. Man (15 years) and his three-year-old Erik Zander from Boden


"Mora Armaturfabrik's first foundry. then, as now, part of Jönssons Knivfabrik. The year was 1927. From left: Gunnar Noren, Anders Myr, Erik Göransson, Frost K. Mattsson, Anders Göransson, Karl Myr and Folke Mattsson." (ref https://www.facebook.com/228565797205031/photos/a.229013023826975/2571578936237027/)

Kånå-Jerk (Erik) Jönsson took over his father Anders and uncle Erik’s blacksmith’s workshop in 1933. Erik and Anders Jönsson sons of Katrin-Jöns Persson’s took over the smithy from their father in 1908 

The enterprise was known locally as  "Kånå verkstaden" or "Kånå workshop"

Some of the first inventory was purchased from the closed Johannes Knagg plant. 

Krk-Anders Persson (K.A.PERSSON), Erik Jönsson's cousin, learnt knife manufacturing in the workshop in the 1930s (most likely 1935), and afterwards went out on his own. KA Persson became ill in the 1950s and sold all of his inventory to Bröderna Jönsson.

After Erik Jonsson's brothers (John and Anders) joined the company, the name was altered to Bröderna Jönsson around 1936. Bröderna Jonsson means "Jonsson brothers" in Swedish. Bröderna Jönsson's stamp was not immediately adopted.

According to a book published in 1939, "The owner's grandfather Jöns"Persson began making harness watches and bells in the nineteenth century. The present owner began making knives around 1929, and production now stands at 30-40 dozen each day. The majority of sales are within the country, however some are exported to Norway. The company employs eight individuals, four of them are brothers. Steel and iron are manufactured using the "stnorsmetod." The deal is handled by two passengers. Erik Jönsson, the current owner, was born in Stnor in 1899, the son of Ander Jönsson of Stnor o.h.h. "Keep an eye on Kerstin Andersdotter from na." (ref https://www.facebook.com/moraboden/posts/d41d8cd9/1790659704357856/)


Photograph from the 1940s. The E.Jonsson factory is the home on the bottom right. There are two people outside; perhaps Kn-Jerk is staring at the plane. 

During the 1950s and 1960s, they were popular in the United States, where they were offered under the brand name Bröderna Jönsson as well as Norse Knife by mail order. 

 


Mail order advertisement for "World´s most extraordinary knife" the Norse King, for $2,98. On the right Fied And Stream Jun-1970



Above: Kånå-Anders 1961

After the brothers' deaths in 1987, Erik (son of John Jönsson) and his cousin Holger (son of Anders Jönsson) took over the firm and began making knives with the original stamp E Jönsson. The workshop continues to make knives in limited quantities. 



Date: 1988, based on the book "Hantverket som blev industri"

They are the last traditional knife producers still in business outside of the MoraKniv company, although only in small quantities. Erik is now in his 70s, and Holger is almost 90 years old.

The blog http://thebladeblog-ulf.blogspot.com/ had a nice piece about E Jönsson with great photographs of their barrel knives from the 1960s and a pair of fp Scissors from a 1947 catalog. Check out the blog for more amazing content.




"Jönssons' office lacks a computer, and the company lacks a website. Letters, quotes, and invoices are still typed on an antique typewriter. This is a bygone era's workshop, and with each knife made, one can't help but feel that something of Mora's history and the soul of this remarkable family is imbued in each blade." Ref

The workshop produced what is most likely the smallest Mora knife ever made. It has a 3,5cm blade length and a bullet case handle. The knife is stored inside the case, and to use it, simply pull the bullet out of the casing and turn the blade outwards. Erik Jonsson believes "Many of these were sent to the UK, where pipe smokers used them to clean out their pipes."








There is also a very interesting video on youtube about the history of the company made by The Dutch Silver Lion

Jönssons Knivfabrik KB is the company's current name.


New E Jönsson stamped knives are still available on some websites, such as this one (no affiliation)

On https://www.utsidan.se/forum/threads/morakniv-e-joennson.60684/ DePaul, a user, stated that he contacted the owner, Erik Jönsson, to gain some insight into the conversation:
- The knives are made of spring steel (carbon steel), specifically 1778 (SS 1778), with a carbon content of around 0.7 - 0.8%, most likely Bofors steel. 
- The blades are made on-site in Stnor but heat-treated by another local company.
- Most production is exported


Casstrom https://www.casstrom.com/ (also a knife company from Sweden) had the E.Jonsson in their catalog and played some role in distributing the E.Jonsson knives in Europe between 2018 and 2020 (based on the dates that the knives first appeared on the webpage) (especially in the UK)

In the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M8WE7jrKc0&t=566s the owner of the company mentions that we worked with Jonsson company and show two knife, one spoon carving knife and one that looks like a 120 wood carving series.






Print from the 2019 Casstrom Wholesale/Distribution catalog.

The old knife factory was destroyed by a violent fire on February 12, 2020. The company's future is currently unknown.
Erik Jonsson claims that the polishing machine caught fire.
There was very little that could be saved. Things like the old Katrin Jöns Persson and the old machine "Märta" are no longer available.
Some vintage knives and punches were saved.

The company's future is uncertain, but Erik responded when asked if it could be reborn by someone in the family "Didn’t sound to probable. But you never know."




https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/dalarna/kraftig-brand-i-knivfabrik-i-mora


The company history




Photos of Erik Jonsson for a magazine article dated 2012 source 







Photos from the workshop found on "Du vet att du är från Mora när" facebook page. Photos taken in 2018



An eccentric press. Used for punching, stamping, cutting, bending, etc. There were presses manufactured in Mora by Anders Mattsson. Went under the designation "Rococo press" due to its elegant undercarriage



Special mention Ref This is the only automated machine on the premises. According to Anders Brask. old CEO of Frost, the machine is called "Märta" in honor of Märta Persson, who the machine replaced. The machine was built by Lasse Sjöberg at Frosts in the early 70 s. This machine made the ferrules

"The mail came to the village and Erik Jönsson d.ä. had to pick up his mail from FM Mattsson, he didn't like that and fixed a mail intake at his barn, with a box inside."

"Suspect Lasse Sjöberg Construction from Frosts. Brow machine."




FULL ALBUM HERE


 Catalogs: 1947


https://www.utsidan.se/forum/threads/morakniv-e-joennson.60684/ 

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