Our Proud Tradition

Becoming the oldest and most trusted name in professional grade leather tools originates from the true value of tradition.

C.S. Osborne & Co. has been successfully owned and operated by 8 generations of the Osborne family, passing from father to son, since it’s beginning in 1826 manufacturing tools for harness makers and saddlers.

Founder, Charles Samuel Osborne, recognized the demand for quality leather crafting tools and cornered the 19 th century industrial market, not only in the US but across the world, with the highest standards in manufacturing excellence, skilled and knowledgeable workers and the finest raw materials available.

Osborne, along with his partner and brother, Henry Frank Osborne, opened their first factory in Newark, NJ, a clever business move since Newark represented the largest concentration of tanneries on the east coast.

With horses and carriages as the primary mode of transportation in the 19 th century, tools used in horse-n-tack, harness and saddlery laid a profitable platform for Charles and Henry to grow their booming business.

By the 1880s, C.S. Osborne & Co. became the largest harness-tool manufacturer in the world. It also earned him numerous gold medals and awards from expositions from all over the world including Philadelphia, Paris, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, Chicago and more!

Experience and a reputation for manufacturing the best leather working tools available, comprised of premium leather, carbon steel blades (hand crafted and polished) along with a closely guarded heating treatment technique, allowed Charles to afford the most up-to-date methods of production to meet the rigorous demand for specialty leathercrafting tools.

Eventually, Charles’ sons, Jasper and Walter Dodd Osborne, would join the business. It would be Walter however, who would succeed Charles in 1896 and under his leadership the company prospered, eventually moving to it’s current location at Second and Jersey Streets in Harrison, NJ.

C.S. Osborne & Co. would continue down their path of developing and refining their quality leather tools, incorporating and expanding their legacy with each year, to their present-day status as one of the oldest family owned and operated businesses in the United States.