Carvel Hall
Carvel Hall was founded in 1895 by Charles D. Briddell in Chrisfield, MD with humble beginnings as a blacksmith shop that manufacturied carts and farm equipment. In addition, they also made crab and oyster harvesting tools for local watermen and boatmen on Chesapeake Bay.
During World War II, Briddell made bolos for the USMC, as well as a variety of kitchen knives, and anti-tank bazooka shells during World War.
In 1946, an employee named Paul Culver designed and hand carved a letter opener as a Christmas gift to Charles Briddell. With Culvers help, the design was transformed into the world famous Carvel Hall steak knife. The knives were an instant hit, grossing $1 million in sales for the company within four weeks of its unveiling in 1951. The Carvel Hall line was named after a famous luxury hotel in Annapolis MD. Soon the company changed its name to Carvel Hall.
The original Carvel Hall facility, known as the Chas. D. Briddell manufacturing plant, operated on Main Street in Crisfield from 1920 until a fire destroyed that plant in March 1951. The facility was relocated to 4251 Crisfield Highway. Production of the Carvel Hall steak knife and other cutlery types continued.
The firm was acquired by Towle Manufacturing, a silversmith company, in 1961 and remained active until 1990. At that time, Carvel Hall was sold and continued to manufacture their signature lines of steak knife sets, carving sets, letter openers, and crab and oyster knives. Manufacturing operations ceased in 2000, only to be re-born by another Maryland manufacturer who is producing Carvel Hall’s famous crab knife to the original specifications.
