That is a different guy not the one that made Herters traps in us

so there were 2 trap makers in vermillion s. d.

sorry i will delete my post

The Herter's bear traps made in SD were made by a man named Harold Hagen. He was a Herter's employee who moved to Mitchell SD when Herters moved there. Dates of this exact sequence are murky, but the various Herter's models marked Made in USA were either made by Herters in Waseca MN(or perhaps by some MN manufacturer?) or by Harold Hagen in Mitchell. Following closure of Herters, Harold Hagen purchased the molds etc from Herters and subsequently made bear traps for Cabela's using the same parts molds but with a different pan. Kevin Hagen(son of Harold) is the owner of Hagen Manuf in Mitchell,SD and they still retain the ability to manufacture the bear traps. Kevin Hagen told me that he has been there from day one and that Hagen did NOT make the 121.

Further on Herters traps. Published information states that the earliest bear traps were made in Japan, perhaps as early as the late 1950s. Between those traps and the ones made in South Dakota by Harold Hagen in the early 1970s, some traps were made by or for Herters. I hope someone has information on the location of manufacture. Was it done by Herters themselves? Did Harold Hagen make them for Herters in Waseca(his son does not know) or did Herters job out the manufacture in MN? And who DID make the 121s? It seems likely that if Herters had molds to make bear traps themselves(they did) that they also might have had molds for the cast jaw 121s.