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                                                                    Exhibit 4(j)

                                 AMENDMENT NO. 7
                                       TO
                          THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY
                              EMPLOYEE SAVINGS PLAN
                          (EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 1994)

                  The Lincoln Electric Company, an Ohio corporation, hereby
adopts this Amendment No. 7 to the Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings
Plan (Effective November 1, 1994) (the "Plan"). The provisions of this Amendment
shall be effective as of January 1, 1998.

                                       I.

                  Section 5.5 of the Plan is hereby amended in its entirety to
read as follows:

                  "5.5 Investment of Contributions. Each Member may, pursuant to
         rules and procedures adopted by the Administrative Committee, direct
         that Before-Tax Contributions, Rollover Contributions, Employer
         Contributions and ESOP Contributions made by or for him shall be
         invested in any or all of the Investment Funds. An investment option
         selected by a Member shall remain in effect and be applicable to all
         subsequent such Contributions made by or for him unless and until an
         investment change is made by him and becomes effective pursuant to
         rules and procedures adopted by the Administrative Committee. Each
         member may, pursuant to rules and procedures adopted by the
         Administrative Committee, make a change in the investment options
         selected by the Member with respect to amounts then held in his
         Account. In the absence of an effective investment direction and/or an
         effective investment change, Before-Tax, Rollover, and Employer
         Contributions (other than Matching Employer Contributions) shall be
         invested in such Investment Fund or Funds, and in such proportions, as
         is designated by the Investment Committee from time to time for such
         purpose, Matching Employer Contributions shall be invested in the
         Company Non-Voting Stock Fund (or in such other Investment Fund as the
         Investment Committee shall designate for such purpose), and ESOP
         Contributions shall be invested in the Company Voting Stock Fund and
         the Company Non-Voting Stock Fund, as applicable."

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                                       II.

                  Article XI of the Plan is hereby amended by adding the
following new Section at the end thereof:

                  "11.7 Correction of Errors Notwithstanding anything herein to
         the contrary, the Plan Administrator or the Administrative Committee
         may take such actions or permit such actions to be taken as are
         necessary and reasonably calculated to correct an administrative error
         made by an Employer, the Plan Administrator, the Committee, the Trustee
         or any other Fiduciary or administrator."

                  EXECUTED at Cleveland, Ohio, this 11th day of June, 1998.

                          THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY

                          By: /s/ Frederick G. Stueber
                              --------------------------------------------------
                              Title: Senior Vice President, General Counsel
                                     and Secretary

                                       2<PAGE>

                                                                    Exhibit 4(k)

                                 AMENDMENT NO. 8
                                       TO
                          THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY
                              EMPLOYEE SAVINGS PLAN
                          (EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 1994)

                  The Lincoln Electric Company, an Ohio corporation, hereby
adopts this Amendment No. 8 to The Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings
plan (Effective November 1, 1994)(the "Plan"). The provisions of this Amendment
shall be effective as of June 2, 1998.

                                       I.

                  Sections 1.1(12), 1.1(13) and 1.1(13A) of the Plan are hereby
deleted in their entirety.

                                      II.

                  Article I of the Plan is hereby amended by inserting the
following new Subsections immediately following Section 1.1(31):

                  "(31A) Holdings Stock: Any class of voting or non-voting
         common stock of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

                  (31B) Holdings Stock Fund: An investment fund invested
         primarily in Holdings Stock."

                                      III.

                  The second sentence of Section 5.1(1) of the Plan is hereby
amended to read as follows:

                  "Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Investment Committee shall
         direct the Trustee to establish and maintain a Holdings Stock Fund as
         one of the Investment funds."

                                       IV.

                  The last sentence of Section 5.5 of the Plan is hereby amended
to read as follows:

                  "In the absence of an effective investment direction and/or an
         effective investment change, Before-Tax, Rollover, and Employer
         Contributions (other than Matching Employer Contributions) shall be
         invested in such Investment Fund or Funds, and in such proportions, as
         is designated by the Investment Committee from time to time for such
         purpose, and Matching Employer Contributions and ESOP Contributions
         shall be invested in the Holdings Stock Fund (or in such other
         Investment Fund as the Investment Committee shall designate for such
         purpose)."

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                                       V.

                  Section 6.11 of the Plan is hereby amended in its entirety to
read as follows:

                  "6.11 Distribution of Holdings Stock. Notwithstanding the
         preceding provisions of this Article, a Member of Beneficiary who is
         eligible to receive a distribution pursuant to this Article VI (other
         than pursuant to Section 6.7) may elect to receive that portion of his
         distribution which is attributable to his interest in the Holdings
         Stock Fund in the form of whole shares of Holdings Stock with any
         fractional shares of Holdings Stock in cash."

                                       VI.

                  The first Section of Section 14.1 of the Plan is hereby
amended to read as follows:

                  "Before each annual or special meeting of the shareholders of
         Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., the Administrative Committee shall
         cause to be sent to each Member and Beneficiary who has voting shares
         of Holdings Stock allocated to his Account on the record date of such
         meeting a copy of the proxy solicitation material therefor, together
         with a form requesting confidential instructions on how to vote the
         voting shares of Holdings Stock allocated to his Account."

                                      VII.

                  Sections 4.2, 4.4, 4.6, 8.8 and Article XIV (including the
headings and subheadings thereunder) of the Plan are hereby amended by (i)
deleting the phrase "Company Stock" in each place it appears therein and (ii)
substituting therefor the phrase "Holdings Stock".

                  EXECUTED at Cleveland, Ohio, this 29th day of December, 1998.

                          THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY

                          By: /s/ Frederick G. Stueber
                              -------------------------------------------------
                              Title: Senior Vice President, General Counsel and
                                     Secretary

                                       2<PAGE>

                                                                    Exhibit 4(l)

                                 AMENDMENT NO. 9
                                       TO
                          THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY
                              EMPLOYEE SAVINGS PLAN
                          (EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 1994)

                  The Lincoln Electric Company, an Ohio corporation, hereby
adopts this Amendment No. 9 to the Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings
Plan (Effective November 1, 1994) (the "Plan"). The provisions of this Amendment
shall be effective as of January 1, 1999.

                                       I.

                  The second sentence of Section 1.1(28B) is hereby amended to
read as follows:

         "Notwithstanding the foregoing, (a) FSP Compensation shall not include
         any amounts received from Harris Calorific, Inc. or Lincoln Global,
         Inc. (or prior to January 1, 1999, the Harris Calorific Division or
         Seal Seat Division of the Company) and (b) FSP Compensation of an FSP
         Participant taken into account for any purpose for any Plan Year shall
         not exceed $150,000 (as such amount shall be increased by the
         cost-of-living adjustment under section 415(d) of the Code)."

                                       II.

                  The last sentence of Section 4.3 of the Plan is hereby amended
to read as follows:

         "An Employee of the Employer for whom Before-Tax Contributions are made
         shall be entitled to receive an allocation of Matching Employer
         Contributions in accordance with the preceding sentence, unless such
         Before-Tax Contributions are made for any period while he was an
         Employee of Harris Calorific, Inc. or Lincoln Global, Inc. (or prior to
         January 1, 1999, the Harris Calorific Division or Seal Seat Division of
         the Company)."

                                      III.

                  Exhibit A to the Plan is hereby amended in its entirety to
read as follows:

                                   "EXHIBIT A

                             Participating Employers
                              as of January 1, 1999

The Lincoln Electric Company
Harris Calorific, Inc.
Lincoln Global, Inc."

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         EXECUTED at Cleveland, Ohio, this 31st day of December, 1998.

                               THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY

                               By: /s/ Frederick G. Stueber
                                   --------------------------------------------
                               Title: Senior Vice President, General Counsel
                                      and Secretary

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