Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Gudbranson Robert K
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
07/20/2006		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
LINCOLN ELECTRIC HOLDINGS INC [LECO]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
22801 ST CLAIR AVE		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
VP Strat Planning/Acq
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

CLEVELAND, OH 44117		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Shares 361.985 (1)
I
By 401(K)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy)   (2) 10/12/2015 Common Shares 8,500 $ 38.12 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy)   (3) 11/30/2015 Common Shares 8,100 $ 39.93 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Gudbranson Robert K
22801 ST CLAIR AVE
CLEVELAND, OH 44117		       VP Strat Planning/Acq  

Signatures

/s/ Robert K. Gudbranson 07/31/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Held by Trustee pursuant to The Lincoln Electric Company 401(k) plan. Holdings are reported by the plan on a unitized basis, which units represent approximately 151.555 shares.
(2) The options become exercisable in 1/3 installments on October 12, 2006, October 12, 2007 and October 12, 2008.
(3) The options become exercisable in 1/3 installments on November 30, 2006, November 30, 2007 and November 30, 2008.

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