Craftsman Hand Tool Manufacturers & Date Ranges

[lbgradwell]

So maybe the 943796 is 41 teeth and 943797 is 45? Very strange.

Correct. And the 1/4" model is 43-tooth.

Craftsman (Stanley) 9_43795 1/4" Polished RH Chrome Ratchet, 43-tooth Taiwan
Craftsman (Stanley) 9_43796 3/8" Polished RH Chrome Ratchet, 41-tooth Taiwan
Craftsman (Stanley) 9_43797 1/2" Polished RH Chrome Ratchet, 45-tooth Taiwan

 

[lbgradwell]

I was told by someone on here a couple weeks back that it was Made in Taiwan for Sears Canada.

And this is simply not true (although I know that members - even those who have been around long enough to know better - still repeat the misinformation).

It's true that there are similar ratchets sold in Canada to this day and I'm pretty sure the same tri-wings ratchets were once sold in Canada (possibly under a different model number), but they were definitely sold in the USA. There's no question about that.

 

[lauver]

porphyre,

OK, so now we know what we're talking about. Your ratchet is 1/2" Tri-wing ratchet.

You can estimate the tooth count of your ratchet by rotating the drive bit 360 degrees and and counting the clicks. But the only sure way to know is to disassemble your ratchet and count the teeth in the ratchet head.

You should also know that LG (above post 81) is almost always correct. If he says your ratchet has 45 teeth, it's likely he is correct.

And, as I said above in post 79, your ratchet was made by Stanley and was made in Taiwan.

Last, but not least, whenever you post a question here about Crafty tools, it always helps to include a few photos. One photo of the entire tool and another photo or two showing all the stampings on the tool. That way, everyone is on the same page and has all the necessary information.

Hope this helps...

 

[HandyManny]

Might want to look into the Western Forge Date codes. They are almost correct. From what I gather the letters should correspond to a year. They used up all their single letters for date codes by last year (2010). Example 2010 ended with Z and the newer 2011 stuff I saw all started over with an AA code. So Z is 2010, Y is 2009, X is 2008, etc, etc. This has been my observation of screwdrivers and adjustable wrenches made by WF, but I can't say I'm exactly certain of it. Just something to look into.

Also there are manufacturers that I know make or made tools for Sears that are not listed there for newer stuff. Lisle, Klien, Midwest, and some others are all missing.

With regards to National Handtool, not sure about the Taiwan conection, they are Stanley owned, but are still operating in Texas making tools here in USA, much of the modern Proto hand tool production was shifted there by Stanley after they aqcuired the Proto and Blackhawk brands.

 

[porphyre]

Correct. And the 1/4" model is 43-tooth.

Craftsman (Stanley) 9_43795 1/4" Polished RH Chrome Ratchet, 43-tooth Taiwan
Craftsman (Stanley) 9_43796 3/8" Polished RH Chrome Ratchet, 41-tooth Taiwan
Craftsman (Stanley) 9_43797 1/2" Polished RH Chrome Ratchet, 45-tooth Taiwan

Definitely

Craftsman does weird stuff every now and again. 43 teeth. 41, 84... You'd think they'd settle on the easily divisible numbers... 36, 45, 60, 72, 90.

 

[lauver]

handy,

Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into this stuff shortly. Right now I'm chasing pliers for another GJ'er.

PS- I'm aware of some of the other OEM's Sears is using for the Crafty tools. Unfortunately many of them do not have series codes on the tools. Therefore, they are outside the limits of this thread.

 

[lauver]

Storm,

Just an update on your plier post. I knew I had seen that decorative pattern on the handle before. It was used on some Crafty pliers between 1945 and about 1973, maybe a little later. The OEM is Wilde Tool. These tools had a P-circle series code. Is it possible your plier has a P-circle or a misstamped P-circle that looks like a B-circle?

I'll post a photo or two of my P-circle pliers with similar handle pattern a little later.

 

[Rockbiter]

Many thanks to Lauver for this information. I have been wondering about this little hand vise. Now I know it was manufactured by Miller Falls. I haven't found a tool catalog that shows it but I believe it is mid-'60s. Anyway, thanks again for this thread.
Mike in CO

 

[stormking]

Hi Lauver,
I have Wilde made pliers with the P code, this is definately a Circle B (no sign of a miss stamp). The handle is also similar to the Craftsman Vandium series, so this might be in the gap between those and the Wilde P series. Thanks for the effort. Roy

 

[HandyManny]

handy,

Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into this stuff shortly. Right now I'm chasing pliers for another GJ'er.

PS- I'm aware of some of the other OEM's Sears is using for the Crafty tools. Unfortunately many of them do not have series codes on the tools. Therefore, they are outside the bounds of this thread.

Cool. Yeah I just thought I'd throw it out there about Western Forge, but as I said, not really 100% positive, but I suspect that about the date codes they use.

It's just been my observation based on many various screwdrivers I bought on occasion over the last couple decades, same thing goes for the 3 replacement Cman adjustable wrenches I had bought within the last 5 years, as well as an 8" Ridgid (WF made) adjustable I bought about 4 years ago at Home Depot. In fact that Ridgid wrench has a date code for 2005, 2 year prior to the year I bought it, but I doubt HD moves too many of those Ridgid adjustables. Granted, what is sitting new on store shelfs right now may have (and could have) actually been made up to 3 years ago. I've even seen some new-old-stock SK made Cman Pro combo wrenches being restocked on Sears store shelves very recenty. Not to mension some stuff people return new that was bought a year prior and store clerks simply put it back out on the shelfs.

Yeah I hear ya about some of the other makers, some don't have maker codes they use.

 

[lauver]

Hi Lauver,
I have Wilde made pliers with the P code, this is definately a Circle B (no sign of a miss stamp). The handle is also similar to the Craftsman Vandium series, so this might be in the gap between those and the Wilde P series. Thanks for the effort. Roy

Storm,

Understood, B-circle it is. I'm sticking with Wilde as the OEM, I'll just have to add the B-circle series code to the my list.

Also, I did a catalog search for your Crafty 4507 slip joint pliers with side cutter. It appears that they were sold from 1949 - 1958. They featured "Super-Tuff" steel and were lightly polished but not plated.

Worth noting, in 1954 the hand tool catalog featured new Wilde made chrome plated groove joint pliers on the front cover.

 

[puttsy]

I just picked up a Craftsman 3/8" rathcet (long) and was quite disappointed in store. They had about 4 types of this same model, and of course, the ones in front seemed quite cheap/crappy. (The quick release had a peg that game out of where the socket goes on. I don't much like that) I dug through 4 or 5 of them and found some older looking ones but they were all greasy like the lead had leaked. Got one anyway though, and it has an odd code on it:

Does anyone have any guesses on which ones are better or are they all about the same? I've got a 1/2" Teardrop code L1Y (44809) and a 3/8" T3Y (44811) from a 204 mechanics set.


3/8" Ratchet 44808
K0AA

Here are some pics: (I can chop um' down if needed/desired)

 

[pipsters]

I just picked up a Craftsman 3/8" rathcet (long) and was quite disappointed in store. They had about 4 types of this same model, and of course, the ones in front seemed quite cheap/crappy. (The quick release had a peg that game out of where the socket goes on. I don't much like that) I dug through 4 or 5 of them and found some older looking ones but they were all greasy like the lead had leaked. Got one anyway though, and it has an odd code on it:

Does anyone have any guesses on which ones are better or are they all about the same? I've got a 1/2" Teardrop code L1Y (44809) and a 3/8" T3Y (44811) from a 204 mechanics set.


3/8" Ratchet 44808
K0AA

Here are some pics: (I can chop um' down if needed/desired)

You have in your possession the last serial code of the US made raised panel ratchets. KAA was what came after KZ which was produced in 2010. It signifies 2011 manufacture I believe, although not sure why it shows K0AA but the one I exchanged did as well. Hold on to it, the next ones after all are Chinese. The ones with the peg coming out were the Chinese ones.

As far as your other ones go, they will all be about the same, I have a T4Y and T5Y as well. Sometime into the V series they started replacing the selectors with plastic instead of metal, which IME doesn't change much but did make them feel a bit "chinsier". Up until your date stamp, as long as it doesn't have a metal selector, they are all equal. I have two with metal selectors and they are definitely beefier ratchets. Wish Sears sold retro kits for the current version to "upgrade" to the metal selectors and beefier internals.

 

[thesilverone]

looks like lauver has some updating to include the new china and taiwan made ratchets

D-AA china
L-AA taiwan

 

[puttsy]

Think I may go pick up another one of these SOON then. I'm not a fan of the peg in the middle and if this is the end of the beginning (that's not a typo) I think I may want another to make sure I don't fall victim to the lesser kind. (I wouldn't complain if the foreign one felt the same as these, but they feel far inferior with very sloppy mechanisms. I may look into picking up another complete 4 ratchet set if they have now-old stock of them.

 

[kythri]

You have in your possession the last serial code of the US made raised panel ratchets. KAA was what came after KZ which was produced in 2010. It signifies 2011 manufacture I believe, although not sure why it shows K0AA but the one I exchanged did as well. Hold on to it, the next ones after all are Chinese. The ones with the peg coming out were the Chinese ones.

K0AA ain't quite the last:

K1AA - 44811 (3/8" Raised Panel Ratchet (short/normal handle)

K2AA - 44808 (3/8" Raised Panel Ratchet ("long" handle)

K4AA - 44807 (1/4" Raised Panel Ratchet

Went by the local store last night to schmooze the PMT for some repair kits (he was out). Decided to check to see if any imports had made their way to the rack. Nothing yet, but did find these newer codes.

Given the thin profile ratchet, I'll bet we see L-prefixes for other imports.

 

[rwachal]

I really like this site.
I have a 1/2" drive ratchet with a v but the lever is strange looking ,and one with the small ball bearing that holds the lever I try to post photos later.

I also have 5, 3/8 ratchets #44811,one is K9W.VQ,VJ,KIZ,AND T3W,they all look alike and one 43784 V.
I did have one that had a oil hole at the one end .

 

[maurywhurt]

I acquired this set of Craftsman Linesmans Pliers several years ago from the estate of an older gentleman who had a large collection of Craftsman tools. I was told that most of these had been purchased between the 60's and 80's.

These pliers are 8-3/4" long. The grip coverings may appear almost black in the photos, but they're really a dark green. I couldn't find the manufacturer's code, which appears to be an "O" (see bottom photo below), in your charts. Except for the "Craftsman" and "U.S.A." imprinted around the joint, there are no other markings visible on this tool. Do you happen to know which manufacturer this code corresponded to?

Thanks very much, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Maury

 

[lbgradwell]

I couldn't find the manufacturer's code, which appears to be an "O" (see bottom photo below), in your charts. Except for the "Craftsman" and "U.S.A." imprinted around the joint, there are no other markings visible on this tool. Do you happen to know which manufacturer this code corresponded to?

Welcome Maury!

Thanks for posting a shot of your pliers.

I'm pretty certain that "O" is simply a forge mark rather than a manufacturer's code...

 

[maurywhurt]

You may be right (and according to an earlier post above, you almost always are!)

Given the probable absence of a manufacturing code...is there any way to guess at an approximate manufacturing date for these pliers?

 

[lbgradwell]

You may be right (and according to an earlier post above, you almost always are!)

I was married once. I was wrong all the time then...

Is there not a simple "C" stamped on the other side of those pliers (where the "USA" is on the side shown)? Marked or not, I'd guess those pliers were made by Crescent in the 1970s and are Craftsman model 45181.

 

[MN Falcon]

I posted in the other thread last year because it was up on the top of the forum. Is this one then the official thread

I noticed that the list is missing the L-AA Tiawan. I picked up an L-AA thin profile ratchet last fall (2011) in exchange for an old -EE- ratchet. While looking for the packaging I looked at an RP 3/8" that I have as well marked L1Y, unfortunately, I bought it used and couldn't tell you even when I bought it :-( The L-AA was definitely Taiwan with no stamped COO, I probably would have had a cow if I didn't research the -EE- and already know it was Taiwan as well.

I also noticed that the -EE- says Taiwan only. While my ratchets came in a set and there was no COO on the ratchets, my sockets clearly are marked USA. I couldn't grab a pict of both the EE and the USA together but here goes, on the left is a 3/8" extension and the right is one of the 3/8" sockets

 

[lbgradwell]

I also noticed that the -EE- says Taiwan only.

You're quite right, but that is just an oversight and lauver is aware that the EE code was also Made in USA.

See here.

Gary maintains this list on multiple sites so it looks like this thread didn't get updated properly.

 

[kc-steve]

That "EE" thing is a little fuzzy. I have some old combo wrenches from a set I bought back in the 1980s or early 90s with an "EE" at the end of the model numbers. And they are clearly stamped with "Taiwan" as well.

BTW, I about fell over when someone asked me what series was on my 10pc Craftsman SAE combo set for sale, and they have the Vee ^ second inverted, so they are the Armstrong Division of Danaher. Sheeesh, I gotta pay attention to that stuff. If he doesn't buy it, then the price is going up!

Steve

 

[philwarner]

At first, I didn't think any of them did have the oil hole, but I decided to double check. I about fell over when I saw the -VV- ratchet at the bottom of the group has what looks like a ball-detent at the top of the head. So I guess that is the oil hole, right?

BTW, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't any "V" marked Craftsman a hold-over from Craftsman's past when they used "Chrome Vanadium" to indicate their high-quality line of tools?

Steve


<p><img src="http://junkyardtools.com/catalog/images/Craftsman_ratchet-03c.jpg" width="660" height="457" /></p>

The "V" indicates it was made at the Moore Drop Forge company in Springfield, Mass and the "oil hole" is the result of drilling the internal hole for the ratchet lever spring and ball through the end of the head; later ratchets had this hole drilled at an angle through the milled cavity in the ratchet head eliminating the "oil hole". Under Easco management, wrench production (and later the ratchet production) was consolidated in Springdale, Arkansas, and the original Moore Drop Forge facility was closed in the 80s. Before that wrench and ratchet production was duplicated in several locations including Gastonia North Carolina and the VV might have been the Gastonia indicator.

 

[SMKS]

It's pretty clear that Craftsman has been using date codes on tools in recent years. Lots of the tools that are marked KAA, Y WF, Z WF etc. now appear to be including date codes in the markings. For example, the "AA," "Y" and "Z" are the years.

AA is 2011. From what I've seen it's pretty clear that Z was 2010 and so on.

Here's a document from another thread confirming that AA is 2011. While it specifically mentions the Asian ratchets will be marked "L-AA," I think it's pretty safe to assume the "AA" in "KAA" is the year 2011. This would also explain why ratchets from recent years have been found with codes like "KZ," "KY," etc.

 

[otis66]

All of my Craftsman, "Danaher", ratchets seem to be from the 90's. I still have a few raise panel Craftsman ratchets, with out the snap ring, That I have never used. My " U.S.A.-VQ-44808" 3/8 DRIVE ratchet needs a bearing/ball for the ratchet lever. Can I still get a rebuild kit from sears?

 

[NC-Fordguy]

All of my Craftsman, "Danaher", ratchets seem to be from the 90's. I still have a few raise panel Craftsman ratchets, with out the snap ring, That I have never used. My " U.S.A.-VQ-44808" 3/8 DRIVE ratchet needs a bearing/ball for the ratchet lever. Can I still get a rebuild kit from sears?

Yes

At the Sears around here, you can leave the ratchet with them and they will rebuild it for you. Your locale may differ from what has been posted here

 

[otis66]

Yes

At the Sears around here, you can leave the ratchet with them and they will rebuild it for you. Your locale may differ from what has been posted here

I'd rather rebuild the ratchet myself. I guess I'll be taking a trip to Sears tomorrow. Thanks for the info.

 

[woody 73]

Some of the sockets have the EE stamp and made in taiwan, while others stamped EE will say made in the USA.

 

[tim1957d]

Gary, Moore Drop made the "V" up until 67, in Sockets.

Do you know when the "V" codes with model numbers was started and discontinued? Were they also made in by Moore in Mass?

thanks for what you do

Tim Grove

 

[rick carpenter]

Thanks for the good work, Gary! I am another who likes CM-USA tools.

 

[lauver]

Gary, Moore Drop made the "V" up until 67, in Sockets.

Do you know when the "V" codes with model numbers was started and discontinued? Were they also made in by Moore in Mass?

thanks for what you do

Tim Grove

Tim,

I've never been able to pinpoint the date when the sockets changed from V to G, but I suspect it was during the Easco years. How did you derive the 1967 date?

As far as we have been able to tell, the earliest V-series tools with model numbers appeared about 1975. This was based on fairly large sample of V-series tools with known purchase dates. The model numbering of V-series tools was not discontinued until the V-series code was retired, about 1986. These V-series coded tools with model numbers would have been made during the Easco years. Keep in mind, even though there was a change in ownership and name, Easco owned and operated in the old MDF facilties, and employed the former MDF employees. When Danaher purchased Easco, they continued operations in the MDF/Easco facilities until closing it down in 2005. But, Danaher also acquired several other manufacturing facilities over the years.

Hope this answers your question(s).

 

[ganymede]

...As far as we have been able to tell, the earliest V-series tools with model numbers appeared about 1975.

By tools do you mean sockets and not ratchets ?
They began stamping model numbers on ratchets in about 1968/69.

 

[lauver]

By tools do you mean sockets and not ratchets ?
They began stamping model numbers on ratchets in about 1968/69.

ganymede,

I'm talking about any tool (socket, ratchet, extension, breaker bar, open end wrench, box end wrench, combo wrench, plier, screwdriver, etc) with a V code on it.

I have a V-series ratchet purchased in the 1968/1969 time frame and it doesn't have a model number on it.

Do you have an example with a known purchase date? If so, this might be worthy of an update to the thread.

 

[ganymede]

Rhft

 

[lauver]

ganymede,

Are you suggesting the 43781 RHFT ratchet you posted above was purchased in 1968/1969?

How exactly did you arrive at the purchase date?

 

[ganymede]

No I just figured that since it is stamped with a model number '43781' and is stamped 'patent pending' instead of one or both of the patent numbers assigned to that type of ratchet that it was made during the time the patent was pending . That would mean this ratchet was made in 1968 or 1969.

 

[WhyMe]

I just noticed this post and conicedentally had my ratchets out to clean and lube.

Seems I have the made in America ones.

I've got a few more, but they are at my mothers house

 

[Fyrme]

trade in for this K3Y in mid 2009.