Plomb War Finish Date Codes

[Provincial]

I have one Plomb War Finish wrench, a 1232 1" combination wrench. The date code is BC, which would be February, 1942.

I have a 1242 (1-5/16" combo) which is identical in appearance, and has no date code. It does not have a War Finish stamping. This makes me wonder if one reason War Finish tools are so rare is because after a while, Plomb quit marking them and just sent them out. Lack of a date code should have been all Plomb needed to indicate the tool was wartime production and subject to warranty restrictions.

What is the latest date code on anyone's War Finish Plomb? This could tell us a lot.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I hope this answers all your questions

slide bar and extension are both raw steel, CC, and only the extension is war finish.
there is paint on the ext, but I have no reason to think its original.

 

[Provincial]

Actually, I was hoping to have several people come up with tools marked "War Finish" with date codes up to a certain time frame, say late 1942, and none after. "CC" date code would be March of 1943, which is about when things could have been changing over. Some tools may have been partially completed earlier, and given a date code when the parts were assembled. Items that were one piece would not have that option.

I am not trying to track the finish on the tools, just the marking. I suspect that there was little appearance work done on tools during the War, as it did not affect the utility of the tool, and the labor savings would be put into production of more tools.

My theory is that early in the War Plomb wanted to point out that it was cutting back on appearance in order to support the war effort. Later, everyone was aware of that, and it made sense to save the labor and cost of marking the tools for War Finish. I am just trying to get a better idea of when they quit using that marking.

I am also trying to get people to notice if their rough finish tools have date codes.

 

[twertsy]

Actually, I was hoping to have several people come up with tools marked "War Finish" with date codes up to a certain time frame, say late 1942, and none after. "CC" date code would be March of 1943, which is about when things could have been changing over. Some tools may have been partially completed earlier, and given a date code when the parts were assembled. Items that were one piece would not have that option.

I am not trying to track the finish on the tools, just the marking. I suspect that there was little appearance work done on tools during the War, as it did not affect the utility of the tool, and the labor savings would be put into production of more tools.

My theory is that early in the War Plomb wanted to point out that it was cutting back on appearance in order to support the war effort. Later, everyone was aware of that, and it made sense to save the labor and cost of marking the tools for War Finish. I am just trying to get a better idea of when they quit using that marking.

I am also trying to get people to notice if their rough finish tools have date codes.

First, the "-C" code is 1943, not '42. If you go to my site and simply type War Finish in the search you will find a couple pages of them. Latest code I have is GC for July, 1943. I've never seen a tool marked War Finish that didn't have a code, nor that was anything other than -C. I too would be very interested in seeing any tools that break that rule.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not sure what you mean by "appearance", Provincial. After nickel- and chrome-plating were restricted in late 1941/early 1942, there were only a couple finishes possible: cadmium plating, which was already being used on economy line tools, japanning, and lacquer, and of course, natural steel, which could be polished or not. Chemical treatments such as black oxide and phosphate were actually invented during the war by steel consortiums in response to nickel- and chrome-plating restrictions. The WPB controlled everything, including what little civilian production remained. I'll share a scan from the 1943 Federal Specifications for wrenches later, but it basically says what I relayed above about finishes. In other words, it was not discretionary. Plomb had no choice. Which is why I agree with the more common postulation that the "WAR FINISH" marking is a caveat against returns etc for corrosion. Other makers (Snap-On, Williams, etc) more simply included an apologetic caveat, citing WPB restrictions, in their catalogs, for the unavailability of many tools and the finishes on the tools that were available. As for Plomb's discontinuation of the marking, I think they finally figure out that it was unnecessary.

 

[Provincial]

By "appearance" I mean the conditon of the metal surface, regardless of finish. I observe tools of this era with an "as-forged" surface condition, rather than the finely ground pre-war unplated version. The surfaces of wartime Plomb wrenches outside of the working surfaces have a "scaly" texture from the hot work of the forging process. P&C tools from this time period have the same "appearance."

 

[Provincial]

First, the "-C" code is 1943, not '42. If you go to my site and simply type War Finish in the search you will find a couple pages of them. Latest code I have is GC for July, 1943. I've never seen a tool marked War Finish that didn't have a code, nor that was anything other than -C. I too would be very interested in seeing any tools that break that rule.

Notice that in my post I correctly referred to Slewfoot's CC date code as March, 1943. I researched that on your wonderful site!

I was just guessing as to when they dropped the "War Finish" marking, which is starting to look like mid-1943.

A date range of a year and a half, coupled with the limits on civilian production, makes it look like these are truly rare items.

 

[twertsy]

I have one Plomb War Finish wrench, a 1232 1" combination wrench. The date code is BC, which would be February, 1942.

I have a 1242 (1-5/16" combo) which is identical in appearance, and has no date code. It does not have a War Finish stamping. This makes me wonder if one reason War Finish tools are so rare is because after a while, Plomb quit marking them and just sent them out. Lack of a date code should have been all Plomb needed to indicate the tool was wartime production and subject to warranty restrictions.

What is the latest date code on anyone's War Finish Plomb? This could tell us a lot.

The second letter is the "Year" code. So you're reference in bold should be February, 1943. I've never seen a code on a War Finish ending in B (for '42).

 

[Private Lugnutz]

By "appearance" I mean the condition of the metal surface, regardless of finish. I observe tools of this era with an "as-forged" surface condition, rather than the finely ground pre-war unplated version.

Thanks for explaning, Provincial. Agreed. It's not uncommon for wartime military wrenches to also have a rough or semi-finished appearance, sometimes showing traces of first or coarse grinding without finish grinding. I've seen this from a number of mfgrs.

 

[jim keris]

I have a plomb 5/8 x 9/16 box wrench mod 1130 with a "sc" marking and stamped War Finish

 

[twertsy]

I have a plomb 5/8 x 9/16 box wrench mod 1130 with a "sc" marking and stamped War Finish

Can you post a picture of that? I'm betting it's either 5C or another "one-off" code representing something else, similar to this ratchet with an "NR" code.

 

[SilverDeck]

Here's a picture of the only War Finish Plomb tool I own: at 3/4" drive 5649 ratchet. The date code appears to be either "EC" or "5C". Kind of hard to make it out, even under close magnification. Would that code make it a May 1943 production piece?

 

[twertsy]

Here's a picture of the only War Finish Plomb tool I own: at 3/4" drive 5649 ratchet. The date code appears to be either "EC" or "5C". Kind of hard to make it out, even under close magnification. Would that code make it a May 1943 production piece?

BC would be 43, 5c would be 45.

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[SilverDeck]

BC would be 43, 5c would be 45.

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Would the fact that it is stamped "War Finish" mean that it must be 1943 production? Didn't Plomb stop the "War Finish" stamping on civilian tools after about a year and just use the letter date codes?

 

[twertsy]

Would the fact that it is stamped "War Finish" mean that it must be 1943 production? Didn't Plomb stop the "War Finish" stamping on civilian tools after about a year and just use the letter date codes?

Yup, only ever seen '43 war finish stamped tools.

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[V8 S Series]

I have quite a few rare tools but this is the only plomb war finish in my collection. Might let it go if anyone is interested.


These are my tools...there are many like them...but these are mine.

Everything can be had for the right price.




Sent from my HTC M9w using Tapatalk

 

[twertsy]

I have quite a few rare tools but this is the only plomb war finish in my collection. Might let it go if anyone is interested.


These are my tools...there are many like them...but these are mine.

Everything can be had for the right price.




Sent from my HTC M9w using Tapatalk

Never seen a war finish tool not made in 43. C=43

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[V8 S Series]

Never seen a war finish tool not made in 43. C=43

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Mine is stamped AC. So what would that be?

I'm learning a lot already from being here.

I have quite a few rare tools but this is the only plomb war finish in my collection. Might let it go if anyone is interested.


These are my tools...there are many like them...but these are mine.

Everything can be had for the right price.

 

[twertsy]

Mine is stamped AC. So would that be Jan. 1943

I'm learning a lot already from being here.



Sent from my HTC M9w using Tapatalk

Correct.

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[kali77]

I don't know much about plomb tools but there's no other markings on these pliers except that logo and as far as the finish goes it's grey bar metal type not chrome but it is a smooth finish any information would be appreciated

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[kali77]

Actually, I was hoping to have several people come up with tools marked "War Finish" with date codes up to a certain time frame, say late 1942, and none after. "CC" date code would be March of 1943, which is about when things could have been changing over. Some tools may have been partially completed earlier, and given a date code when the parts were assembled. Items that were one piece would not have that option.

I am not trying to track the finish on the tools, just the marking. I suspect that there was little appearance work done on tools during the War, as it did not affect the utility of the tool, and the labor savings would be put into production of more tools.

My theory is that early in the War Plomb wanted to point out that it was cutting back on appearance in order to support the war effort. Later, everyone was aware of that, and it made sense to save the labor and cost of marking the tools for War Finish. I am just trying to get a better idea of when they quit using that marking.

I am also trying to get people to notice if their rough finish tools have date codes.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

[kali77]

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this pair if pliers I have have no markings accept that logo

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[Leviton]

First, the "-C" code is 1943, not '42. If you go to my site and simply type War Finish in the search you will find a couple pages of them. .

OK. This is reaching back in time a bit, but I was researching Plomb War Finish and came across this thread. Twertsy, where could I find your site that you referenced above?

Thanks,

 

[d42jeep]

Twertsy’s site is down and has been for some time while he works to get it repaired. In reviewing this thread, I see that I never posted any of my War Finish Plomb so I’ll post some now. As with the bulk of the other examples shown, the second letter on all of mine is “C”.
-Don