Unknown tool brand.
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gdocktor3
Well-known member
I believe government contract tools made by SK. I have a few sockets by them.
four.cycle
Well-known member
JS Technologies, 1000 Mcfarland 400 Boulevard, Alpharetta GA 30004-7729
From what I have been able to gather, primarily a defense/GSA contract supplier.
Possibly now part of the Apex Group. (not confirmed.)
I don't believe it's made by S-K.
The sockets look more like Easco.
But... their model 11000 1/4" drive RHFT ratchet more closely resembles a 1060C Challenger, so.... who knows?
Other possibilities: outsourced from KAL/Proamerica OR maybe they actually made that socket themselves.
(This week I'm leaning more toward Proto/Challenger group.)
11000 JS ratchet second from bottom here:
Just made me remember that I've got one of those 1/2" drive wobblies - came in a set - not a bad unit.
From what I have been able to gather, primarily a defense/GSA contract supplier.
Possibly now part of the Apex Group. (not confirmed.)
I don't believe it's made by S-K.
The sockets look more like Easco.
But... their model 11000 1/4" drive RHFT ratchet more closely resembles a 1060C Challenger, so.... who knows?
Other possibilities: outsourced from KAL/Proamerica OR maybe they actually made that socket themselves.
(This week I'm leaning more toward Proto/Challenger group.)
11000 JS ratchet second from bottom here:
Just made me remember that I've got one of those 1/2" drive wobblies - came in a set - not a bad unit.
Last edited:
JS Technologies was a division of Danaher. They were the division that made the torque wrenches that are now made by Apex. Their address was the one on the old torque wrench owners manual that you called for service and calibration. They also made ratchet sets. I had a 1/4" set at work. It may well have been made under a govt. contract. I had nice chat with a lady at JS, after the local SK retailer tried to tell me that their JS torque wrenches were made to a higher standard that the Huskies at HD. She told me the names if all the companies they manufactured for and said they were identical except for a plastic or upgrade metal handle. Today the company seems to have a different direction.
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Interesting, I was just looking for this info as I came accross a 1" inch socket with the same enigmantic markings.
At first I thought it was a junk socket, but when I put it on a bolt to check it out it seemed halfway decent. Then I saw the markings and was wondering.
It was a 12pt so I was thinking it might be mil-spec, but couldn't really find any info on it.
Maybe its fair to say its craftsman/armstrong quality? (give or take a little bit depending on the era...)
At first I thought it was a junk socket, but when I put it on a bolt to check it out it seemed halfway decent. Then I saw the markings and was wondering.
It was a 12pt so I was thinking it might be mil-spec, but couldn't really find any info on it.
Maybe its fair to say its craftsman/armstrong quality? (give or take a little bit depending on the era...)
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
another brand that I had never heard of, thanks for the info. and thanks for the op.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Although it is true that of a given Government tool set must be 52% US Made currently, there's no rhyme or reason as to what you get from GSA Global supply. You might order ratchets on three different occasions and end up with three different brands ranging from KT Pro (Taiwan made) to Armstrong or Proto.
However, back to the JS Tool Brand. I have seen SK made tools stamped as JS. Nothing recent though. You'd have to go back to the mid 1990's or earlier when an SK 1/2 drive breaker bar had a soft grip rubber handle.
I've always thought of the JS brand as being a way of dodging a manufacturer's warranty with tools coming from several different manufacturers.
However, back to the JS Tool Brand. I have seen SK made tools stamped as JS. Nothing recent though. You'd have to go back to the mid 1990's or earlier when an SK 1/2 drive breaker bar had a soft grip rubber handle.
I've always thought of the JS brand as being a way of dodging a manufacturer's warranty with tools coming from several different manufacturers.
mikebaker1129
Well-known member
Some of the JS tools I have seen were SK Facom era,because they were the Tuff 1 series and some of the other JS tools I have seen were identical to Stanley made ratchets.
As mentioned,they are/ were a Military supplier.
As mentioned,they are/ were a Military supplier.
In the contrary, They made the SK torque wrenches for them and half the tool world They were a Danaher division at one time. Read my post. I actually communicated with them.
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four.cycle
Well-known member
6PTsocket said:
So, since you've actually managed to make contact with them, please clarify for me: JS Technology is/was a division of Danaher currently?
My understanding from poking around on the web trying to pin down who they were was that they are currently part of the Apex Tool Group.
Can you shed a little more light on that?
I have two of the little 1/4" drive SAE socket sets - supposedly a "small arms repair kit" made for the military. Here are four examples so you can get a good look:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-4-Drive-S...:g:xGYAAOSwtnpXnpSc&item=182360009735&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/A1-JS-USA-1...:g:xGYAAOSwtnpXnpSc&item=182398080900&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-JS-...284367?hash=item23796170cf:g:SPMAAOSwImRYVbgF
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAE-1-4-Dri...899416?hash=item25b7e308d8:g:FhAAAOSwYlJW3DT4
Note that on three of those (you can't see the fourth) the selector knob on the back side of the ratchet is black. On mine (shown above) it is chromed, and appearance-wise looks more like the Challenger 1060C than an S-K 40970:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/proto-chall...:g:LokAAOSwh2xX~uRm&item=122276351529&vxp=mtr
^ This is why I said above I'm thinking they outsourced their stuff from Proto, but maybe my perception is skewed.
In the hand, it certainly appears to be top-notch stuff: nice chrome, well finished, ratchet is super-smooth.
There's all kinds of JS 1/2" drive SAE stuff listed on Ebay that's military surplus. Way cheap, but almost all of it's engraved.
I just remembered that with that JS 1/2" drive universal joint that came in a kit I also got a 1/2" drive extension, which is very nice. - heavy, bright chrome (like Proto or Challenger.) Neither of those pieces look anything like S-K: curvature on extension where shank meets drive head isn't even close. I cannot imagine S-K re-tooling dies to supply another company, but maybe that's just me.
gdocktor3
Well-known member
In my opinion they look like Armstrong sockets, aka Apex. I've just read on here before some of their stuff was made by SK.
four.cycle
Well-known member
I don't own any Armstrong or Apex, so I can't make a hands-on comparison here. 
XxToolAholicxX
Well-known member
Just learned something today.. Thanks
All of the Danaher hand tool divisions, Armstrong, Jacobs chuck, KD, Allen, etc. (they have many other companies) were merged with the entire Cooper Group (Lufkin, Weller, Plumb, Crescent, etc.) to form a jointly owned corporation called Apex. Subsrquently they sold Apex to Bain Capital, the current owner.
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I suspect that when JS supplied torque wrenches to SK, SK used their own ratchet head. It is, after all only held with a pin and a clip. The one on the Husky and ATD were different. Later versions of the torque wrench came through with a 3 wing knob. They made a lot of the Sears stuff too. As I recall KD got red handles. There are cosmetic differences between brands. Danaher used to say on thejr site that they were a Sears partner. I think that meant a trusted supplier.
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mikebaker1129
Well-known member
In my opinion they look like Armstrong sockets, aka Apex. I've just read on here before some of their stuff was made by SK.
You would be correct,some of it was made by SK during the Facom era ,my JS 2000 3/8 drive ratchet is identical to a SK tuff1 sans the name. I have other JS tools like shown in some of the pictures above that were clearly made by one of the Stanley companies. Could it be that JS had more than 1 tool company make some of their tools for them ?
four.cycle
Well-known member
mikebaker1129 said:
Mongomery Ward had no less than three suppliers of hand tools within a 10-year period stamping out "Powr Kraft", so it's reasonable possibility that JS would outsource from different manufacturers.
Also, the one I was looking at was flank drive, unlike some of those earlier ones (geometric true hex). At some stage it appears they were using different tooling, regardless of OEM.
Maybe this just goes to show how gov't business is sometimes all about the contracts/connections and not about actually doing work.
DSLTRK
Well-known member
Definitely Stanley.
Correct, but not these. 'JS' were made to TUFF ONE specs back in the 90s.
Bingo, these are Stanley forged tools. The knurled retaining pin in the universal, and overall light stamping give them away.
In my opinion they look like Armstrong sockets, aka Apex. I've just read on here before some of their stuff was made by SK.
Close, but read above.
Al Borland
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2016
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I have a few old sockets with "JS" on them. Always thought it meant "Junk Socket"