Hollow Handle (Wooden, also Steel) Combination Tool and Bits

[Private Lugnutz]

I picked up this c. 1880's Fray's at the flea market today.

Here is an excerpt from an 1886 Bonney catalog.

These early combination or multi-tools aren't terribly rare or super valuable, but they don't often show up complete or near-complete or in very good condition in my experience. Usually the wooden threads on the cap or the handle are stripped and the bits are missing. Many collectors mistake them for file holders. I know a few of us have later versions, with composite handles, popularized in the late 40's and 50's, by companies such as Standard Pressed Steel (see "Hollowell") in Jenkintown, PA. Hard to believe they go back this far, but they do. Mr. Fray lived in Bristol, Connecticut and had many patents to his name, including this one, 282,712, granted August 7, 1883. Link to patent on USPTO website is here.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

That is a nice complete combo tool Lugz and you're right, they are kind of hard to find complete. I have a wood capped one marked JS Fray & Co. but with mostly chisel and gouge type attachments and likely not all of them. Ed.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice that it's marked. Also, yours is a much better example of the ad with the cocobolo wood and the nickel-plated ferrule. I suspect mine is later.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I have a '30s Fray as well as a couple each of the modern Cluthe' , the green and the bigger orange handles. With the 1/4" hex, they are now obsolete so when I see the bits at the fleamarket, I pick them up.

 

[bbbarracuda]

I have a couple of these. One is marked Mfg by Buell Bros. Clinton Conn I can make out the PATD but no date.
The other is unmarked, but it is a very dark wood.
Any guesses of age or maker of the darker one?
Thanks

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The dark one is almost certainly cocobolo wood. If you've ever seen Red Devil or other paint scrapers, that dark wood on those handles was cocobolo. The Buell's is interesting, because they had their own patent for a hollow handle awl and other bits tool with a steel "swinging top". See the page on the right below from the Bonney 1886 catalog. It was pinned and instead of twisting on or off with threads, it simply rotated to the left or right to open or close. So it looks, oddly, like they were making their own handles and also Fray patent handles, probably licensed.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Nice that you posted that 2nd catalog cut showing the No. 2 Fray set Lugz. Looks like what I've got and now I know I'm missing the saw blade and the screwdriver bit. I posted the pics I took a couple years ago when I picked mine up at the Portland swap meet. I just went out to the shop to see if it was marked No. 2 but couldn't remember where I put the damn thing....Too many hiding spots. It'll come to me. Ed.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice that you posted that 2nd catalog cut showing the No. 2 Fray set Lugz.

Glad to oblige (if accidentally)! I should've noticed that sooner, sorry. Looking forward to you finding it. I agree, it sure looks like the No. 2. Cool that we have an example of both of them.

 

[Rick B.]

There must have been several companies up in Connecticut making them. I have this one made by Sargent & Co. patented on Aug,12,1884 by G.W. Wright in New Haven, Ct. Almost identical. Wright too had several patents in his name on behalf of Sargent & Co. He and Fray probably knew each other!

It's so cool knowing that 135 years ago some guy was holding and using this tool. He's gone but his tool handle remains. I wonder who'll have my tools 135 years from now.

View media item 97045
View media item 97319

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I don't have enough interest at the moment to read all the patents to ascertain what distinguishes them, but it's funny how companies manage to find something the USPTO board determines unique, even though they all "look" the same.

 

[bbbarracuda]

There must have been several different manufacturers, I've got another one with no markings. It has a knurled nut to hold the attachments. The collet is split into fourths, where the others are split in half. I'm guessing it is more recent than the others.

 

[woody 73]

Private very nice.

By any chance would you know when Mr. Fray was born or when he died?

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Here is a bit of info on John S Fray Woody. Born in England in 1833 and came to USA in 1851. Died in 1916. Ed.

England
1851- John is 17 yrs of age.He is with his family in Camborne, Cornwall, England.He works in a Safety Fuse Factory.
1859- John began manufacturing Spofford braces in a partnership with a gentleman named Horace Pigg.**See files**.He also over the years made his own patent(s).
1870- John is 38 yrs of age.He is with his children, Mary 14, Joseph 12 and Emma 8.His occupation is listed as steel works.They live in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Conn.
1880- John S is 48 yrs of age.He is with his wife Rebecca N 28.They live in Stratford, Fairfield, Conn.John is a Machinist.With them are Joseph 21, Emma 17 and Etta 5.Next door is Samuel and Emma.
Bridgeport, Connecticut Directories, 1890-91 about John S. Fray; Joseph T. Fray
Name: John S. Fray; Joseph T. Fray
Location 1: Crescent avenue n Seaview avenue and railroad track, East End
City: Bridgeport
State: CT
Occupation: bit brace and hardware mfrs.
Year: 1891
Business Name: Fray John S. & Co.

 

[Boringgeoff]

My three examples of Frays Hollow Handle tool holders. All markings are on the ferrules, No 2 "FRAY'S PAT. AUG. 7 1883" of the pair of No 1's the upper says "J S & J FRAY'S PAT. BRIDGEPORT. CI. USA" J Fray is Johns son Joseph and this is the only Fray tool I've seen exhibiting his initial. The lower reads "PAT. APPL'D FOR". The tools do not appear to have any model numbers on them.
The catalogue pages are from Frays Catalogue No 26 dated 1911 by which time Fray had been bought out by Stanley and the tool handle had been in production for 28 years, thousands of them must have been made.
The cat' photos are hard to read,so if you want clarification I'm happy to oblige.
Cheers,
Geoff.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, Geoff. If you could summarize any differences or changes in the specifications between the descriptions in the 1886 catalog I posted in posts #1 and #6 and the descriptions in the 1911 catalog you have attached, that would be helpful.

Also, I am not sure how you're attaching photos or why they're only appearing as links, but if you want your photos to appear as Thumbnails below the post, use the [Go Advanced] button and then [Manage Attachments]. If you want them to appear in the post itself, then copy and paste the URL after you've attached them.

 

[thehorse13]

I found one of these a few years ago and never knew much about it. Thanks for the detailed write-up, which tells me that mine is a complete set too.

 

[Boringgeoff]

Thanks for the advice Lugz but still can't get my photos up any other than this which I also find quite annoying. I haven't got a lot going for me, a bit Neanderthal and from Western Australia, initials WA, which the rest of Aus' reads as Wait Awhile.
I have redone pages 32, 35, 36 and 37 to enable them to be more easily read.
There are two differences with the No 1 between the 1886 Bonney cat' and the 1911 Fray version with the addition in the latter of a reamer and the tools are facing the other way up. Yet the same number of tools depicted and the price, $12.00 per dozen in both cases. No mention is made of No 1-A or 1-B but No 1-C has a knurled locking nut and the same tools as No 1.

Cheers,
Geoff.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks for the summary, Boringgeoff.

 

[LesserSon]

I have a couple of these. One is marked Mfg by Buell Bros. Clinton Conn I can make out the PATD but no date.
The other is unmarked, but it is a very dark wood.
Any guesses of age or maker of the darker one?
Thanks

My Buell is like yours (twist-off cap) - not like the ad Lugz posted with the eccentric pivot cap. So that missing patent date/number must be for the holding mechanism. This is definitely not cocobolo: some lightweight native wood, maybe poplar, basswood/linden, hackberry...
Somewhere I’ve got another, rusted holder - no idea what mfr.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Linking an 1886 patent Millers Falls that Outlaw found and posted in the 2019 Garage Sale thread, here.

 

[RTM]

There were several versions of the tool sets over the years, with about 6 to about 12 tools inside. I think the Millers Falls catalogs showed various examples. Bits are the thing to watch for, like with Yankee push drills and screwdrivers

 

[Outlawmws]

Hi Lugs,

minor Typo - the patent is 1868 not 88.

I think I had some luck finding the patent by year... Exact date is Jan 14 1868

http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?pn=73279&id=5692



Copied my post from the GS thread:


the "multi-tool" closeup:

Turns out its a Millers Falls (VERY hard to read even with a magnifier)

And patented in 1868! - Again hard to read - Sorry! (Edit: Jan 14, 1868 - see above)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Bumping this for someone who is looking for it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up an interesting variant of this type of early self-contained bit tool at the flea market this morning. It was made by Sargent & Company. No branding on it anywhere, but the patent date (August 12, 1884) refers to 303,478/Wright, which concerns an improvement on the construction and manner in which the tapered socket halves open and close on each other with a sleeve, notched bar, and spring, as opposed to the screwing motion of the Fray and Buell patents. Mr. Wright was an assignor for Sargent.

 

[Outlawmws]

That's a nice one Lugz!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks. The finish on the handle and the condition of the bits is exceptional. The chuck has some wear, but yeah, it's the nicest one I have now.

 

[LesserSon]

This isn’t the right type of toolholder, but I an hoping someone has seen something I have not. I had posted this on the GS thread when I pucked it up, but not until I looked at my own photo did I notice a patent notice lurking under the rust. Scraped it off and started on DATAMP with no success. Okay. Rolled up my pant cuffs and waded into USPTO. 262 patents issued on 22Apr1873. I looked at every one and do not see this device. Closest match to my poor, tired eyes is 138020, Hammond & Tucker’s loom shuttle binder!

The mechanism seems to be a hooked lever with a spring action, to retain a tapered square shaft with (presumably) a notch. I think I have a bracebit with such a notch somewhere, and possibly seen a bitbrace with a similar bayonet-style retention mechanism.

Thoughts?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The mechanism seems to be a hooked lever with a spring action, to retain a tapered square shaft with (presumably) a notch. I think I have a bracebit with such a notch somewhere, and possibly seen a bitbrace with a similar bayonet-style retention mechanism.

After reading your description of how the toolholder seems to work, and the patent, it seems like it's possible, LS, but sort of a stretch, in my opinion. Mechanically, the only pieces that would seem to be even remotely similar are a hook and a notch. In the loom-shuttle binder, it seems as if the action is provided by the pressure of a finger. And presumably, that's how one would release the tool from the holder, with that recessed panel in the elongated ferrule, if I am following you. It's not unheard of but certainly unusual for patent due diligence to cross industries like that. Also, it seems like a mechanism that would've been common to many things, not so unique so as to prompt a patent notice on a tool holder. Just my initial $.02.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Like many of you guys, I like to hunt and find antique and vintage tools in the wild. When the wild tests your patience - and wins, it can be satisfying to buy on eBay. And I have also been known to make long-distance purchases of hard-to-find things that generous colleagues tip off to me on their local CL, LetGo, and other type sites. But nothing is quite as rewarding as making trades with fellow GJ members when it works out.

Last week bbbarracuda found a Frank Mossberg No. 14 socket set in need of some DOE wrenches that fit into their respective slots in the lid with a few other accessories. In exchange, he sent me this - my first Buell Brothers. See Pic 1 & 2.

Shown with my others - a Fray's Patent (post #1) and a Sargent & Company (post #24), in Pic 3. As noted previously on this thread, these tools all seem like they look the same, but there are minor yet distinctive differences in the chuck mechanisms and the adjusting wings.

 

[pfaustus]

I think of those tool handles as the predecessors of Sears' annual Christmas gimmick tool, manufactured to be sold as presents from those who do not know better.

 

[bbbarracuda]

Like many of you guys, I like to hunt and find antique and vintage tools in the wild. When the wild tests your patience - and wins, it can be satisfying to buy on eBay. And I have also been known to make long-distance purchases of hard-to-find things that generous colleagues tip off to me on their local CL, LetGo, and other type sites. But nothing is quite as rewarding as making trades with fellow GJ members when it works out.

Last week bbbarracuda found a Frank Mossberg No. 14 socket set in need of some DOE wrenches that fit into their respective slots in the lid with a few other accessories. In exchange, he sent me this - my first Buell Brothers. See Pic 1 & 2.

Shown with my others - a Fray's Patent (post #1) and a Sargent & Company (post #24), in Pic 3. As noted previously on this thread, these tools all seem like they look the same, but there are minor yet distinctive differences in the chuck mechanisms and the adjusting wings.

Glad I could help you and also myself. According to my USPS app the wrenches should get here tomorrow. Looking forward to them
Thanks again for the trade!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I think of those tool handles as the predecessors of Sears' annual Christmas gimmick tool, manufactured to be sold as presents from those who do not know better.

Definitely back of the catalog type items. Handsome, well-made, and first class (rosewood or cocobolo handles, tool-steel hardened in oil, and nickel-plated ferrule, chuck, and clamping nut) back of the catalog items, and catalogs published as far back as the late 1800's at that, but back of the catalog items for sure. No worries, though, I would never hold your aesthetics and sensibilities against you. Different strokes and all that.

EDIT: Thinking ahead, I guess I won't have to worry about you scooping me on these at the flea on Thursdays! Haha.

Glad I could help you and also myself.

Yessir!

 

[pfaustus]

[QUOTE
EDIT: Thinking ahead, I guess I won't have to worry about you scooping me on these at the flea on Thursdays! Haha.


Yessir![/QUOTE]

Definitely pretty, but I never found the slightest use for one. I sold one of the two I had, and the other is in the for sale pile. So, no worries.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Definitely pretty, but I never found the slightest use for one.

My affection for these and similar tools goes deeper and well beyond their cosmetic appeal. Maybe it's the engineer in me. For me, elegance goes beyond beauty. I appreciate designs that merit efficiency as much as effectiveness, that seek to balance form, fit, and function. The degree to which they achieve it is relative. For pure use I have a modern Leatherman, a Gerber MUTT, a Klein 15-in-1, and probably a few other similar multi-tools located in the garage, my vehicles, and a backpack - but I could care less what they look like. I have slightly more modern vintage versions of the Fray, Sargent, and Buell hollow wooden handled multi-tools, with composite handles, such as the Standard Pressed Steel "Hallowell" with the black composite handle and the 3-way offset head, and the unbranded all-steel example with the tap hammer shown in the pics below. But those and everything else I hastily grabbed as examples of this particular collecting funny bone are retired from use in places of honor under glass or a high dry shelf in the Lugzsonian.

EDIT: Shorter and sweeter: I'm an unabashed sucker for these kinds of collectibles! HAHA.

 

[RTM]

I like the German made tube, right hand side, I’ve had one for years, never seen a second bit, or another, in all my tool watching since. I have a few of the tool handles, but most will never get used either. Just a fun memory from another time. I have a ruler protractor something combo that used to go on flea runs, but never found a need to haul it out to measure a chisel or plane iron, or the blade angle of a plane. Someday.

 

[four.cycle]

Private Lugnutz -
"Buell" is a new entry in my list.
Would I be correct in assuming that the applicable patent on that unit you just got is 289501 ?
(Looks like Mr. Buell invented more than one widget, but I'm having a difficult time getting my head wrapped around the one using patent 267060 )
I have that same Park Metalware set you've got there in that photo.
Is that a "Hall-O-Well" unit there in the center with the black handle? Not sure I recognize that model.

=

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I like the German made tube, right hand side, I’ve had one for years, never seen a second bit, or another, in all my tool watching since.

Yup. GJ member COL911 has an anodized OD green example marked "Bundeswehr".

"Buell" is a new entry in my list.
Would I be correct in assuming that the applicable patent on that unit you just got is 289501 ?
(Looks like Mr. Buell invented more than one widget, but I'm having a difficult time getting my head wrapped around the one using patent 267060 )

Yes, it has the 289,501 screw-type chuck or collet mechanism. Marked only "PAT'D", no number or date though, along with "MFD. BY BUELL BRO." / "CLINTON, CONN." And I'm not sure I understand his earlier patent either. It looks like maybe you push the push-button spring mechanism to load a new bit and when you release it, it's captive. But I haven't read the patent.

Is that a "Hall-O-Well" unit there in the center with the black handle? Not sure I recognize that model.

Yessir. It's a No. 25 Socket Set Key Kit. That button on the side allows you to re-position the head at 0*, 45*, or 90*. You can see more of it on the HallOwell thread, linked here.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I have a couple Hall-O-Well units, but mine are square drive. I was not aware they made any hex drive stuff, which is what that set appears to be. I'll check out the other thread.

.... and speaking of "Multi-tool"....

I just acquired another oddity... it's in transit at the moment... and with the other specimens turning up lately I'm wondering if a "multi tool" thread might be appropriate.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

They are spread out now between this thread (antique, wooden handled awl and other bits), the HallOwell thread (vintage), and various brand specific antique combination tools, eaxh with their own thread, such as the Civil War era Thayer patent, the DOE wrench saw/tap handle, and the I.B. Tripp adjustable wrench/screwdriver in my pic above, and many others. There're even some in my Oddfellows thread. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to have a specific consolidated thread. It would have a lot of redundancies at first, but then be a good place for them.

 

[Provincial]

Post links to appropriate threads or post