Wrench manufacturer identification help

[_brian_]

This is a duplicate post, I originally posted in the general room and was advised to post it again here as it is more appropriate.

Does anyone have an idea on what the manufacturer of this wrench might be? I did communicate with the seller and they believe it is Craftsman, but I do not believe so. If you look at the letter we can identify as a "T", the letter to the left of it would need to be a "F". Given that there is vertical bulk of the letter on the right side middle, this cannot be the letter "F".

Vintage Craftsman? black finish 8" Adjustable Wrench Forged in USA WWII era | eBay

From the estate of a friend and tool collector. It seems like it has been taken apart for cleaning and the shim washer in the scroll wheel got lost, I added a washer I had handy but it needs a slightly thicker one (maybe. 005 to. 010 thicker).

www.ebay.com

In case the listing disappears, I am attaching image.

 

[MR.X]

Bro, I'm not seeing a "T" ...are you looking at the red instead of the yellow?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Does anyone have an idea on what the manufacturer of this wrench might be?

There's not enough there to hazard a guess on the sticker, for me, but note that Sears (Craftsman) would not have been the manufacturer, in any case, and the sticker may not and I would suggest probably does not indicate the OEM. OEM markings would typically be forged-in. That looks like a generic third party production for the retailer to put a sticker on. Based on the hex throat, the shank, and un-reinforced hanging hole (which looks like it may have been grinded for some reason), maybe Crescent. Maybe Utica.

 

[_brian_]

Yes, you are correct. My question would have been better asked as the brand/manufacturer.... who's product is/was it.

 

[RTM]

I see a white oval, then CR... In yellow letters

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Gotcha. The sticker is showing just enough to mockingly blow at the cobwebs, but not enough to make a connection.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

MR. X and RTM's posts are helpful. I DO see the yellow letters now. Did CRAFTSMAN use a red background/yellow letters in a long oval scheme? I can't answer that.

 

[_brian_]

Yes, looking at the other color does for sure change things, LOL! Yellow does in fact look like the letter color vs red. I am still not sure I can see Craftsman spelled there, but it does invalidate my initial reasoning.

 

[RTM]

Kinda like this

Rubin's Vase - The Illusions Index

The Illusions Index is a fully searchable curated collection of illusions brought to you by the Centre for the Study of Perceptual Experience.

www.illusionsindex.org

 

[humber2]

I think the wrench is early postwar German, not stamped with a maker or supplier but an add on sticker.

What’s the consensus on how many letters in the name?

I suspected Draper as a possibility but I cannot fit it to the spacing.

 

[Zrxrunner]

I was leanin towards german import too. Craftsman has had lots of different markings, but dont think ive ever seen one without a made in USA or USA mark somewhere. Not sayin there arent some out there without USA, just sayin its rare

 

[DadsTools]

There's not enough there to hazard a guess on the sticker, for me, but note that Sears (Craftsman) would not have been the manufacturer, in any case, and the sticker may not and I would suggest probably does not indicate the OEM. OEM markings would typically be forged-in. That looks like a generic third party production for the retailer to put a sticker on. Based on the hex throat, the shank, and un-reinforced hanging hole (which looks like it may have been grinded for some reason), maybe Crescent. Maybe Utica.

I'm with Lugz here. Copy of my comment when OP originally posted this thread in the General section:

I agree. I don't think it's a Craftsman either. The finishing grinding of the forging is not very good quality either. Take a look at the countersinking around the hanging hole, and the unevenness of the flats around the recess. If from WW2, this would have been the age of the underline-C logo. WW2 would have almost certainly had USA markings. I've never seen a Craftsman identified with a decal either. It reminds me of the kind of inexpensive product sold to mom-&-pop hardware stores in the day, and the decal may have enabled the mfr to brand it in any way that was requested by the customer. I also agree this should be posted in the Vintage Tool section.

I didn't notice the hex throat that Lugz did, which makes him suspect possibly Crescent or Utica. I felt the workmanship is not good enough to credit the wrench to a major USA manufacturer. It's always possible that it was made under a 'how ****** cheap can you make it' proposition, but even in that scenario it's difficult to explain the lack of a USA mark.

One vague connection might be with the Crescent Niagara when it was acquiring other US tool mfrs in the first half of the 1960s. CN removed the USA mark from at least some of the Billings adjustables even though they were still being made here, so it's remotely possible that it was made under the CN umbrella without the USA mark. But the workmanship in my opinion is still sub-par for a CN source. I also can't recall if any recognized adjustable mfr was using decals for displaying the only identification marks even on contract as late as the 1960s.

Perhaps it's a cheap Japan importer cheating on the COO mark requirement and applying a decal that might mislead a quick-glance consumer into thinbkinbg it was a Craftsman. I've seen similar Japanese fishing reel knockoffs using such misleading labeling from the 1950s.

 

[RTM]

I think the wrench is early postwar German, not stamped with a maker or supplier but an add on sticker.

I was leanin towards german import too. Craftsman has had lots of different markings, but dont think ive ever seen one without a made in USA or USA mark somewhere. Not sayin there arent some out there without USA, just sayin its rare

This was where my thoughts were going as well. I see a lot of Millers Falls looking spiral screwdrivers marked only Germany, we see the PH style screwdrivers marked only Germany, would not surprise me if it was a Spiegel Brother Tool

Spiegel Brothers : Steelcraft Products : Catalog No. 20 : Spiegel Brothers Corp. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

98 p., illus., 22.8 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

Spiegel Brothers : Steelcraft Products : Catalog No. 20 : Spiegel Brothers Corp. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

98 p., illus., 22.8 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

(and look, Auto Kit at the bottom)

 

[d42jeep]

Change the markings a little and it could have come out of the same factory as these German Dunlaps.
-Don

 

[DadsTools]

I seem to recall that the trade laws requiring a COO mark also allowed that mark to be on a label instead of the item itself. It may be that the COO mark was on a part of the label that's missing.

 

[_brian_]

Thanks all for the replies and thoughts.