Ratchet collection

[joel_400]

Just thought I'd post a pic of the wife's ratchet collection. She started about 5 or 6 years ago when she found a real early SK 45170 3/8 drive at a flea market for 25 cents. Then whenever we we go to a flea market or sale if we found cheap old ratchets we would pick them up. It's a relatively cheap collection if you try to buy nonworking, usually gummed up old ratchets. The most expensive was the Herbrand speed ratchet due to the fact we were at an auction in Fremont Oh where they were made. She's got everything from Action to Thorsen. She has a Japanese knockoff of an sk which I believe is the only aisin ratchet she has. I've learned alot with this collection due to the fact that I've repaired probably 90 percent of them.
Joel

 

[Shelbylex]

Nice! You need higher resolution pictures, but I see a few nice pieces there!!!

 

[JjKk40]

Agree, need to take better, clear pics.... I see a bad *** Herbrand in there!

 

[joel_400]

Ok! I'm going to get some better pics today! It'll give me something to do while I get rid of my head cold that's been kicking my ****!

 

[Mintgrun]

I'm going to get some better pics today!

Yay!

 

[joel_400]

Believe it or not she has another box of tools I have yet to find since we've moved recently! But I did get better pics and wrote down what each ratchet is next to them. That way if anybody has questions it'll be much easier to figure out! Here's some pics!

 

[d42jeep]

Nice! The dark finish S-K ratchets look to be WW2 vintage.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

Wow. That "Craft" Japan-made knock-off of the S-K 45170 is really quite a piece of work.... copied right down to the part number.
Here's what the set looked like:

 

[joel_400]

I've had about 90 percent of these ratchets apart to clean and or free them up. I would say that a kit from an sk 45170 would drop right in! Somewhere on the net I read the Craft had some plastic parts internally. This one doesn't so maybe it's been swapped over the years. Hard to tell but feels and works identical to the SK. The set you pictured is proof they copied real good!
Joel

 

[freudianfloyd]

I also have a hard time passing up ratchets at yardsales, even though I have more than I can count. For a few bucks each, it's fun to collect them and see the differences.

 

[joel_400]

It's actually a really cheap item to collect and amazing to see how the internals of different ones have evolved over the years and how similar some new ratchets are to stuff that's 50 or more years old! Everybody looks at me funny when I tell them my wife collects old ratchets. But the guys as work are always interested to see what I got when I walk in with a handful of different ones to tear apart and clean up. I usually get chosen to fix their nonworking ratchets too!
Joel

 

[captain14]

Have you told her about posting the ratchets pictures on GJ?

 

[joel_400]

Have not yet but I'm sure it will be ok! She's actually got more tools than some of the mechanics I work with! She also confinscates all the small tools I find. She's got an old Gertsner box with alot of machinist tools mostly the small stuff she's taken from me! One day I'd like to make a display in the man cave for all of her tools as well!
Joel

 

[PowderKeg]

Well that's maybe the 3rd or 4th Wix I've ever seen, including mine. And the 2nd Herbrand Speedratchet has been on my Wanna list for years - list/sell for stupid money on fleabay so will likely remain there for a long time until I stumble on one in the wild (got the earlier version at an local auction decades ago for maybe $10 or so).

IMHO, if she's gonna continue collecting, best to get a spreadsheet started to keep track of what she has - once one gets past a few hundred it gets increasingly harder to remember what one already has, especially if one is shooting for triple plays (1/4, 3/8, and 1/2) of each brand/model/variation... (Been there, done that, got the T-shirt [and the spreadsheet]}... Ya might want to pick up a pair of 5 drawer flat file cabs or similar down the road, as space is gonna get tight in the roll cab drawers.... Happy hunting!

 

[elidas]

Nice collection!! I like ratchets and have well over 300. Most were around $1.

 

[wrenchr]

Well that's maybe the 3rd or 4th Wix I've ever seen, including mine. And the 2nd Herbrand Speedratchet has been on my Wanna list for years - list/sell for stupid money on fleabay so will likely remain there for a long time until I stumble on one in the wild (got the earlier version at an local auction decades ago for maybe $10 or so).

IMHO, if she's gonna continue collecting, best to get a spreadsheet started to keep track of what she has - once one gets past a few hundred it gets increasingly harder to remember what one already has, especially if one is shooting for triple plays (1/4, 3/8, and 1/2) of each brand/model/variation... (Been there, done that, got the T-shirt [and the spreadsheet]}... Ya might want to pick up a pair of 5 drawer flat file cabs or similar down the road, as space is gonna get tight in the roll cab drawers.... Happy hunting!

Nice to see you still collecting those ratchets!!