Recent content by KENAXE

That Blackhawk in the picture (GW-9945) is the same one that’s in my set, which are all 45 tooth. The one shown in the catalog (GW-9998) is the earlier 60 tooth version. Don’t quote me on this, but as I recall, those were made until about 1971 and everything after that were the 45 tooth ones. I...

I’ve only seen a couple of the quick release ones. I don’t recall seeing a Blackhawk one though. That’s definitely rare. Quite a while back, I ran across a 3/8 drive quick release rebuild kit for those. And yes, it does make sense that if the Penncraft brand was trying to tap into the Craftsman...

That’s quite a collection. I do remember seeing those Giller versions too. Way back, they also made that ratchet for a while for Penncraft, which was a JC Penney brand to compete with Craftsman. I’m guessing that you probably know that already. In fact, based on the size of your collection, I...

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it. As I recall, Stanley acquired MAC in 1980 and Proto in 1984. Then, as previously mentioned, Blackhawk and Husky in 1986. And yes, that Stanley ratchet in the link does in fact look like a MAC re-brand. I never saw one like that before. After seeing the...

After finding a little more information since my original post, I agree with you that the Thorsen in your pictures and my Blackhawk ones were made by National Hand Tool or possibly at that same plant by Stanley later on. On eBay, I’ve seen a couple of complete Blackhawk 3/8 drive socket sets...

I didn’t expect to see any replies after this long. After reading your response and my original post, I realized that I posted the wrong model number for that early 90’s era thumb-wheel Taiwan made ratchet. It was the 34945A, as shown in your pictures, which was the same version as the...

Interesting. I didn't know that Stahlwille made those in different thicknesses. I have a couple sets of their double open end wrenches that I keep with my main tools at home. I think they're called Motor 10. They come in handy sometimes because they're thinner than a regular wrench, but not as...

I would agree with one of the earlier posts in this thread from Al Borland about the New Britain Kilness ratchets. I have a set of the Blackhawk ones made by New Britain that I really like. The head on the 3/8 drive one is a little big, but it still gets used occasionally. They're very smooth...

I wasn't reading a bunch of threads about them being thicker because there were no threads about that. I specifically said in the beginning post that this was the one thing that I wasn't able to find any mention of. And I'm not talking about super thin wrenches like the Capris. Those are...

KnurledNut, you’re absolutely right about field work being a whole different animal. You try to do more with less. It’s extremely difficult to put together a working set of tools that will cover everything you’ll need (hopefully) while making it portable, meaning light enough to carry and as few...

I’ve been reading through a lot of threads here about the Milwaukee Max Bite combination wrenches and haven’t found anything related to this particular question. Let me give you the backstory first. I found a good deal on both the SAE and metric sets, so I bought them. My plan was to replace my...

I just bought a set of these LP90's too. I figured it was worth a try with the steals and deals price. Mine also have some of the previously mentioned issues. The 1/2" seems fine. It has light back drag, ratchets smoothly / evenly and the selector switch operates easily. The 3/8" has heavier...

I posted this under both “General Tool Discussion” as well as “Vintage Tool Discussion” to try to reach as many of you as I could. I’m on a quest to find some information that I hope someone here can provide. I have a set of New Britain Blackhawk ratchets that I’m trying to pin down a...

I posted this under both “General Tool Discussion” as well as “Vintage Tool Discussion” to try to reach as many of you as I could. I’m on a quest to find some information that I hope someone here can provide. I have a set of New Britain Blackhawk ratchets that I’m trying to pin down a...

Thanks, I’ve thought about that one too. I actually have the Tuff 1 version of that, which I don’t like at all. The head on that thing is huge and even though the handle is longer and knurled, it’s very thin, almost “dainty” looking and feeling. I realize that the classic version you’re...