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

[Private Lugnutz]

It didn't take too long to discover that the same ornamentally filigreed all metal awl handle shown in Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. 1891 is shown in Stanley 1877 through 1892. Note that the Clement patent diagram is not ornamentally filigreed and does not mention metal. It is a functionally oriented patent. Note further that it does resemble the image of the awl handle shown in Stanley 1867, the year it was patented by Clement. In Stanley 1870 through 1876, the handle was the Turkey Boxwood composition and shape. Looks the fancy jobbie first showed up in Stanley 1877. One little piece of data favoring Stanley as the mfgr is Clement's address: New Britain, CT. His address for his earlier awl handle patent (17,078 / April 21, 1857, no record of it in DATAMP) was Worcester, NY. Not definitive (due to the no assignments) and does not explain why HSB&Co. was also selling the exact same awl handle at the same time as Stanley, but more data anyway.

EDIT: Note that Clement's 1867 patent expired in 1884.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I'm lost here. Why wouldn't HIbbard Spencer Bartlett & Co. be outsourcing the unit from Stanley?
What am I missing here?

Further expounding on my previous post:
I do not recall what the item was - some widget that turned up here a couple months ago - that I was having trouble finding a patent number on. The patent year was posted on ebay, Worthpoint, JimBodeTools.com, and a few other sites. Every site I hit showed the same patent year, but no month or day, no patentee name, and no patent number.
As it turned out, it was yet another instance where the wrong information got fed into the loop and was repeated over and over and over until it seemingly became gospel. It wasn't even the right year! (I believe the term is "echo chamber".)
The "citation with no citation" thing is far too common in this business.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

What am I missing here?

Occam says, "Nothing."

 

[RTM]

(I believe the term is "echo chamber".)

"Lazy" also fits.

Just cuz Bode says it, trust but verify. Unless someone shows vintage proof, catalog page, patent listing, etc. just another WAG.


Hell, even Donnelly posts looking for help occasionally (on another forum)

 

[four.cycle]

Okay... I scrolled back up several posts but was still wondering if I'd missed something.

I think this is always going to be an issue in the tool collecting world, driven in part by our instinctively being driven to fill holes with anything at hand - including the proverbial WAG.

I'm not usually "convinced" until I am able to pull a document from USPTO. Hence a lot of "unknown" or "no information" notations in the list (and a lot of "manufacturer unknown" and "Not known to have been produced" entries at datamp.org)

 

[LesserSon]

I picked up this today, just because so many bits were in it. It seems very like the one in @kwigly’s post 123 - domestic hardwood (probably apple), unmarked, left-handed threads, no wings. I’m not done working out rust, so no comment yet about how well it holds those bits.

 

[mostlyplanes]

Has anyone seen a tool handle like this one? I'm trying to find information for the guy that owns it. Thank you!

 

[Beerhippie]

A left-hand threaded chuck Bridgeport HWDE. MFG. I picked out of a box of file handles:



No bits and the end cap is stripped out. I'm amazed that the cap was still with the handle.

Any ideas for repairing the cap threads? It's the female threads that are stripped. I was thinking some wood putty in the cap and wax on the male threads to act as a release.

I'll clean it up and probably use it as a file handle for needle files.

 

[RTM]

Any ideas for repairing the cap threads? It's the female threads that are stripped. I was thinking some wood putty in the cap and wax on the male threads to act as a release

Someone suggested cooking spray (PAM) as the release agent when using epoxy for thread repair. Not sure on wood.

 

[Beerhippie]

Someone suggested cooking spray (PAM) as the release agent when using epoxy for thread repair. Not sure on wood.

I'm trying Durham's Rock Hard Wood Putty with Door-Ease as a release. It's what was on hand. I'll let you know how badly it doesn't work after it sets. Worst case, I now have a fixed handle for small files.

 

[Beerhippie]

As I suspected would happen, I now have a hollow handle with a permanently fixed cap. I think it's a mechanical lock due to the roughness of the wooden threads.

It'll make a fine file handle.

 

[LesserSon]

One of the causes of thread stripping and cap cracking, and I think, your mechanical lock, is that both pieces have a tendancy to shrink out-of-round, so the threads wear (on two sides) if it was used a lot, and the cap cracks if it was not used much.

 

[RTM]

As I suspected would happen, I now have a hollow handle with a permanently fixed cap. I think it's a mechanical lock due to the roughness of the wooden threads.

It'll make a fine file handle.

Here is a backup plan for next time that escaped me the other night. I’ve bought something like this for eggbeater drills that I have not used yet. A pair of metal threaded rings that you can inset where the wood threads used to be. Available from multiple sources. Might have posted these somewhere on here before.

Threaded Rings - for Vessels | Turners Warehouse

Threaded Ring Set consists of one male thread and one female thread. Threaded ring sets are used to make vessels, jars, urns, etc while having metal threads to connect the lid and base. The stepped male ring gives you metal to metal meet up instead of wood to wood. The major diameter on both the...

www.turnerswarehouse.com

 

[WisJim]

Another Fray to add to the discussion. This came in a box of assorted tools from a local sale. I don't think that I have any others with a saw blade like this one has. The cap was cracked and reglued at some time.

 

[WisJim]

I just added two tool handles to my assortment (maybe I should admit it has become a collection). Neither one has any markings, the smaller one has no bits and is not hollow. Actually neither one is hollow the same way so many are in this thread. The one with 12 bits might be a Stanley 305 and the other might be a Stanley No 5 awl handle.

 

[Outlawmws]

That one with the bits under the ferrule is cool!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That one with the bits under the ferrule is cool!

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Hi everyone!

I have a question: only wood & metal hollow handle tools allowed in this thread?

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Outlawmws]

Hi everyone!

I have a question: only wood & metal hollow handle tools allowed in this thread?

Kind regards,
Olli

That's what the subject says. Plastic is too ubiquitous

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...only wood & metal hollow handle tools allowed in this thread?

Hi Olli. As the host, I am inclined to answer with a firm "Yes" to your question, not because I'm biased against other compositions so much as other compositions, such as plastic, tend to be later than vintage in production, from more modern eras.

We actually started out with a focus and title explicitly on wood and only much later added steel when a few examples were found and posted that were contemporaneous to wood models, expanding our understanding of the type in the vintage era.

But I hate to be dictatorial about it and would offer that if you have a hollow handle multi-bits awl and other tools type kit that was made before, oh, say, 1950, that is akin to the wood or steel types in form, fit, and function, but made of some other material, such as plastic, by an old, venerated European tool mfgr, go ahead and post it.

What I want to avoid is an onslaught of modern versions made by modern mfgrs, or, strictly screwdrivers, even if they're vintage. I have a 1942 Long C era Stowell patent Craftsman screwdriver kit with multiple bits stored in a hollow, amber/translucent handle with a screw off cap, linked here, for example, that I have not and would not post here.

I hope that makes sense.

 

[four.cycle]

^ yes.... there are a million variants of plastic-handled "tools stored in the handle" tools. I just sent a miniature "Made in West Germany" model down to Don a few weeks ago.
There are enough of them to warrant a separate thread- made by everybody under the sun, I think.

 

[WisJim]

I was hesitant about adding my last two handles to this thread since they aren't "hollow" in the same way that the rest of them in the thread are, but I figured they were more similar, to most in the thread, and certainly old enough.

 

[LesserSon]

Picked up this Fray & Co today. It has tools in it. I’ll add photos when it’s clean.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The subject of these all-in-one so-called "gentleman's tool kits" have come up on this thread before due to their similarities to the hollow-handle jobbies that are the subject of this thread. The only difference, really, is that the interchangeable bits are usually kept in a wallet-sized case of some kind and the tool itself is usually knife-shaped, not awl-shaped. I have a Krieghoff, in a nice leatherette case, posted in my Lugzsonian thread here. I did not buy this one, which was outrageously priced - despite the handle being busted, but it was so large, complete, and sophisticated, in a real leather case (both sides fold up and snap shut under that handle), I had to take some photos.

 

[four.cycle]

Holy cats! That one is a monster! I finally unloaded that one I had here.
Yes, they usually go for stupid money. Not sure exactly what the big attraction is.
They're kind of cool, but they were produced in massive quantities, so they're hardly "rare" by any metric.
Interesting set-up there the way they have it packaged up like a little folding "briefcase".

 

[kwigly]

After a long scarcity of findings, I found THREE wooden hollow handle tools, with bits, at a yard sale today.
The one on the left is a new one for me, and has most of the bits marked "Preston" [although it closely resembles No.1870 shown in the 1928 Marples catalog]. Some Owner carved rings in the removeable cap, [possibly to add a gripper ring of rubber or string]
The middle one is the same as shown on my post 123, but has more/different bits
The right hand one has "W Marples & Sons, Sheffield" stamped in the nice boxwood handle, [ It only has minor differences to one I showed in post 134, but has a greater selection of bits, (including one mismatched screwdriver bit)]. Nice knurled brass head, but I didn't find this one illustrated in the Marples catalogs I looked at

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The one on the left is a new one for me,...

Me too!

...most of the bits marked "Preston" [although it closely resembles No.1870 shown in the 1928 Marples catalog].

I love the extensive wings on the wingnut! (Shallower on Fray, etc.) I wonder why they have holes.

 

[kwigly]

I love the extensive wings on the wingnut! (Shallower on Fray, etc.) I wonder why they have holes.

The holes are a puzzle. Maybe to use a screwdriver for extra leverage when trying to loosen the head (My difficulty with a stuck head was resolved when I realized it was left hand thread ! )

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found the image you referred to in the 1928 Marples cat, and noted that the wings on the other model with a winged nut on the same page were slighter and had no holes.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Here is a six bitted bit of Swag from way back. It has Compliments of - Dearborn Drug and Chemical Works stamped around the ferrule. It used a thumb screw to secure the bits, which was broke off flush, so I drilled out the stub and stuck in an 8-32 screw. Picked up at one of my favorite coastal Habitat stores for a buck. A tool marked the same is currently for sale on e-bay with claims the company name dates from 1887 - 1905. Ed

 

[Oregon Dave]

After a long scarcity of findings, I found THREE wooden hollow handle tools, with bits, at a yard sale today.
The one on the left is a new one for me, and has most of the bits marked "Preston" [although it closely resembles No.1870 shown in the 1928 Marples catalog]. Some Owner carved rings in the removeable cap, [possibly to add a gripper ring of rubber or string]
The middle one is the same as shown on my post 123, but has more/different bits
The right hand one has "W Marples & Sons, Sheffield" stamped in the nice boxwood handle, [ It only has minor differences to one I showed in post 134, but has a greater selection of bits, (including one mismatched screwdriver bit)]. Nice knurled brass head, but I didn't find this one illustrated in the Marples catalogs I looked at

What a great way to end your 'scarcity' drought !!!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here is a six bitted bit of Swag from way back.

Nice find, Ed. I'm confused about the chuck and I can't readily identify the mfgr., but the marking...

Compliments of - Dearborn Drug and Chemical Works

...is very cool!

A tool marked the same is currently for sale on e-bay with claims the company name dates from 1887 - 1905.

Founded in 1887, the Dearborn Drug and Chemical Works, later the Dearborn Chemical Company, later still, BetzDearborn, Incorporated, was best known for manufacturing water treatment (de- and anti-scaling) chemicals for use in boilers, cooling towers, and steam locomotives. There are ads in fin de siecle trade mags boasting that companies from all around the globe were sending water samples to their facility in Chicago, where they analyzed it and made a custom treatment compound. (The Betz half of the modern merger was just as interesting. Originally named W.H. & L.D. Betz, the firm was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1925 as a partnership between William H. Betz and his son L. Drew Betz. The new firm's first product was K-Gel, a boiler water treatment produced from kelp!)

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Nice find, Ed. I'm confused about the chuck and I can't readily identify the mfgr., but the marking...

The chuck is about as basic as it could get, and yet it holds the bits quite well. Very similar to some vintage wire terminal clamps. I'll change out the screw I'm using for now with a knurled thumb screw if one turns up in my stash. Also thanks for the company history Lugz. They seem to have been quite successful. Ed.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The chuck is about as basic as it could get, and yet it holds the bits quite well.

Thanks for the photo. That makes the mechanism very clear. I like it - and I think it's a FOAK on the thread. I don't recall seeing one before. Now I'm even more curious about the mfgr.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I think this is a FOAK method of bit holding, for hollow handle tools in this thread, that the unknown manufacturer used. Most and possibly all the rest seem to use some form of nut driven compression jaws or collet. I looked it over closely for maker clues but didn't find any other marks.

 

[Eric Brown]

Unmarked, but look similar to others on this thread and also looks a lot like the United Hardware & Tool offering.

.

 

[d42jeep]

Finally gathered most of mine into one location today.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

When I found this box at the flea market this morning...



...with a miscellaneous mess inside - bits with different shaped shanks, obviously different sizes, odd hooks, a saw, and such, and the toolholder with a busted cap...



...I was thinking there's no way they're related, a PO was probably just using the box to keep them all together.

Even when I spotted the "AMIDON" (one of the founders of Millers Falls Co.) on a shred of paper that looks like it may have been a label stuck to the lid, and probably read "BARBER'S AND AMIDON'S BIT AND ADJUSTABLE TOOL HOLDER" (in reference to his partner and fellow patentee)...



...I was skeptical.

The chuck does not look like the Amidon chuck, for starters. It will tighten around all the various bits, regardless of the shank, but seems a little small for the big ones. The bigger bits (chisels) won't fit inside the hollow handle, obviously. The smaller bits will, but they're not all the same mfgr, and what's the point of a hollow handle tool to store the bits if you're just going to put it in a larger box?

But apparently I was wrong.

This is from the 1878 Millers Falls catalog!



That is clearly this box! And not only are the big bits and small bits shown, also a few of the odds and ends bits, including the hook and saw.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The next page in the same catalog shows the handle much better than the page showing it in the box. Note the claim. I'm pretty sure this holder was intended for all these bits and originally goes with them in this box kit!

 

[Outlawmws]

What an awesome find Lugz!