c. 1920-1925 Newton and King Pressed Steel & Mfg Co

Private Lugnutz · Jun 17, 2018

It’s impossible to talk about King Pressed Steel & Manufacturing Company without talking about Newton Pressed Steel & Manufacturing Company - or vice versa.

Why?

Because they shared an address and corporate officers. They obviously also shared machinery, dies, and jigs – because the socket sets they made and sold under their respective company names are identical in every respect.

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Todd (twertsy) and I have been able to piece together their intertwined history and you expect to see much more info on these two on the Tool Archives.

According to Massachusetts state records, Newton Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co. was incorporated first, on Dec 8, 1919, with Amato Pescosolido named as the president. Link here.

According to Iron Weekly: The Management Magazine, Vol 66, 1920, page 1024, King Pressed Steel and Mfg. Co. was incorporated by Joseph P. King in Newton, Mass. a few months later, with $50,000 capital. No street address provided. Other officers of the company were named as Amato Pescosolido (the president of Newton) and Rocco Semintilli. Link here.

The 1920 Abstract of the Certificates of Corporations Organized Under the General Laws of Massachusetts places the exact date as March 16, 1920, and confirms the initial capital. No street address provided. Link here.

Iron Age, Vol 105, 1920, announced that King Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co., “chartered to manufacture automobile accessories and tools,” and currently operating out of “small quarters” at 448 Watertown Street, would be moving into a “plant under construction” at 13 Hawthorne Street. Link here.

King Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co. seemed to be more active than Newton, judging by ads. Here is an example from Automobile Trade Journal, Vol 25, page 37, when the set was coming in a wooden box. Link here.

In 1921, the Automobile Trade Directory, Vol 18, listed the address for King Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co. as 13 Hawthorne Street, Newton, Mass. Link here.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 17, 2018

By 1922, the set came in a “Handy Steel Box” with a wooden insert, and a distinctive checkerboard pattern on the decals inside and out, and was being advertised extensively in Hardware World.

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We haven’t been able to find any ads for Newton Pressed Steel & Mfg Co socket wrench sets, even though we know they were making them.

By the mid 1920’s it looks they were more focused on expanding into other markets. In September 1926 they were one of the exhibitors featured at the 4th Annual Radio Exposition at the Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Link here.

While that L.A. Times article doesn’t say what product Newton Pressed Steel & Mfg Co. was exhibiting, page 1311, Vol 7, of Electronics World (1926), reports that the company had submitted a “Superette Radio Headset” for testing. It also reports that the company was located at 13 Hawthorne Street, Newton, Mass. Link here.

According to the book, Trade Names, Gage Publishing, 1927, Newton Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co., selling “New Tone” headsets, was listed at 13 Hawthorne Street, Newton, Mass. Link here

Note again that 13 Hawthorne Street, Newton, Mass., was the address of King Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co. since 1920.

This is not unusual. Triumph Specialty Company, another early 20’s socket set maker, tried to get into the sewing machine market before they went out of business. With the advent of forged, detachable, heavy-walled, cold-broached sockets from heavyweights like Walden and Blackhawk and others, these small straphangers probably saw the writing on the wall.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 17, 2018

My Newton socket set is a FOAK in the vintage hand tool collecting world, as far as I know, with no references in Cope’s American Wrench Makers, Alloy Artifacts, or any other encyclopedic source in the vintage hand tool collecting domain. AA has a brief write-up for King, with an ad, but no examples.

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The sockets, which are made on a machine, not forged, have a unique shape – resembling Greek urns or diving bells, are internal drive 7/16-inch hex. Both sets have nine (9) 6-point sockets. They have no brand or size markings. The opening sizes are 1/2, 9/16, 19/32, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 25/32, 7/8, and 15/16.

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The ratchet is a 9-tooth female drive and requires male 7/16-inch hex attachments to drive the sockets.

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The attachments – a long extension and an offset extension – also have the ability to be configured as a T- or L-handle, by being plugged into a separate solid handle, knurled on each end.

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A female-to-female connector and a very well-made universal joint complete the set.

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Private Lugnutz · Jun 17, 2018

Here is my King Pressed Steel & Manufacturing socket set.

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While this particular set did not include a ratchet (note that there is no well cut out for it in the wooden holder, as there is in the Newton set), it’s less complete (missing the handle for the bars and the universal joint) than the Newton set, and the offset bar is snapped off from excessive torque, a careful comparison of the boxes and the pieces common to both the Newton and King sets and to the sets illustrated in the King ads demonstrates that the Newton tools and the wood-insert lined metal box they came in are identical to the King products.

Note also that although the shape of the decal on the lid is different, the layout of the wording on it is identical to the Newton set.

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Note further that the address shown in some of the King Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co. ads (“Boston 58, Mass.”) and on the box of their wrench sets is identical to the address on the decal of the Newton Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co. box (“Boston 58, Mass.”).

This address is not, as Alloy Artifacts mistakenly claims, a “different” or second address to the 13 Hawthorne Street address for King. The number “58” was the postal zone code for the Newton area of greater Boston long before ZIP codes were established. All ZIP codes, established in 1963, incorporated these early postal zones. Note that the ZIP code for Newton, Massachusetts is 02458.

Our conclusion is that King Pressed Steel & Manufacturing Company, located in Newton, and Newton Pressed Steel & Manufacturing Company, located at the same address, were dual businesses manufacturing and selling the same products under different brand names. There is zero doubt that Newton Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co. and King Pressed Steel & Mfg. Co. socket drive tools are identical.

According to the February 12, 1928 Newton Graphic newspaper, there was a fire at 13 Hawthorne that destroyed the interior of the building, identifying the occupants as Newton Pressed Steel, and makers of radio loudspeakers. Link here.

Per Massachusetts state records, the company was dissolved a year later. Link here.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 17, 2018

As an intriguing tangent to this story, note that in 1934, a Mr. George Crosby listed 13 Hawthorne Street, Newton, Mass. as his mailing address for his Society of Automotive Engineers’ (S.A.E.) membership roster. Mr. Crosby, a 1929 graduate of M.I.T., listed his occupation as engineer, and his employer as the American Steam Automobile Company. That enterprise was started by a former M.I.T. faculty member named Thomas Derr. Mr. Derr is famous among steam car enthusiasts for the American Steam Car. The car had an original boiler and engine, of Mr. Derr’s design, but the rest of the car was built with parts salvaged from scrapped Hudson and Stanley Steamers, which he re-badged as American Steam cars. Apparently, he was doing it out of King/Newton's former and re-built manufacturing shop. The Automobile Manufacturers Worldwide Registry lists West Newton, Massachusetts as American Steam’s address from 1929 to 1942. Link here and here for more on Derr and American Steam

Private Lugnutz · Jun 17, 2018

Finally, as if two companies selling the same products under two different names wasn’t enough, there is actually third angle to the King/Newton story.

Twertsy has acquired a socket set sold by the Service Engineering Company, also located in the Boston area, with a unique wrench, but sockets and extensions made by Newton/King, in the same metallic case with the same wooden insert as the Newton/King cases.

Service Engineering Company had different officers, and it was located at a different address (568 East First Street Boston 27, Mass.), but it’s clear from a long-distance examination of the Service Engineering Company tools by Todd (compared to photos of my Newton and King sets) and the King/Newton tools by me (compared to photos of Todd’s Service set) that Newton/King Pressed Steel & Manufacturing Company was supplying Service Engineering Company the sockets, extensions, and cases, at the very least.

According to the Volume 108 (1921) of Iron Age, Service Engineering was started on $50,000 preferred stock + 10,000 no value shares, to “manufacture automobile accessories“. Link here.

According to Electrical World, Vol 84 (1924), the President and Treasurer of Service Engineering Company started a different company called the Lewis-Shepard Company, located at the same address, and both men were principals in other enterprises. We believe Service Engineering Company was a very short lived attempt to cash in on the burgeoning automotive toolkit market using King/Newton tools for their products. Link here.

Special shout-out credit mention to GJ member four.cycle who spotted the Service set.

I’m looking forward to Todd adding photos of his Service Engineering Company set to this thread.

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Note: These are two of several sets in my "Early Roaring 20's" collection.
An introductory and index thread can be found here.
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twertsy · Jun 18, 2018

Great writeup Greg, just so you know, I'm stealing it...…...with credits of course :beer:

Here are the pics of my Service Engineering Co. set, missing at least the long extension.

I also took it upon myself to do a bit more digging this morning and wouldn't you know it, I found yet another Boston company selling this socket set and, by all indications, they are also the manufacturer.

Boston Wrench Company (Cambridge, MA) - This company first appears in trade directories for wrenches ca. 1921 located at 17 Tudor. Their final year listed in the directories is 1928. Along with King Pressed Steel & Manufacturing Co., Newton Pressed Steel Co., and Service Engineering Co. (all located in or very near Boston), they also sold the socket set seen in the image below.

Thomas A. Bemus, Eugene F. Bickford, Frank T. Coffin Patent #1578065 - Wrench Set - DATAMP notes manufacture by Boston Auto Tool Company but it could have been any of the 4 companies selling these sets.
In 1927, Iron Age identifies Mr. Coffin as head of the Boston Machine Screw Company. Note the address of the Boston Machine Screw Co. is 17 Tudor.

You can read the writeups on all of these companies in the appropriate directory on TA.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 18, 2018

We really tapped into a whole new mine, not just a new vein, with these sets! So exciting.

twertsy · Jun 18, 2018

Here is another pic of a Boston set from a long lost eBay listing (front).

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Private Lugnutz · Mar 9, 2019

Thanks to Todd's generous nature and his recognition of the transcendent invisible forces that tend to conspire against us sometimes in this hobby, the Service Engineering Company version of these unique socket wrench sets (see posts #6 and #7) has been re-united with its brethren!

Private Lugnutz · Mar 9, 2019

While this Service Engineering set shares many of the same design features as the King and Newton sets (machined Grecian urn shaped sockets; similar handles; identical box and wooden insert), the King and Newton sets are 7/16-inch drive - while the Service set is 1/2-inch drive.

Unlike the King and Newton sets, the sockets in this set are actually marked, with numbers, believe it or not, from "1" to "9" (literally!) The service opening sizes are also slightly different than the other sets: 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 19/32, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, and 1".

Also unique is the uni joint, which is female to female. One end has a 1/2-inch opening, the other end has a 5/8-inch opening. The only way it can be used with the ratchet is in combination with that little adaptor, which is male to male, 1/2-inch to 5/8-inch, and the 1/2-inch drive extension.

The female drive openings in the ratchet, at the midway point of the handle, and the end of the handle are all 1/2-inch drive.

It's missing at least one longer extension.

twertsy · Mar 9, 2019

It knew where it belonged! :beer:

JoCoSawdust · Mar 9, 2019

Amazing joint effort on the research and great presentation. Thanks for the education gents.

JoCoSawdust · Mar 9, 2019

I've tried getting into Tool Archives a few times since joining GJ and never get a page to load. Is there a current link or secret handshake I can get so I can take a look at it? Thanks.

Private Lugnutz · Mar 9, 2019

The site had a major crash. Between trying to figure it all out and a sharp uptick in Todd's professional responsibilities, the recovery has been delayed.

JoCoSawdust · Mar 9, 2019

Thanks Lugz

Oldtuleguy · May 7, 2019

Great write up guys. Spotted this set on ebay and all of your great info inspired me to buy it. Very interesting set.

Private Lugnutz · May 7, 2019

Nice grab, Otg. Interesting indeed. From back in the day when tools weren't so homogeneous.

Private Lugnutz · Jun 26, 2021

I picked up these orphans at the flea this morning. If anyone is secretly building a King, Newton, or Service Engineering set and needs sockets, PM me.

Private Lugnutz · Oct 25, 2021

I picked up this Service Engineering set yesterday at the flea, my second. The box was coated with rust and the wooden insert was roached and gnarly with moldy grime, but it's only missing one socket, it had both ratchet wrench adaptors (which my first set is missing), and it has an interesting attachment the other set does not have. Some BEFORE "as found" pics attached...

Private Lugnutz · Oct 25, 2021

I cleaned it up and replaced the missing socket with one of the orphans I found and posted back in June.

Here are some AFTER pics.

Private Lugnutz · Oct 25, 2021

And here is that special socket. It's factory. It almost looks like a screwdriver bit that got twisted in use, but I don't see how that's possible. It seems to me that the force required to twist that blade would've twisted the bit right out of the socket; it's only pressed fit or possibly spot welded in there. But it doesn't quite resemble an extractor, either. I'm going to have to research it.

four.cycle · Oct 25, 2021

excellent. :thumbup:

Oldtuleguy · Oct 25, 2021

Another fine example!

Private Lugnutz · Oct 25, 2021

Thanks. Any thoughts on the twisty bit?

Oldtuleguy · Oct 25, 2021

That thing is really twisted! Looks cool. I would not think it came that way but tool makers had a different sense of style back then.

four.cycle · Oct 25, 2021

NOT a clue on that one. ebay seller theedgarc has some of those King/Newton/Batco items (or at least he did.) Wonder if he's ever seen one of those?

four.cycle · Nov 18, 2021

Indestro model 1451 "Handy" 11-piece 1/2" hex drive SAE socket set
containing FIVE Newton/King sockets and TWO Hinsdale sockets

Vintage mismatched socket set Ratchet wrench & Holder Green Patina Tool | eBay

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mritchie77 · Aug 3, 2023

I read this thread a couple years ago now and have been on the lookout. One popped up on eBay and after a negotiation with the seller, we settled on a price that I thought was fair. Especially since finding one of these where I live was 0%. Complete set, with the wood in good shape (some cracks) and the front label somewhat in-tact. The sockets themselves had rust on them, so they are in an evapo-rust bath (fresh and clean evaporust for this set!). Of note, it appears that I have a small hex-adapter for the ratchet that is not shown in @Private Lugnutz set.

Here are the before, and after cleaning the case and wood. Some of the grime came off the wood, but most of the black is stains that have penetrated after all these years.

mritchie77 · Aug 3, 2023

Couple hours later.

Patrick Eubanks · Feb 4, 2024

Sticking with the “Boston” theme, here is a cool set from The Boston Auto Tool Company.

Private Lugnutz · Feb 4, 2024

Patrick Eubanks said:
Sticking with the “Boston” theme, here is a cool set from The Boston Auto Tool Company.

Very cool!

The theme is more than geographical. During the 'Tool Archives' website days Todd (@twertsy) and I gave up trying to figure out the complex business relationships between Newton, King, Service, and Boston Auto, but the one constant is them all sharing manufacturing infrastructure and practices, if not the same factory space itself in some instances and junctures. I have an example of Newton, King, and Service, but no Boston Auto. Nice find, or acquisition, either way.

Please post a photo of the sockets out of the box.

From a Todd reference upthread...

twertsy said:
Thomas A. Bemus, Eugene F. Bickford, Frank T. Coffin Patent #1578065 - Wrench Set - DATAMP notes manufacture by Boston Auto Tool Company but it could have been any of the 4 companies selling these sets.

Patrick Eubanks · Feb 4, 2024

Private Lugnutz said:
Very cool!

The theme is more than geographical. During the 'Tool Archives' website days Todd (@twertsy) and I gave up trying to figure out the complex business relationships between Newton, King, Service, and Boston Auto, but the one constant is them all sharing manufacturing infrastructure and practices, if not the same factory space itself in some instances and junctures. I have an example of Newton, King, and Service, but no Boston Auto. Nice find, or acquisition, either way.

Please post a photo of the sockets out of the box.

From a Todd reference upthread...

I will certainly post photos but the are identical to the king and newton sets

Private Lugnutz · Feb 4, 2024

Patrick Eubanks said:
will certainly post photos but the are identical to the king and newton sets

Okay, thanks, I'll save you some time - that's what I was wondering.

Patrick Eubanks · Feb 4, 2024

Private Lugnutz said:
Okay, thanks, I'll save you some time - that's what I was wondering.

Apparently king was the king of reorganization. Declare bankruptcy and change the name. One of the striking details is the super high quality of the tools. With proper advertising and distribution the could have really made a go at it. Your sets above, by the way are superb.

Oldtuleguy · Oct 7, 2025

Here's a similar batco

Private Lugnutz · Oct 7, 2025

Love the embossing on that case.

Oldtuleguy · Oct 7, 2025

All of the king/newton/batco/service engineering stuff is pretty stylish

Steven 33 · Dec 8, 2025

Fairly certain this one is Newton but the layout is slightly different from the ones I see here.

four.cycle · Dec 8, 2025

that looks exactly like several others above.

c. 1920-1925 Newton and King Pressed Steel & Mfg Co

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