c. 1918 J.L. Dahl "Jiffy" Screwdriver

I plucked this rotating screwdriver out of an old toolbox at the flea market this morning. I couldn’t find any markings on it at the time, covered in grime, but it looked interesting, and antique, and upon cleaning and further inspection, it turns to have been patented (1,272,228) on July 9, 1918, by J.L. Dahl of Teaneck, NJ.

His company was making these in Hackensack, NJ through at least January 1922, the date of an Automobile Trade Journal in which it was being advertised as the “Jiffy”. Both tips are broken, but according to the patent, they were both slot tips, which is consistent with the era, of two different sizes. Note that one blade is round and the other blade is rectangular. The shank is recessed in the middle so it locks into place with the tightening of the wingnut. The patent doesn’t show those stops or guards on the bottom (see Pic 7), but a notice in the July 1918 issue of Scientific American describes them as preventing accidental rotation.

It is marked with the patent date and the mfgrs info on the inside of each handle. Because it comes apart, they also felt it necessary to mark the patent date on the shank.

The only other examples I have been able to find is one on DATAMP and one in the 2018 York, PA Auction Issue of the Wrenching News, linked here.

Here are some shots of it disassembled and of all the markings.

And here is the patent, the ATJ ad identifying it as the "Jiffy" (a brand name that neither DATAMP or Wrenching News seems to be aware of...), and the Scientific American excerpt.

Oh, and before you ask, Woody, no, I don't have much biographical info on Mr. J. L. Dahl. I did find a few references in several railway trade mags that announced his promotion as a manager for a NYC-based Gregg Company, in their Hackensack branch office in 1919. The name and place could be a coincidence, but I interpreted it as the implication that he gained his mechanical aptitude working for the railroad, and seems to have designed and patented his rotating screwdriver while in the employment of another enterprise, and "did not quit his day job", as the saying goes, to launch his "Jiffy" screwdriver venture. Wise man.

That’s a neat little find. It needed to be rescued.

Thanks. When you only find a couple things but one of them is a 102-year-old rotating screwdriver, it's a good day at the flea market!