Barcalo Buffalo Tools

[JDweld98]

I have this 1-1/8" and 1-1/16" DBE wrench made by Barcalo Buffalo. I bought it from a museum a few years ago. It has definitely seen a bit of use. I'm curious as to how common these are and any other info anybody might know about the brand, so if anybody has any knowledge to share about these, it would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[woody 73]

Ask and you shall receive:

http://alloy-artifacts.org/barcalo-buffalo.html

Common enough that I run into them every year at flea type places.

 

[WNYflyer]

Some additional information here. Barcalo tools are very common in my area which figures give the proximity to the original plant.

http://www.preservationready.org/Buildings/255LouisianaStreet

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

I see them quite often, but I see more Bonney. They do have a following, but there not as popular as some others.

 

[kleinkaliber]

I see them quite often, but I see more Bonney. They do have a following, but there not as popular as some others.

Not to hard to find them in CA, more often than Bonney. I like mine and use them often. Funny it's the same company that makes Barcalounger chairs.

 

[d42jeep]

I have a bit of a Barcalo Buffalo collection that started with the tools in my WW2 jeep tool kit.
-Don

 

[ekegelmann]

I've got a ton of them if anyone is interested in buy or trade

 

[Gmonkee]

I collect some BB myself. The oldest and their best.

 

[d42jeep]

I'm looking for a 1/2" X 9/16 short offset Barcalo double box end with a raised panel in the middle. It would be the same style as the ones below.
-Don

 

[driz]

Gee, I still have a few Buffalo tools from the days I was broke. Something tells me that That Buffalo isn't the same ones I got at the Oriental Tool Store in the early 80's

 

[shanny19]

^^ Barcalo and Buffalo are not the same tools. People get confused because Barcalo often followed their name with Buffalo, where they were based. Kind of like Indestro Chicago.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a better picture of my Barcalo collection. If I use my Ipad to post pictures, I can only do one at a time and they come out very small.
-Don

 

[CornwellTools]

Come across them at flea markets, good American made stuff.

 

[ganymede]

They're common up here in Mass & RI.
Not the coolest looking tools to collect but plenty useable.

 

[d42jeep]

Not cool looking? Check out my Barcalo adjustables.
-Don

 

[stimpy]

have a 6" adjustable myself , inherited it from my grandfather .

 

[ganymede]

Not cool looking? Check out my Barcalo adjustables.
-Don

Okay , the adjustables are an exception.
I read in an old advertisement that the aesthetic niceness was part of their design.

 

[d42jeep]

These are the holy grail of a true Barcalo collector.
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

They're very clean in their design, mid-century International Style. People were cutting down headboards, removing gingerbread detail from houses, painting over figured oak. You know the font, Futura? A total rejection of classicism. A little too distractingly bare of embellishment. Lauren Bacall in a pencil skirt, Sinatra on the radio, not Mae West cinched up in a corset and bustle, Caruso spinning from a Victrola.
And just when you think it's utterly utilitarian, they stamp "Barcaloy" in script! The essence of Cool, baby.

 

[McFarmer]

The one Barclo combination wrench I have has different sizes at each end, is that common for them ?

 

[d42jeep]

That seems unusual. Most of the ones that I've seen are the same size at both ends. Perhaps a picture would be helpful to get an idea of when it was made. I picked up a rusty 8" wartime adjustable on Friday and spent some time repairing and restoring it. Here are a few pictures.
-Don

 

[3baygarage]

Not cool looking? Check out my Barcalo adjustables.
-Don

That style is very cool. The other cool things about Barcalo are how their design changed over the years and how they produced under other brand names.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is another Barcalo acquisition I picked up recently. I posted it on the DBE thread but it seems like this is an appropriate place for it as well.
-Don

 

[McFarmer]

That seems unusual. Most of the ones that I've seen are the same size at both ends. Perhaps a picture would be helpful to get an idea of when it was made. I picked up a rusty 8" wartime adjustable on Friday and spent some time repairing and restoring it. Here are a few pictures.
-Don

The bend is custom. The open end is 7/8 the box end is 3/4.

ppp

 

[d42jeep]

My best guess would be that it is a wrench out of an early (20s or 30s) toolset that came in a car. The hole in the middle may indicate that the set was held together with a screw or bolt.
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

Yes, it's from a car kit. Here is an Indestro set. I'm working on a Barcalo and an AutoKit set, too. They are very similar design.

 

[McFarmer]

Interesting, I have no idea where it came from. It's in the tool box the three year old uses, maybe I should talk him out of it.

 

[LesserSon]

Just to show how similar the other brands are in this style. AutoKit brand. The size combinations are the same across brands, except the smallest, where there could be a 5/16 instead of a 3/8 at the box end. Some don't have the hole, so I think they may have come in a hinged clip without a stacking pin or bolt. I see these loose all the time at flea markets and junk shops. Brand-specific catalogs would be a good way to see which sizes were sold in kits, and illustrate the correct type of clip.
Edit - the DOE is AutoKit brand but not the style I mean. I'll dig out the Barcalo I have with no hole in it.

 

[3baygarage]

Here's the set I picked up at the flea recently.

 

[LesserSon]

The mismatched Barcalo "kit," including one with no hole.

 

[LesserSon]

Nice, 3baygarage. I see those older style ones less often (bottom). Kind of Art Deco. I like the champagne-tone you sometimes see (top). The two middle guys have been reground by PO.
2018 Easter Egg Hunt

 

[Dozerhand]

For as long as I can remember my father had a set of Barcalo Buffalo combination wrenches in a black pouch. He said he bought them from a peddler that used to go around selling tools to the local farmers. Also had a None-Better 1/2 drive socket set from the same guy.

 

[McFarmer]

For as long as I can remember my father had a set of Barcalo Buffalo combination wrenches in a black pouch. He said he bought them from a peddler that used to go around selling tools to the local farmers. Also had a None-Better 1/2 drive socket set from the same guy.

I think every farmer I know had/has that socket set. I still use the box and all the rest except the ratchet, that was pretty crude. Those sockets have held up to 60 plus years of hard use.

 

[jakemac]

I've picked up a few stray Barcalo tools over the years. Here's one that I found this morning. It's a tack puller.

Pic 1

 

[jakemac]

Pic 2

 

[jakemac]

Pic 3

 

[Gregg33]

I have a couple of Barcalo 3/4" combos looking for a good home if somebody wants to pay for or at least offset shipping expenses. Pm me if interested.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I picked up this Barcalo Buffalo Wrench Set, 4706R, complete, with clip, at the early bird yesterday. It can be precisely dated to 1930, possibly very late 1920's.

Alloy Artifacts has an example of a later version of the same set in the same red enameled holder in their collection.

Alloy Artifacts dates their set to anytime between 1931 (when the patent for the clip on their set – 18030577 – was issued) and 1934 (when the set appeared in Barcalo catalog No. 22).

My version has to be 1930 or earlier, as the clip on mine is exactly alike, but reads “PAT APLD FOR.”

The wrenches are all the same sizes, also cadmium plated, typical for an economy line, and consistent with that are the machine markings on the face of each jaw.

I normally only collect 1940's range tools, but this was too complete and neat to pass by.

 

[d42jeep]

Lugz,
It probably won't surprise you to see that I have collected some similar sets since you posted yours. Below are a DBE set with clip, a chrome moly DOE set with a similar holder to your set and a chisel and punch set with the same clip as your holder. Tin Medic recently sent me a Barcalo DOE merchandising board and I found some wrenches from my collection that fit it perfectly.
-Don

 

[3baygarage]

Neat board. Thanks for sharing.

Starting at 70 cents and up from there huh, lol.