KENAXE
Member
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 manufacturing date for. I actually have two sets, but it’s the newer of the two that’s in question. I included pictures of the 3/8” from each set to make it easier to identify them. The newer one is on the top. The older set is from the early-mid 80’s. I liked them so much that I decided to get another set. I picked up the newer set from a vendor at a swap meet in the early 90’s, but I suspect that they were old stock because New Britain, who produced these, had already gone out of business before then.
I know that Blackhawk was acquired, along with National Hand Tool (who had already acquired Blackhawk from New Britain) by Stanley in 1986 and that New Britain closed in 1990, which was then also acquired by Stanley. I also know that New Britain continued producing this series of ratchets for National Hand Tool before Stanley’s acquisition and I’m reasonably sure that New Britain continued producing them for Stanley during the period between 1986 to 1990, but I’m not certain about that. I don’t know if Stanley continued producing them after the 1990 acquisition of New Britain’s facility.
Even with the miracle of today’s internet, I still can’t seem to find an answer, including an extensive search here. Since they didn’t use date codes, it makes this difficult. I’ve found speculation that Stanley did continue producing these, along with the Challenger version and an unbranded “USA” version, but nothing definitive. Also, I think it was around this time when Stanley introduced a different style round head ratchet (with a thumb-wheel) made in Taiwan. That would be the 34945B (Blackhawk) and 1260D (Challenger) for the 3/8”. If they did, in fact, start selling these next generation Taiwan-made ratchets at this time, then it would stand to reason that the New Britain versions would have been discontinued then, which was what I originally thought.
There are some aesthetic differences in these two New Britain sets. The first difference is that the finish on the newer one is much nicer than on the older one. The grip is fully polished, instead of the dull finish on the older one. The edges around the head are slightly smoother than the older one and the chrome is nicer. Machining marks, that are visible one the older one, are completely absent on the newer one. It really looks more like a high-end tool than the older one. Second difference, is the shape of the head. The newer one has a slight teardrop shape where it meets the handle and the selector switch is different. Third, even though it’s hard to tell from the pictures, is that the head on the newer one is slightly larger in diameter. Not by much, maybe 1/16”. Also, the handle and grip is thicker on the newer one. Internally, they are exactly the same. It’s obvious that the newer one was still made at the New Britain facility, but like I said, I just don’t know when.
I would really like to finally find an answer as to when these were made. I was hoping to maybe reach someone who worked for New Britain or Stanley at the time who would know, or someone else with inside information. When did these aesthetic changes take place and why, if it was already late in the production run? Was it Stanley who made these changes or National Hand Tool? Were these updated ratchets made by New Britain between 1986 and 1990 and / or by Stanley after 1990? If Stanley continued making these after 1990, how long were they in production? Or were these maybe even made earlier and discontinued in 1986? This has been bugging me for a while and I thought that this would be a good opportunity to find the answer here on this forum. I appreciate any help. Thanks for taking the time to read through this. I wanted to make sure that everything was laid out clearly.
I know that Blackhawk was acquired, along with National Hand Tool (who had already acquired Blackhawk from New Britain) by Stanley in 1986 and that New Britain closed in 1990, which was then also acquired by Stanley. I also know that New Britain continued producing this series of ratchets for National Hand Tool before Stanley’s acquisition and I’m reasonably sure that New Britain continued producing them for Stanley during the period between 1986 to 1990, but I’m not certain about that. I don’t know if Stanley continued producing them after the 1990 acquisition of New Britain’s facility.
Even with the miracle of today’s internet, I still can’t seem to find an answer, including an extensive search here. Since they didn’t use date codes, it makes this difficult. I’ve found speculation that Stanley did continue producing these, along with the Challenger version and an unbranded “USA” version, but nothing definitive. Also, I think it was around this time when Stanley introduced a different style round head ratchet (with a thumb-wheel) made in Taiwan. That would be the 34945B (Blackhawk) and 1260D (Challenger) for the 3/8”. If they did, in fact, start selling these next generation Taiwan-made ratchets at this time, then it would stand to reason that the New Britain versions would have been discontinued then, which was what I originally thought.
There are some aesthetic differences in these two New Britain sets. The first difference is that the finish on the newer one is much nicer than on the older one. The grip is fully polished, instead of the dull finish on the older one. The edges around the head are slightly smoother than the older one and the chrome is nicer. Machining marks, that are visible one the older one, are completely absent on the newer one. It really looks more like a high-end tool than the older one. Second difference, is the shape of the head. The newer one has a slight teardrop shape where it meets the handle and the selector switch is different. Third, even though it’s hard to tell from the pictures, is that the head on the newer one is slightly larger in diameter. Not by much, maybe 1/16”. Also, the handle and grip is thicker on the newer one. Internally, they are exactly the same. It’s obvious that the newer one was still made at the New Britain facility, but like I said, I just don’t know when.
I would really like to finally find an answer as to when these were made. I was hoping to maybe reach someone who worked for New Britain or Stanley at the time who would know, or someone else with inside information. When did these aesthetic changes take place and why, if it was already late in the production run? Was it Stanley who made these changes or National Hand Tool? Were these updated ratchets made by New Britain between 1986 and 1990 and / or by Stanley after 1990? If Stanley continued making these after 1990, how long were they in production? Or were these maybe even made earlier and discontinued in 1986? This has been bugging me for a while and I thought that this would be a good opportunity to find the answer here on this forum. I appreciate any help. Thanks for taking the time to read through this. I wanted to make sure that everything was laid out clearly.
