Blue point spanners

[saigon66]

Hello can anyone tell me if the Blue Point tools from the 1950s are the Blue point I have seen mentioned. I had a ring spanner13/16 and 7/8 that I used to loosen the track bolts of our Cat D6 with a 4 ft pipe on the end unbendable/ unbreakable.I have not seen them for years I now use Stahwille not bad but not Blue Point

 

[shoturtle]

kinda, snap on brought them a while back. Some of the tools are still made in north america, but allot comes form taiwan. Bluepoint and williams are now a snap on brand. They are a tier lower then snap on. More aimed at the high end diy

 

[dieselmike]

i disagree with high end diy. they are meant to be entry level pro tools, basically chinese stuff with a warranty that comes to you

 

[shoturtle]

more like taiwan, not china. low end pro or high end diy is about the same. But it is not snap on, matco, mac or cornwall level.

 

[pfbz]

...can anyone tell me if the Blue Point tools from the 1950s are the Blue point I have seen mentioned...

Yes and no. Blue-Point has always has been a subsidiary of Snap-on, but the quality level of blue point is not the same now as it was then.

Originally all wrenches made by Snap-On were called "Blue-Point". It wasn't a lesser brand, it was just what they called their wrenches. They used the same Snap-on date codes, and were pretty much the best US wrenches you could buy. Starting in the late 40's, some Blue Point wrenches where co-branded as Snap-On, but were identical except for the branding. Both 'brands' overlapped as top quality wrenches for a while.

I'm not sure when Blue-point became the lower tier sub-brand that it is today, but it wasn't always like that.

I have some late 40's - early 50's metric (Snap-On) Blue-Point wrenches that I love and still use constantly.

The open-ends in the picture below are the blue-points.

 

[SMKS]

Bluepoint and williams are now a snap on brand. They are a tier lower then snap on. More aimed at the high end diy

I've never really seen any ads or marketing for either brand. I don't really think they're marketed to DIY'ers at all.

Williams is aimed more at industrial customers and Blue Point at people who don't want to shell out the $$ for Snap-On. If they were aimed at DIY'ers, I think they'd be sold where DIY'ers shop.

 

[shoturtle]

Williams is not the best industrial tool out there, proto and wright are much better in that department.

Williams and bluepoint can be brought on amazon. Marketing shift. Neither are really high end industrial or pro end tools. DIY likes the quality of both.

 

[snapmom]

How many of you have Snap on brand wrenches, pre 1948? Except for a few specials, they were Blue Point. In the late 40s Snap on just changed the stamping on the wrenches to Snap on. The wrenches from the late 40s are some of the best ever, just like the OP states.

 

[woody 73]

Funny but I was always under the belief that the new (not old ) bluepoint tools were a way for a lot of guys to be able to afford them without paying the snap-on price but still wanted the warranty. I was told by a truck dealer that he would fix the bluepoint but his first priority was snap-on (his meat and potatoes) then he would get around to bluepoint.

I don't know about the Williams coming from overseas but the American Williams tools are of very high quality on par with the tool trucks.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Blue Point was not a subsidiary of Snap-On. All the tools were made in the same place. The sockets and drive tools were exclusively branded Snap-On, the wrenches (open-end, box end, etc) were all branded Blue Point (or Blue-Point, Blue-Points). Even after the 1948 change that Snapmom references, when the company also started branding some wrenches as Snap-On, everything was still coming out of the same factory, with no changes in moulds, dies, process, (or quality). These were co-equal brands for a long time.

I can't and won't speak to when it changed, but I would guess the 60's. Snapmom?

EDIT: Quickdrawmcgraw here didn't read your post close enough, pfbz. Sorry for being redundant. You and Snapmom are on it...

 

[shoturtle]

not the same bluepoint as the past. It is a division of snap on, but not the same quality of the past. If the OP wants the Bluepoint quality of the past. Get snap on over the bluepoint.

 

[snapmom]

I do not know when the quality changed either, but it has. You can buy that older Blue Point for a fraction of what same Snap on wrench will cost you. If the that old Blue point has made it this far, it should last you as long as you need it. They just do not have the lipstick the new wrenches have, but for the money it will give you a good time.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have a set of Blue Point tubular pattern boxsockets, Blue Point 32 oz and 4 oz ball peens, and a Blue Points-Chicago 050 inverse offset screwdriver in my 1943 US Army GMTK. The workmanship is palpable, but they are giving me a good time proverbially mounted on a high and dry spot on my wall of fame.

 

[SMKS]

Williams is not the best industrial tool out there, proto and wright are much better in that department.

Williams and bluepoint can be brought on amazon. Marketing shift. Neither are really high end industrial or pro end tools. DIY likes the quality of both.

A lot of people like Williams. It may be your opinion that your prefer other brands, but that's just your choice.

Only a few things turn up when you search for Blue Point on amazon. They mostly appear to be mislabled and keyword spamming. Amazon does not sell Blue Point tools.

Williams has been available from Amazon for a long time, as well as other online outlets. Just because something is sold on Amazon, that doesn't mean it's no longer a tool aimed at industrial customers.

 

[shoturtle]

I have williams US made, and they are no way nears snap on or proto or wright stuff. Been on enough major construction sites. And the tools for the brute heavy work of industrial grade are proto and wright with some snap on mixed in, williams is not that big in that department.

 

[SMKS]

I have williams US made, and they are no way nears snap on or proto or wright stuff. Been on enough major construction sites. And the tools for the brute heavy work of industrial grade are proto and wright with some snap on mixed in, williams is not that big in that department.

Again, this is all your opinion. I'm not saying you're not entitled to your opinion, but it's just your opinion. Others may disagree.

 

[shoturtle]

True, but when you go into major job sites. And all the hard hat crews are using proto and wright. And you know they can not afford a broken tool, as delays means major money. That tells you allot about what drives industrial tool buyers.

 

[SMKS]

True, but when you go into major job sites. And all the hard hat crews are using proto and wright. And you know they can not afford a broken tool, as delays means major money. That tells you allot about what drives industrial tool buyers.

Well, it's arguable what one person's anecdotal experience posted on the internet tells anyone, but I digress.

If you like other brands, that's fine. To each his own.

 

[shoturtle]

I was at the WTC site just yesterday. They are slamming in building equipment before they even put up the hanging glass. Proto and wright were the big boys down there.

Was at couple of other big building sites. Same story.

 

[ears]

True, but when you go into major job sites. And all the hard hat crews are using proto and wright. And you know they can not afford a broken tool, as delays means major money. That tells you allot about what drives industrial tool buyers.

I go to a lot of industrial auctions, Williams and Proto are the most common tools I see there.

 

[shoturtle]

Proto more then williams form the sites I have been to by a huge margin at the auctions I have been at more like 5:1 with proto stuff.