EDELMANN

[leg17]

There are a number of interesting posts by Lugz, four.cycle, and others about various Edelmann items scattered around here. Let’s just open a thread for all things Edelmann. Anything goes. History, ads, tools, etc.,. All are encouraged to re-post thingS related, even if they have been posted previously in some other thread.

 

[leg17]

E. EDELMANN “HAND-D” RENCH SET

 

[leg17]

E.E. TAPPET Wrench Set

 

[d42jeep]

Here is an early timing light.
-Don

 

[DetailSeeker]

I found one of the E. Edelmann & Co nested screwdrivers. (Well, the local tool library... you know how it is.)


It's a very pretty thing, and solid - just over 3.1 oz (91g), and just under 5-3/4" long. I could make out a bit of a patent date, when I cleaned it up, but not everything. However, I am reasonably confident from a combination of polishing the screwdriver, poking DATAMP, and looking at other examples that the patent date is Dec 18, 1917.




And then I discovered that Edelmann did not have a patent issued to him on that date. He did (as per the marvellous DATAMP) have a British patent for a combination tool that pretty clearly included the screwdriver in the handle--

--and used the same drawing to receive a Canadian patent a couple of years later. But he applied for those on August 28, 1919 and September 6, 1921 respectively, so even if any mention of the country had been worn off, the screwdriver couldn't have been a part of a combination tool made in either country.

EspaceNet had eight hundred and twelve patents that were issued in the USA on December 18, 1917. (I think my favourite was ELECTRICALLY-PROTECTED HOLDER FOR POCKET-BOOKS AND SIMILAR ARTICLES, but shout-out to SUBSTANCE FOR TREATMENT OF TUBERCULOSIS, LEPROSY, AND OTHER DISEASES AND PROCESS OF MIXING SAID SUBSTANCE and the succintly-named BURGLAR-TRAP.)

I am pretty sure that the patent for the three-in-one screwdriver made by E. Edelmann & Co is patent 1,250,328 for a COMBINATION-TOOL by Edwin L. Langford.


The only differences I can see between the Edelmann screwdriver and Langford's patent are the fact that the littlest screwdriver (10, 14) is separate from the base (13, 12), and the knob on the handle (11) is gone.

I can't find anything about the patent being assigned to anyone, but does "Edelmann acquires the patent, begins manufacturing the screwdriver, and then applies for a patent for the Four-In-One (the ones I saw online are usually marked "PAT'S PEND") as well as British and Canadian patents for a tool which incorporates the screwdriver" make sense?

Frances

 

[Private Lugnutz]

First things first...

There are a number of interesting posts by Lugz, four.cycle, and others about various Edelmann items scattered around here.

I'm wondering what the heck I was doing on October 26, 2024 and/or how fast the forum was moving that day for me to have missed this thread, leg. You should've nudged me. (Next time you want my attention, please tag me like this @Private Lugnutz. If you weren't aware, that generates an Alert in the little bell at the top upper right of the tools bar.) But, I am glad to respond now, if only so you didn't think I just rudely ignored you, but also because I am glad to contribute to a thread dedicated to one of our most well-deserved but relatively obscure US manufacturers!

You already know how jealous I am of your tappet wrench set!

I'll be back.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have this single 1/2" x 9/16" DOE wrench, pressed steel, plucked out of a toolbox at the flea several years ago. Based on the image purloined from eBait, it appears to be one of a 6-pc kit set, similar to your "HAN-D" set - and if I had to guess, probably the same opening sizes and configurations, but not marked the same, and perhaps not marketed the same. (I LOVE the tempering/hardening they put on the artwork of the wrenches on your box!) I never did any research on it beyond these observations. I was fortunate that it's the top wrench of the kit, as it appears to be the only one with the handy 3-inch rule on it, and might be the only wrench in the set that was actually branded "E. EDELMANN".

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I also have this E. EDELMANN & CO. No. 103 flaring tool - one of my favorite designs as far as flaring tools go, and one of the favorites in my flaring tools collection. Not only for the clever rotating dies, but because of their ingenious, economical, layered pressed steel construction.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

And last, but definitely not least, the piece de resistance of my Edelmann collection, this No. 21 Combination Malleable Iron Wrench, which combines several early Ford era wrenches, made for the burgeoning Ford service market, branded only "E.E. & CO." with a Circle-L foundry mark. That sporadic black substance is stubborn black japanning. Shown with a Mossberg made Ford script (8-11-1920) Model T T-1349 hub cap wrench and another Ford related Mossberg wrench in the second to last pic - and shown and identified by model number in the middle of the E. Edelmann full page ad in a 1917 trade mag in the last pic.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Second things second, thanks so much for bumping this thread, Frances.

I found one of the E. Edelmann & Co nested screwdrivers.

Very nice "find" (looking through your town's amazing Tool Library counts as 'in the semi-wild' in my book! )!

I have to admit, I never knew they made them, and I would not have expected it. They were very diverse, but I would not have ever guessed they were in the novelty/junk drawer item marketplace.

does "Edelmann acquires the patent, begins manufacturing the screwdriver, and then applies for a patent for the Four-In-One (the ones I saw online are usually marked "PAT'S PEND") as well as British and Canadian patents for a tool which incorporates the screwdriver" make sense?

Yes. Except he may not have acquired the Langford patent. He may have been paying licensing fees.

 

[four.cycle]

Interesting. Thanks for this, @DetailSeeker. Your research capabilities are admirable, and I think there's a possibility you may have answered the question of who was making the "Three-in-One" and "Four-in-One" hammer/screwdriver combination tools found in various hardware catalogs.

Did you check to see if there may have been any connection between Edwin L. Langford and Erich Edelmann? (or any of the other names mentioned on any of the other patent documents?)(Google search "name here" city name.)(Bing usually will provide better results on "name here" patent(s))

Edelmann / E. Edelmann & Co., 2638 No. Crawford Ave., Chicago, IL (originally 9 West Kinzie St.) / est. 1909, merged with Parker-Hannifin 1979, acquired by Epicor 1989, acquired by Stant 1991 (?), became Plews-Edelmann 1995 / "E.E.", "Sextet", "Sexto-Rench" / "Four-in-One" / patent 1250328 Dec 18 1917 Edwin L. Langford & 2229785 Jan 8 1941 Park Q. Wray & patent GB 142008 Apr 29 1920 Erich Edelmann / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/edelmann.539262/ /

 

[four.cycle]

E. Edelmann & Co., Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.

 

[four.cycle]

E. Edelmann & Co., Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.

 

[four.cycle]

E. Edelmann & Co., Chicago, Illinois U.S.A.
photos: ebay)

 

[DetailSeeker]

Interesting. Thanks for this, @DetailSeeker. Your research capabilities are admirable, and I think there's a possibility you may have answered the question of who was making the "Three-in-One" and "Four-in-One" hammer/screwdriver combination tools found in various hardware catalogs.

I will say that I can't find confirmation that Edelmann actually made the nesting hammerscrew. Frey (New York, NY) and GAM Manufacturing Co (Lancaster, PA) both did at some point.

(GAM was founded in 1915, but anecdote suggests they didn't start making the nested hammerscrew until after WWII.)

Did you check to see if there may have been any connection between Edwin L. Langford and Erich Edelmann? (or any of the other names mentioned on any of the other patent documents?)(Google search "name here" city name.)(Bing usually will provide better results on "name here" patent(s)

Not yet. I would be interested to, but at the moment work is exploding more than usual, and the fact that Langford's patent was registered in Haledon, NJ, has me filing that in the "that research may be a touch demanding" bucket.

Also! I passed Langford's patent to DATAMP and Stan Schulz kindly let me know that Edelmann & Co introduced a nesting screwdriver in 1913.

There's a nice summary of differences in the two styles at the DATAMP page for the Langford patent.

(Combined with the detail that all the "Four—In—One" Edelmann screwdrivers I saw online (mostly at eBay) were marked PAT'S PEND, I am torn between "wishing I knew more" and "thinking I need to drop this before it eats all my free time until May".)

Edelmann / E. Edelmann & Co., 2638 No. Crawford Ave., Chicago, IL (originally 9 West Kinzie St.) / est. 1909, merged with Parker-Hannifin 1979, acquired by Epicor 1989, acquired by Stant 1991 (?), became Plews-Edelmann 1995 / "E.E.", "Sextet", "Sexto-Rench" / "Four-in-One" / patent 1250328 Dec 18 1917 Edwin L. Langford & 2229785 Jan 8 1941 Park Q. Wray & patent GB 142008 Apr 29 1920 Erich Edelmann / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/edelmann.539262/ /

(Have I mentioned recently how fantastic The List is? )

 

[four.cycle]

Stan Schulz

^ is quite well-versed on all things "tool".

If you have not already seen it, and have a few days to kill, check out his "flickr.com" page

(I haven't looked at it in over a year....last time it took me 5 weeks to get through it all.)