Ever seen 1/4" hex driver handles like these?

[Leviton]

I came across one of these in a pile of tools at a thrift store. Then I dug some more and found another. Ended up with three.

They have heavily stained and shellaced wood handles and the black oxide coated shanks are 1/4-inch hex with detent balls at the ends. The straight one is about 9.5" overall length.

They have no identifying markings.

Ever seen anything like these before?

 

[BrandonV]

Gives me VIM tool vibes.

 

[Beerhippie]

No, but if I had, they would have come home with me!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

They have popped up in a few different sets

 

[Leviton]

They have popped up in a few different sets

@Oldtuleguy thank you for that! It looks like they have been in Thorsen sets and also marked with Philco like yours and also Lugz found one/some with American Swiss marking. However, no one seems to know who the original manufacturer of these is. All the above and mine look the same although I seem to have found the only L shaped tool.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It looks like they have been in Thorsen sets and also marked with Philco like yours and also Lugz found one/some with American Swiss marking. However, no one seems to know who the original manufacturer of these is. All the above and mine look the same...

The only name that is highly doubtful as the OEM, I think, is Philco itself. I am skeptical of my American Swiss kit, but it's possible. They were certainly capable of manufacturing them. Thorsen was capable, of course. And I concur, all those - the Philcos, my Am Swiss, the Thorsen, and now your unmarked examples do look identical or near identical.

You didn't mention Braunsdorf-Mueller, Pexto, ICA or NB. They all sold radio sets with 1/4-inch hex shanks and wood handles, although they don't look like the Philco/Am Swiss/Thorsen handles.

Lastly, BHM and VIM/MTF sold midget radio kits, but they were 1/4-inch square.

All of those can be seen in the 'Philco / Not Philco' thread, now labeled more generically 'Radio Socket Sets' in the Sticky...

Philco / Not Philco

GJ'ers Oldtuleguy and bmwrd0 will immediately recognize this box… …and its contents… …as PHILCO. Here are some photos of their PHILCO kits… Otg's... and Beemer's... …which can be seen in more detail in post #1067 on page 54 and in post #1264 on page 64, respectively, in the...

www.garagejournal.com

...although I seem to have found the only L shaped tool.

It is the only one I recall seeing, including ads, etc. And very cool. The NB radio kits, which are 1/4-inch hex, and include a wood-handled spinner, do include an L handle, but it's not seated in a ferrule with wood handle. I'm not suggesting NB as the OEM, I'm just saying there is some precedence for an offset in a radio kit.

 

[lilredex]

Looking around I found this: https://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread.php?tid=21635

Look at post #2, the link shows those tools in Philco's catalogue, no box though.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

The pic in post 1 looks familiar!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

^ It's famous! Lol

@Leviton
If you look at the catalog excerpts in the thread I linked, there is an offset/L handle in the later, bigger Philco sets. No wooden handle though.

 

[four.cycle]

The Bridgeport 485 driver set used a 1/4" hex shaft, but it didn't employ a detent ball. Instead, the end of the shaft was split up about 3/4" from the bottom end, and it was more or less an "interference fit" with the sockets.

Peck Stow & Wilcox's No. 1 "Radio Set" had a 1/4" hex shaft and employed a detent ball. The shaft was swedged a bit to prevent the socket from sliding too far up onto the shaft.

Indestro's model 360 "Slip-on" used a 1/4" hex shaft and employed a detent ball, but the end of the shaft was tapered down so it could be used as a screwdriver. The earliest version of this model had an orange-painted (or sometimes red) handle.

There were all kinds of knock-offs made - some used detent balls - some did not.