Fake duro/indestro wrenches?
- Thread starter Oldsoul
- Start date
outofbounds
Well-known member
I would think an odd name to try and bootleg, as very few people outside this thread seem to even recognize it.
I would think more plausible would be they were bought out and cheapened up as one last final hoorah at some point.
I can't tell from your pic how this wrench is "bent" but if it has an odd slope at the box end, that is how Wright used to shape theirs.....
There was a guy selling NOS metric sets branded Duro/Indestro in the Detroit area and stuffing them into TRW pouches for $25 on Craigslist.
I never got around to taking a closer look to evaluate them.
thehorse13
Well-known member
I haven't come across any knock-off stuff yet but I believe the day when I do is coming. That said, I would have to agree here. Producing fakes of a brand that not many people would recognize is a long shot at best.
I can't see how the wrench is bent either.
I can't see how the wrench is bent either.
slowtwitch73
Well-known member
Fake.. send to me for disposal.
four.cycle
Well-known member
Indestro combination wrenches always had angled heads on the box end. These are early 1970s vintage "Indestro Super" models, but I don't believe they changed their tooling in respect to how the wrench was designed:
Moreover, if one were to go to the trouble to "counterfeit" a wrench, why pick some obscure brand like Duro/Indestro? Why not go with Snap-On?
Like Judge Judy says, "If it doesn't make sense, it can't be true," and it doesn't make sense that somebody would set up a drop-forging facility to "counterfeit" Duro/Indestro product.
Show your Duro and Indestro thread here
Moreover, if one were to go to the trouble to "counterfeit" a wrench, why pick some obscure brand like Duro/Indestro? Why not go with Snap-On?
Like Judge Judy says, "If it doesn't make sense, it can't be true," and it doesn't make sense that somebody would set up a drop-forging facility to "counterfeit" Duro/Indestro product.
Show your Duro and Indestro thread here
four.cycle
Well-known member
yeah.... looks about right to me... I believe the offset was 10° or 15° on those. I think it's noted in one of the earlier catalogs.
Indestro Catalog Thread
Indestro Catalog Thread
macgee
Well-known member
The ones that the OP has look totally legit and orig.
But I wouldn't be the least surprised if the someone started making new tools under names like the defunct Indestro (closed in early 90's). It's been happening lot on in other industries like in bicycle frame companies.
If there's a complicated, indirect path or lost connection to who owns the name, then they have been taken over and used for new items being made in Asia. They don't copy the old products but instead introduce new modern ones with a name that has heritage.
Having said that, Indestro was used up to the 90's so there's probably still an easy path to who owns the names rights in some lawyers filing cabinet so either it wont be used or someone bought the name cheap. Companies that went defunct in the 50's or earlier are better candidates for name use.
So rest assured, you have the real McCoy.
But I wouldn't be the least surprised if the someone started making new tools under names like the defunct Indestro (closed in early 90's). It's been happening lot on in other industries like in bicycle frame companies.
If there's a complicated, indirect path or lost connection to who owns the name, then they have been taken over and used for new items being made in Asia. They don't copy the old products but instead introduce new modern ones with a name that has heritage.
Having said that, Indestro was used up to the 90's so there's probably still an easy path to who owns the names rights in some lawyers filing cabinet so either it wont be used or someone bought the name cheap. Companies that went defunct in the 50's or earlier are better candidates for name use.
So rest assured, you have the real McCoy.
3baygarage
Well-known member
woody 73
Well-known member
I have seen fake tools before but not duro/indestro.
The ones that come to mind are Winchester you would not believe the crazy money they go for. I found one just this week and not fake but darn someone in a past life put it in a woodchipper and just killed it, making it 100% worthless.
The ones that come to mind are Winchester you would not believe the crazy money they go for. I found one just this week and not fake but darn someone in a past life put it in a woodchipper and just killed it, making it 100% worthless.
Oldtuleguy
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It looks bent right in the middle
d42jeep
Well-known member
By the time Duro and Indestro was stamping both names on wrenches (Duro Indestro) the quality had significantly dropped off. I have a DOE wrench that looks virtually unused with significant chrome peel. It was a sad ending to what was formerly a company that made top quality tools.
-Don
-Don
Ricky Joe
Well-known member
True. The old Duro and Indestro had quality commensurate with Snap-On. I have many of their tools. By the time both names were used on the same tool, they were an embarrassment. Still functional, but not very high quality.
Oldtuleguy
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Too much retooling cost too much money, too many imports, ineffective marketing. I have heard many theories on their demise. I think a big problem was the the tools were so good you did not have to buy new ones!
Roberts210
Well-known member
What is that supposed to mean???
Al Borland
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A lot of those have a slight curve to the beam, like they supported the wrench at the ends when they stamped the middle over a void.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
You guys have better eyes than me. I don't see anything except the shallow offset to the beam as it goes into the box end, which is intentional.