forgotten named older tools

[JAKE-THE-TOOL-MAN]

I've always wanted a set of Fleet ratchets, I love the script. I wish Par-X was around still too, I just bought a mint Par-X 1/4 ratchet and really like the feel of it.

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

Does anybody recall Walden. Found a nice 1/4 drive set in a box a garage sale. It is a very nice little set.

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I am a Toolaholic,Sometimes I regret it,Especialy when the Toolman wont give me no credi

 

[928'er]

A set of Thorsen pebble finish metric combination wrenches purchased ~1972 are still my "go to" wrenches. Sad to see the Thorsen name being whored out on chinese ****.

 

[BeezaPilot]

My wife recently found a complete set of "Truth" 1/2 sockets- so she is on a yard sale tear to find more of them.

I like vintage Williams tools, latest find a Williams manufactured BS/W wrench.

Got up and looked in the tool box- found a nice ratcheting wrench from "Langline", and my favorite pry bar from "H.D. Smith & Co." (Perfect Handle- pantented), A "Pexto" monkey wrench, a "Red Devil' set of pliers, and some pliers from 'Owatonna'

 

[WWIIjeep]

Ford had their brand of tools and i can't remember who made them for them.

Moore Drop Forging Co. made a lot, but not all, of the Ford-marked tools.

The Blackhawk brand now owned by Stanley Black & Decker is mainly just the name. There was a big gap between the original Blackhawk line and the resurrection of the brand name by Stanley. First, New Britain bought Blackhawk, then it went to Litton Industries along with the Husky brand (also owned by New Britain at the time), then Litton's hand tool division became National Hand Tool, then Stanley bought National Hand Tool around, or a little after, the time Stanley bought Proto from Ingersoll Rand. Not that the current Blackhawk brand isn't good--it certainly is--just that it doesn't have much in common with its origins.

None Better was one of the New Britain brands, the NB initials and name being a play on the NB of New Britain.

The Firestone brand was made by others besides just by Proto. Even some machine tools were sold under the Firestone brand for a while.

Owatonna was a brand from OTC (Owatonna Tool Co.), now owned by Bosch.

CeeTee was a Crescent Tool Co. brand.

Par-X was a Snap-on brand. +1 on it being a good brand. I miss it too.



Others not seen much any more:

Diamond (Diamalloy)

Pexto (Peck, Stow & Wilcox), famous for their sheet metal working machinery, but at one time they also made a line of hand tools.

Lectrolite (S-K)

Millers Falls, not the current use of the name for a line of Asian ****, but the original company that made very decent quality tools, including one of the best-designed hack saw frames ever made.

Fairmount, industrial and automotive tools.

 

[gol4]

Can't believe no one has mentioned Hinsdale.

 

[Cope]

Can't believe no one has mentioned Hinsdale.

I saw a complete Hinsdale socket set on eBay yesterday. IIRC, it was 1/2" drive. Found it while looking at 3/4" drive sockets.

 

[oak_park]

True Value

 

[regguy1]

Had some Wright sockets, not sure if any remain in my collection

 

[raiderhillbilly]

Bonney 12 point flare nut wrenches and sockets, kraeuter pliers, Stanley 100 plus screwdrivers, New Britain tools, Herbrand doublehex wrenches, Plumb hammers and axes, Mac wood handle screwdrivers, Craftsman Rhft ratchets. Those are some of my favorite oldies.

 

[DenisG]

Armstrong Tools:
http://www.armstrongtools.com/brands-timeline

 

[dlfiene]

I have some Truecraft wrenches and sockets made in Japan but seem to be good quality. Also AT&G Company is another good brand known for its screwdrivers, best ones I have in my collection.

 

[1foxracing]

True Value Hardware stores house brand Master Mechanic, the US items. I think Stanley made their screwdrivers, and Easco made their RHFT ratchets and sockets. I find them every once in a while at estate sales.

Somebody else now has the Master Mechanic name and its mostly Chinese garbage.

I worked at a True Value hardware/lumber store while in high school (85-87) and own some.

 

[Rogue1987]

About master mechanic - the place I work at, most of the wrenches and sockets provided to the city employees (I'm just a lowely contractor) are master mechanic. They seem to hold up pretty well when they actually get used. Seems to be mostly Tiawan with a few US tools thrown in, the older stuff was more US made.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[jeffmoss26]

I have 2 of my dad's socket sets from the 70s or 80s that are Tru-Test, which pre-dates Master Mechanic. I'll post pics later, still not sure the original manufacturer.

 

[BeezaPilot]

Just back from an estate sale. I was picking through a large box of wrenches when the guy in charge said I could have the whole box for a ten-spot. All the usual suspect, Bonny, Williams, Billings, Craftsman (the oldest I think I've seen), Firestone...

The oddballs- Wright (from Dayton- the aircraft folks??), and "Penens" from Chicago. "Vlchek" and "McKaid-Hatch"

Some of these are coming out of the cleaner- apologies for the mis-spellings.

 

[Tronyadorable]

This guy is delusional but I'd love to have them and send them straight to my buddies plating shop.I'll throw him a realistic offer to piss him off.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hinsdale-Wr...059?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33966576db

 

[jeffmoss26]

Just back from an estate sale. I was picking through a large box of wrenches when the guy in charge said I could have the whole box for a ten-spot. All the usual suspect, Bonny, Williams, Billings, Craftsman (the oldest I think I've seen), Firestone...

The oddballs- Wright (from Dayton- the aircraft folks??), and "Penens" from Chicago. "Vlchek" and "McKaid-Hatch"

Wright Tool is in Barberton, OH.

 

[WWIIjeep]

The oddballs- Wright (from Dayton- the aircraft folks??), and "Penens" from Chicago. "Vlchek" and "McKaid-Hatch"

Penens was a subsidiary of Plomb/Proto. Marked Chicago makes it roughly 1948-60 vintage. Vlchek ended up being a Proto subsidiary too.

Take another look at the "McKaid-Hatch" tool. I think you'll find it says McKaig-Hatch instead.

McKaig-Hatch was one of the several old automotive service and specialty tool suppliers, like Moore Drop Forge, OTC, K-D, Kelsey-Hayes, Kent-Moore, etc..

 

[thieltech]

truecraft - sold at fleet farm then it was Thorsen , then it was Allen

Mastercraft which menards sells and is made by ALLEN tools i believe .
Good sockets and ratchets etc

 

[22george]

I still have a couple Fleet 1/4 in drive sockets sold by kmart in the late 60s early 70s

 

[gol4]

"This guy is delusional but I'd love to have them and send them straight to my buddies plating shop.I'll throw him a realistic offer to piss him off. "

He has been re-listing those for many months. Good luck.
I have a set of those I got for under $20. They are great older wrenches.

 

[Jason280]

I didn't realize Master Mechanic was an older name.

What's the story on Par X? I have a couple of their extensions, but have never heard much about the brand.

 

[3baygarage]

I didn't realize Master Mechanic was an older name.

What's the story on Par X? I have a couple of their extensions, but have never heard much about the brand.

Par X drive tools are real nice. Snap on made and sold them as a second tool line. Somebody must know the history but they were phased out and everything became Blue Point I believe.

 

[Thumper]

Wizard, Rosco (screwdrivers),TRW, Vulcan....just to add a few more to the list.

 

[WWIIjeep]

Par X drive tools are real nice. Snap on made and sold them as a second tool line. Somebody must know the history but they were phased out and everything became Blue Point I believe.

Blue Point and Par-X existed simultaneously. Snap-on also had Par-V tools.

I think Snap-on phased out Par-X in the late 60s or early 70s. Par-V disappeared long before that.

 

[KnurledNut]

Vacuum Grip by Forged Steel Products (acquired by Snap-on)

 

[slip knot]

KR wilson made a lot of specialty tools for Ford back in the 40's. There have been some engine stands on Ebay sell for some serious coin.

 

[jsaw]

I have an Easco wrench, might have been sold by an auto parts store.

 

[WWIIjeep]

I have an Easco wrench, might have been sold by an auto parts store.

Easco was a portmanteau for Eastern Stainless Steel Corporation. They did a lot of contract tool production, including US government contracts, and for Sears. I think Easco ended up under the Danaher umbrella (or shroud, depending on your point of view).

 

[Revere Cycles]

I have a few Vulcan wrenches in my box; I am not sure if they were made by Williams or Vulcan MFG of Winona, Minnesota, but I did acquire them with a lot of Williams stuff...

 

[Schurkey]

I've been digging through my sockets 'n' wrenches looking for stuff I've failed to use for a decade or so.

Discovered a few Herbrand items; New Britain ratchet adapters, KenTool wrenches, Challenger by Proto wrenches. Got a pair of goofy pliers by Sargent; I don't know what the hell they're for.

Is the "Challenger by Proto" line from a time before Blackhawk was the Discount-Proto line?

And I should get some photos, and refresh my memory--I have a couple of wrenches with different names stamped into them; but they look like the same forging. One brand is rough, like they didn't waste time grinding away the forging lines and extra material, and the other brand is nicely finished but seems to be the same basic product.

 

[Cope]

Easco was a portmanteau for Eastern Stainless Steel Corporation. They did a lot of contract tool production, including US government contracts, and for Sears. I think Easco ended up under the Danaher umbrella (or shroud, depending on your point of view).

Correct. My father-in-law worked for a large hardware store wholesale operation. He said that at one time Sears was buying all of Easco's production, but when Sears began to have problems, they cut back. Easco then began selling to other large buyers, and their tools began appearing in hardware and auto parts stores. I sold Matco tools in the early 90s and Easco was already one of their brands then.

 

[jakemac]

True Value Hardware stores house brand Master Mechanic, the US items. I think Stanley made their screwdrivers, and Easco made their RHFT ratchets and sockets. I find them every once in a while at estate sales.

Somebody else now has the Master Mechanic name and its mostly Chinese garbage.

As far as I know, True Value still owns the Master Mechanic name. Like Craftsman, the tools themselves are made by someone else and labeled with the MM brand for True Value. Most MM tools were made in the US up until about 8yrs ago or so. At that point True Value started shopping around for a new supplier and many of the hand tools started being made by the lowest bidder in China. It was the same for the MM labeled power tools as well.

I remember having to call Skil to get parts for MM drills. Then all of a sudden the drills were outsourced and I had to tell my customers that it was simpler (and cheaper) to toss the drill and buy a new one because I had no idea how to get replacement parts from china.

 

[WWIIjeep]

Got a pair of goofy pliers by Sargent; I don't know what the hell they're for.

As retDAC asked, are they parallel jaw pliers, and probably compound-leverage type? If so, they're similar to Bernard pliers (the original inventor) and can be handy for gripping flat things, or even square or hex nuts, instead of mangling things with Vise-Grip pliers. The compound-leverage feature allows them to grip more tightly than simple-leverage pliers. And, if they have parallel groove in the jaws, they're handy for gripping, pulling or bending wires, and even for use on spring-type wire hose clamps if you don't have a pair of hose clamp pliers.

Sargent also made small-sized pliers of various types for jewelry work.

Otherwise, do what you said here:

And I should get some photos,

And maybe then we'll all know what the hell they're for.

Is the "Challenger by Proto" line from a time before Blackhawk was the Discount-Proto line?

Yes.

Challenger was sort of 2nd-tier, where Blackhawk is now, and Fleet (A Pennens brand, also owned by Proto) was more like 3rd tier, where the Stanley-branded hand tools are now (although Fleet was a lot better than the Stanley stuff IMO).

 

[davethorik]

I have seen Master Mechanic branded RHFT ratchets that looked different than those posted earlier with the metric combo.

I have two small Master Mechanic doe metric wrenches in 6,7 and 8,9 mm that are usa made. They look like they were made by Easco.

I have a Tru-Test 3/8 ratchet and socket set in a metal box, the ratchet is clearly a Plvmb design. I have an Action 1/4 drive set and I believe it was a Thorsen economy brand. I also have a Fleet 1/4 set, it looks like an SK or Wright round head but it is coarse toothed.

A couple of weeks ago I got a set of Pexto pruning shears at a tag sale, they are made unbelievably beefy. I have seen monkey wrenches made by them also, in addition to shears and brakes.

 

[JUNK-MAN]

I don't have very many old tools only some old Snap-On and S-K wrenches, some Snap-On, S-K, Mustang, and Husky sockets, Bonney and, J-H Williams ratchets, and some USA pliers and screwdrivers, that's all the old tools I have.

 

[geojag]

I have quite a mix of tools, including the previously mentioned Easco, Thorsen, Krauter, Bonney, and Indestro.

I have a couple sockets labeled "Duro - Indestro"
I have a chisel and punch branded "Whalebone" made in USA.
I have a pliers and sockets that are KAL, both USA and Japan.
I have "Witco" water pump pliers, USA.
I have "ProAmerica" pliers, dikes, needlenose, and wrenches, USA.
I have an "Action" ratchet, USA, I think it may be a Thorsen line.
I have old screwdrivers branded "Ivy", "Amalite", and "Vaco", all USA made.

I am sure I have others, those are what I see right off.

 

[Not Bob]

Most of these I've had for decades, the Powr-Kraft and Thorsen were my first tools. Here are some of the brands, I know some are still around.
Herbrand
Alpha
Langline
Penncraft
Wizard
Barcalo
Indestro
Powr-Kraft
Fuller
Westcraft
Gedore
S-K Wayne
Giller
Wilde
Blackhawk
Proto-Challenger
Tatools (India)
Zomax (India)
Benchmark (Japan)
Alltrade
Diamalloy
Plomb
Thorsen
Westline
Husky
P&C
New Britain
Koken (Japan)
Williams (Superrench)

 

[ttpete]

I have quite a mix of tools, including the previously mentioned Easco, Thorsen, Krauter, Bonney, and Indestro.

I have a couple sockets labeled "Duro - Indestro"
I have a chisel and punch branded "Whalebone" made in USA.
I have a pliers and sockets that are KAL, both USA and Japan.
I have "Witco" water pump pliers, USA.
I have "ProAmerica" pliers, dikes, needlenose, and wrenches, USA.
I have an "Action" ratchet, USA, I think it may be a Thorsen line.
I have old screwdrivers branded "Ivy", "Amalite", and "Vaco", all USA made.

I am sure I have others, those are what I see right off.

Vaco is a well known line of electronics tools, second only to Xcelite. Mostly screwdrivers and nutdrivers. Good quality stuff. I have a lot of it.