H.D. Smith Company, Plantsville, CT

[PLANofMAN]

A gentleman's (not me) nearly complete H.D. Smith hand tool collection.

Edit: more photos here:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/Vintagetools/permalink/3857391050965038/?sfnsn=mo

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's an impressive spread. It would be a daunting enough task to collect one each of every type of tool H.D. Smith made (again, I think that number is around 13 or so, and I'm at 7), let alone different sizes.

 

[PLANofMAN]

He paid $1200 for a HD Smith chisel. Serious collector. Gotta admit, it's a beautiful collection.

 

[HeelSpur]

Here's an interesting auction with some H.D. Smith items on pg 5.

https://easternshoreauctions.hibid.com/catalog/266027/rare-and-antique-tool-auction/?cpage=5

 

[Private Lugnutz]

There're six days of bidding remaining, but I was surprised to see 0 bids on the H.D. Smith valve lifter so far. That's not an easy one to find.

(Of course I paged through everything else. That guy had a massive collection in his basement. Lots of pegboards. He had a Keystone "S" adjustable set - missing the 74. Lots of big end wrenches. Also a big (38") Coes "Key" wrench. I spotted something special in an innocuous box lot. Also dozens of unused hinged display cases. I wish I was closer - I could use a few.)

 

[HeelSpur]

He paid $1200 for a HD Smith chisel. Serious collector. Gotta admit, it's a beautiful collection.

Did his look like this one?

DSCF3698 (2) by wvwheaties, on Flickr
DSCF3699 (2) by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[HeelSpur]

There're six days of bidding remaining, but I was surprised to see 0 bids on the H.D. Smith valve lifter so far. That's not an easy one to find.

(Of course I paged through everything else. That guy had a massive collection in his basement. Lots of pegboards. He had a Keystone "S" adjustable set - missing the 74. Lots of big end wrenches. Also a big (38") Coes "Key" wrench. I spotted something special in an innocuous box lot. Also dozens of unused hinged display cases. I wish I was closer - I could use a few.)

It sold for $12 +15%. That auction has all the realized prices posted.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Someone got a good deal.

 

[leg17]

As recorded in history, H.D.SMITH suffered a catastrophic fire in 1910. A cruise of the interwebs gives some detail of the company history and the fire.
Here are a couple of panoramic postcards of the event. Hard to reproduce here, but here they are for what its worth.
(I sure don't know how a postcard like that would survive the USPS, even back in the 'good old days'.)

 

[misterbill]

I found this #4 perfect handle at an estate sale over the weekend. It's 9" OAL.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice find, Bill.

 

[RagTopTA]

Hi guys! I love the HD Smith tools! Something about those Perfect Handles! I started with finding a pipe wrench I found for a buck at the local flea market. What's this cool-looking wood-handled pipe wrench... a little googling and I felt y eyes widen at the sight of the Perfect Handled wrenches...Hammers...Axes... Oh... No... something else I HAVE TO HAVE! I found a neat looking folding driver! What?!?! Ebay check told me it would be expensive to buy them there. So, I decided I would try to find them here and there as I go. It wasn't but a week or two till I found another pipe wrench. So the hunt had begun. I went to the big flea a while after that, and while looking in an old box of tools I see something... Is that.... it is!! One of those weird folding drivers!! but it's sprayed with grey paint! In my backpack went! A little solvent and a little brushing and toweling and the gray came right off! And so another hook was set.... A look at an HD Smith catalog showed me the things I needed to be on the lookout for. This weekend I found the HDS offset pliers at the big flea. A little rusty but into the backpack they went. After a little simple green and wire brush cleaning, they came out pretty good. Heres few pictures of them, I have more HDS tools and will dig them out and upload pics soon!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I didn't even know they made offset combination slip-joint pliers! Cool find, Rags.

By "folding driver" do you mean the Triple Lever? See page 1 post #31.

 

[four.cycle]

I've never seen this thread before, and I don't believe I ever saw Woody's original thread on H.D. Smith either, so I'm a bit late for this party.
First, in response to some of the back-and-forth at the beginning of the thread, let me make clear that I have a great deal of admiration and respect, and greatly appreciate the contributions made on this site by Woody and other members on the historical records of the the inventors, the manufacturers, the tools, and the men who made the tools. They are arguably the men who made this country great. The collective efforts of members here who take the time to record that history may not appear at first to be much appreciated, but those following us will most certainly benefit.

I don't own a single piece of H.D. Smith product, but it's certainly not because I don't appreciate the aesthetic qualities of their offerings.
Rag's "Gittatit" pliers above are a stroke of genius:

 

[four.cycle]

Private Lugnutz, I believe your tool on the previous page is indeed a tire iron.
(As an aside, several manufacturers of 19th-century "bicycle" wrenches incorporated a curved "tire iron" into the **** end of the handles, like Iver Johnson.)

 

[four.cycle]

More H.D. Smith material from the archives. (Hovering mouse over images will show filename and file details.)

 

[3baygarage]

Those are some neat pliers. It feel like it would have been tough for most of us to leave them behind.

 

[four.cycle]

^ That set from the Ebay ad would be mine if the seller hadn't thought they were made of platinum.

 

[RagTopTA]

I didn't even know they made offset combination slip-joint pliers! Cool find, Rags.

By "folding driver" do you mean the Triple Lever? See page 1 post #31.

Yes, sir, that's the one I'm talking about! I'll hopefully get some time to get to my HDS stuff the next day or two. work and home life are busy atm.I knew there were serrated jaws built-in after the bend. But now I know how they were used. Pulling cotter pins and such! Very cool they thought these pliers out well for way back then! Heres some better pics of the jaw interiors.

 

[bbbarracuda]

"Gittatit"
My 12 year old mind sees gitt a t** I'm sorry.

 

[Provincial]

The comments about tire irons reminds me that the shape of tire irons changed with the advent of drop center rims. Before that, the tire irons were pretty flat and only slightly rounded on the working end. These were for clincher rims.

The drop center tire irons were much more rounded on the working end, and that end had a curve to it to get under the lip of the tire bead. As time progressed, they assumed more of a "spoon" shape.

Form follows function!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

In the 'Sometimes you just get lucky category,' I'm going to need a new, less short-sighted display (see Pic 1) for my H.D. Smith tool collection. I found a 13-1/2" heavy duty screwdriver (see Pic 2) yesterday at the flea. That green paint was obscuring a "barber pole style" roll stamp on the shank. I have an 11" model (see Pic 3 for both screwdrivers), but it has the branding stamped parallel or lengthwise to the shank, not wrapped around it, and that branding is not the same stamp (see Pic 4). This branding is the same stamp as the branding that's on the square shank of the hammer, reading THE H.D.S.&CO. PAT.AUG.250'03 over "PERFECT HANDLE" over MADE IN over PLANTSVILLE, CONN. U.S.A. It's not easy to read when it's roll stamped. See Pic 5 for the same stamp on the hammer.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

And here are some photos of the roll stamping, natural and chalked. (If you're wondering why I am leaving the green paint, I am not entirely convinced it's not WWI. I will probably end up removing it. I cleaned it just enough to reveal the branding.)

 

[RagTopTA]

I like the rolling imprint! I am always on the look out for HD Smith tools. But they are a rare item around here. I keep telling myself to start the wrench set... but at around a $100 each when they are on the bay I just cant make myself. At least not until my Paschall hammer set is complete! Then I can switch gears to other $100 dollar tools : }

 

[Old but slow]

Sorry, I never posted these as promised, I had some Covid issues that took up some time. Anyway, here are parts of my H.D. Smith collection. I have some very rare pieces I will try and get closeups on soon. Any questions or something you want to see, just let me know.

 

[Old but slow]

A few more pics

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Better late than never, OBS. Cool display. Nice to see a valve lifter with the chain piece on it! Glad to see you back on your feet.

 

[RTM]

Nice to see a valve lifter with the chain piece on it!

Even worse, looks like there is more than one there.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Ironically, I just saw one at my flea this morning. It was missing the chain - of course!, which the vendor did not realize. When I explained it all to him and how it worked, he dropped the price, but I am not even going to pay peanuts for half a tool, even if I have had thoughts of fabricating the chain. If I run into the complete tool at a flea one day, it will make my day. If not, I'm not going to sweat it. And I'm certainly not going to go looking for a complete one on the big auction site in the sky or anywhere else it is being sold at collectors' prices, either. That's just not my thing.

 

[Old but slow]

Lugz- that was one of my holy grails when I 1st started collecting H.D. Smith, The Valve Spring Lifter comes in 2 variations. I'll post a comparison pic when I get back to my ipad and also some closer looks at some of the other unique items. Another Holy Grail for me was the Tack Puller. I'll post some pics of that as well the makers mark is pretty cool.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Lugz- that was one of my holy grails when I 1st started collecting H.D. Smith

I bet!

I was following a giant old farm auction in Virginia that someone tipped me off to last year where one was "buried" in the noise, and it ended up going for something like $17 if I remember correctly. A very reasonable price, obviously. I didn't even bid. I didn't kick myself in the seat of the pants too hard, though, because I'm just not geared for online auctions, for figuring out how to bid, for needing to have some form of online payment pre-registered, etc, and for going against my principles in paying for the shipping.

Anything you choose to show here and at your own pace would only enrich this thread's knowledge base tremendously, Obs, and I know I speak for all when I say we'd enjoy it. Thank you.

On a personal note, it's cool to see you have a sort of mini-museum/shrine to H.D. Smith in your house. I admire that and you have a humble compadre in me. As I said before, my own H.D. Smith collection only numbers eight (8) unique tools, no dupes, and they're mounted on carpenters parallel clamps. But my basement has lots of pegboard set up for displays, which right now feature my Champion DeArment, Gruber Wagon Works, Schollhorn "BERNARD", Walden, and Heller Masterrench collections, plus an assortment of wrenches mated to the figures in an 1899 Metal Workers trade mag that I collected just for the challenge. See my thread here, and if you want to "skip ahead" to that part, see page 3 post #120 through page 4 post #134, or thereabouts.

 

[Old but slow]

My goodness, I took a tour of the Lugzsonian, what a great job! I never dreamed of doing something like that. Historical, educational and very professionally done. All I can say is incredible and I wish there were more of this type of adventure in more localities.

 

[Old but slow]

Valve Spring Lifter, 2 of the 3 variations

 

[Old but slow]

Adjustable wrenches 6,8 and 10”

 

[Old but slow]

Three Bit Screwdriver for hard to get to places and both sizes “Rubber Covered Screwdrivers” used for work on spark plugs and electrical wires

 

[Old but slow]

Enchased Joint Pliers in all 3 sizes 6, 8, and 10”. Considered by H.D. Smith to be “ the only practical and worth- while made in pliers in years”

 

[Old but slow]

The final 2 for now is the Tack Puller and Double Screw Driver Bit. I’ve only seen one of each of these and these are them, they…those…I don’t know but my favorites in the collection.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

My goodness, I took a tour of the Lugzsonian, what a great job! I never dreamed of doing something like that. Historical, educational and very professionally done. All I can say is incredible and I wish there were more of this type of adventure in more localities.

Thanks for the kind words, sir!

Valve Spring Lifter, 2 of the 3 variations

Doh! I didn't know about the other type! When I saw that in your display upthread I thought it was some kind of adjustable clamp.

Adjustable wrenches 6,8 and 10”

So cool. I'm happy I found the sole "S" adjustable I have, but I would love to run into one of the straight handle models.

Three Bit Screwdriver for hard to get to places

These are really interesting from a tangential perspective, and another tool I didn't know they made. I just found a modern screwdriver (guessing 60's) made by JAW Mfg Co. called a "ScrewTriver". It has an offset blade to the main blade, similar to the H.D. Smith models! The deliberate play-on-words "Tri" in the name is supposed to imply that aspect.

...and both sizes “Rubber Covered Screwdrivers” used for work on spark plugs and electrical wires

Another "I didn't know they made them," which brings me to the most important ask. Do you have any catalogs? The only thing available on IA/ITCL are some ads or a few pages from hardware store catalogs.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I’ve only seen one of each of these and these are them

Those are the best kinds of things to have and they're deserving of your favoritism for that reason!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The only thing available on IA/ITCL are some ads or a few pages from hardware store catalogs.

I have to take this back! I just double-checked myself and @Mark Stansbury uploaded the 1920 catalog (No. 25) back in May 2022, and it shows the Three Bits, the electricians, and the other lifter. Wow. I don't know who contributed it, but I appreciate their willingness to share the scan.

And thank you once again for sharing your photos. Something to look forward to hoping to find!

I'm always hoping to find the SOE wrench, but now I'm hankering after the "GITTATIT" offset pliers, too.