Let's show our wood (screwdrivers)

[txlonghorn1989]

I just heard of this thread. Here are some. My current favorites are the Disston “Electrical” ones with the beehive handles. I also like the Stanley/Bonney and Bridgeport. A couple pre-Stanley North Bros, couple Vlchek, and a couple made in England (E.Atkins, J.Buck, Eclipse).
...

Very nice colllection LS! Those beehive handled screwdrivers are outstanding. Is the metal on the largest turnscrew pitted or they made it like that? Still a bunch of nice turnscrews. Still hoping to come across one/some myself.

 

[LesserSon]

Thanks. Yes, the big guy was so rusty, at first I didn’t think it could be saved. I think the wood was split, too. I lavished love and superglue on the handle, wire wheeled the blade to the bottom of the pits. Added a copper coupling for a ferrule.

 

[drivesitfar]

Lessor: nice looking group of wood handled screwdrivers.

ALL: I need to take a few pictures of some that I just picked up the last few weeks and a friend gave me his that was just hanging off his toolboard that I bet it over 2 foot long and it looks more like a Blacksmith made it.

 

[Old Radar]

...a friend gave me his that was just hanging off his toolboard that I bet it over 2 foot long and it looks more like a Blacksmith made it.

I passed on this "stretched limo" at a sale last week.

 

[drivesitfar]

here's my 28 wood handled screwdriver. I couldn't find any name or marking on it and it kinda looks like maybe a blacksmith might have made it. I doubt it will get much use now or if it ever did much at my friend's house, but it's here and I like it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I passed on this "stretched limo" at a sale last week.

here's my 28 wood handled screwdriver.

Those are Longfellows.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I picked this up at the flea market this morning solely because it pissed me off. I was standing there looking at the logo the missing scales reveal (see Pic 2), saying, "I know this logo," but it just wouldn't come to me. And I've been saying it all day even though I am no closer to remembering what it is! H.D. Smith used a large "S" with serifs as a trademark early, and the tiny "D" and "F" could be for Drop Forgings, their early specialty. But I have an H.D. Smith extra heavy duty machinists' screwdriver, it is marked "Perfect Handle", and when I compared them, this one does not have the same profile. The list of mfgrs making perfect handle type extra heavy duty machinists' screwdrivers is not that long. Smith, Tobrin, Federal, Irwin, and Ryan. Probably missing a few. But still, it defies me!

Anybody got any ideas?

 

[d42jeep]

I picked this up at the flea market this morning solely because it pissed me off. I was standing there looking at the logo the missing scales reveal (see Pic 2), saying, "I know this logo," but it just wouldn't come to me. And I've been saying it all day even though I am no closer to remembering what it is! H.D. Smith used a large "S" with serifs as a trademark early, and the tiny "D" and "F" could be for Drop Forgings, their early specialty. But I have an H.D. Smith extra heavy duty machinists' screwdriver, it is marked "Perfect Handle", and when I compared them, this one does not have the same profile. The list of mfgrs making perfect handle type extra heavy duty machinists' screwdrivers is not that long. Smith, Tobrin, Federal, Irwin, and Ryan. Probably missing a few. But still, it defies me!

Anybody got any ideas?

I keep coming back to it being some kind of an HD Smith variant. I’ve checked all of my “perfect handle” screwdriver pictures and don’t see a match for that one.
-Don

 

[RTM]

Hey Lugz, here is a PH type I did not know of, Sargent was assigned a patent.

https://patents.google.com/patent/US1081704

I don’t see this in their 1911 or 1926 catalogs

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Interesting, RTM.

It seems the highest probability, Don. I'm not about to take the scales off any of my H.D. Smith collection pieces to see if they have that logo, though. Haha. The one that was nagging at me seems like something familiar, but I may be 'thinking' of Southington.

 

[LesserSon]

Could you be thinking of LS Starrett, Lugz?

I have a little mystery screwdriver of my own, today. The handle looks very much like the Disstons, I posted, but it is rosewood, which the others definitely are not. The “ferrule,” for lack if a better term, is not similar.
I see no marks on it, but I have noted before that the “beehive” handles resemble some of the handles Stanley used on, I think, a routing plane.
(EDIT - I see similar rosewood handles on the No67 Universal Spokeshave.)
And No10 awl.

So could this be a screwdriver for adjusting planes, maybe a different model or period than RTM discussed earler?

EDIT - here it is with similar screwdrivers, second from bottom. The one at bottom is Disston. The others are unmarked. The two smallest are probably sewing machine or some such. Two have only 6 grooves. The Disston and the smallest share the 7-groove pattern with the new guy, but there is a faint additional groove at the bulge before the ferrule on the new guy. And the ferrule is quite different. The shank is a little loose - I can push or pull it a 16th of an inch in or out from the handle. The face has been modified - filed, I think, to make it sharper.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Could you be thinking of LS Starrett, Lugz?

No. I'm picturing a large "S" with serifs and a couple other letters within it, no circle, just like this, but I don't remember it as H.D. Smith. I knew H.D. Smith used a large "S" with serifs in a circle as a TM very early, and I have an H.D. Smith heavy duty "Perfect Handle" screwdriver with that logo. In fact, I didn't know Starrett even had a logo/TM like that. It's odd, since they're pretty much identical.

 

[LesserSon]

Well, what you said about Southington is true, but the other letters aren’t entwined in the big S, and they are M and C, not D and F. The mystery continues...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The "recollection", if that's what it even is, is fuzzy. I can't picture the little letters entwined or nested, just there. Perhaps it's not even a tool mfgrs logo I'm thinking of. Given all the evidence, Smith makes most sense, but I haven't been able to find another instance of it.

 

[LesserSon]

Picked this up today to join my lonely pliers and wrench. I think this is the “Regular Champion Pattern,” available in seven sizes in the 1923 catalog. Should have a “Winchester gray” handle. Hmm - guess I won’t stain it brown, but I will get the white paint blobs off.

EDIT - cleaned & shellacked. Turns out something chewed on the handle where the paint was. Oh well.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

A few weeks back I picked up a Jas Swan Co chisel which I posted in the Garage Sale thread. In trying to find out some info on the chisel, RTM posted some links to James Swan Co catalogues (Thanks International Tool Catalog!) where I spotted some screwdrivers. One that really caught my eye had a twist at the end of the handle. In one of the catalogues the company had started calling this style Swanloid. Today, I see one on ebay. The seller says it's in unused condition. Wants a pretty penny for it too, BIN price is $224.50 but free shipping! I had tried later to find the catalogue ad where it was referred to as Swanloid but I was unable to locate it. Has anyone come across one of these Jas Swan Co Swanloid drivers? If so please post pics. Here's the ebay ad pic. No affiliation to the seller or the item being sold.

 

[LesserSon]

I have never seen one that I can recall. I have seen spiral-grip screwdrivers, but not like that. “Swanloid” sounds a lot like a proprietary name for celluloid handle material (like Stanloid, etc), rather than the patented spiral shape. No reason the same screwdriver couldn’t integrate both.
I’m not going to claim there couldn’t be an advantage to a spiral grip, but if there is, it would stand to reason there should be reverse-spiral-grip screwremovers (and I don’t mean the kind where you have to drill a hole in the screw). THOSE would be a RARE collectible!

EDIT - the 1951 catalog shows just one illustration, and no explanation, of a Swanloid handle (on a chisel) on p13. It looks transluscent, like celluloid. On p20 the sad last remnant of the spiral grip is shown on a stubby.
Have to hunt up an earlier catalog, I guess.

EDIT2 - the 1904 catalog shows several variations, all wood. The ferrule has a utility patent and the spiral handle has a design patent. None described as Swanloid.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I have never seen one that I can recall. I have seen spiral-grip screwdrivers, but not like that. “Swanloid” sounds a lot like a proprietary name for celluloid handle material (like Stanloid, etc), rather than the patented spiral shape. No reason the same screwdriver couldn’t integrate both.
I’m not going to claim there couldn’t be an advantage to a spiral grip, but if there is, it would stand to reason there should be reverse-spiral-grip screwremovers (and I don’t mean the kind where you have to drill a hole in the screw). THOSE would be a RARE collectible!

EDIT - the 1951 catalog shows just one illustration, and no explanation, of a Swanloid handle (on a chisel) on p13. It looks transluscent, like celluloid. On p20 the sad last remnant of the spiral grip is shown on a stubby.
Have to hunt up an earlier catalog, I guess.

EDIT2 - the 1904 catalog shows several variations, all wood. The ferrule has a utility patent and the spiral handle has a design patent. None described as Swanloid.

Well heck! Certainly possible I read the Swanloid term with the chisels and transmismigrated it in my mind to the drivers. I have it in my head that it was clearly wooden as is the ebay item. At the time I commented on it in the GS thread. I thought using Swanloid was leading edge and just a marketing gimic. I'm wrong again! What else is new? But I do know I'd love to find one in the wild!

 

[leg17]

....... I was standing there looking at the logo the missing scales reveal (see Pic 2), saying, "I know this logo," but it just wouldn't come to me. And I've been saying it all day even though I am no closer to remembering what it is! H.D. Smith used a large "S" with serifs as a trademark early, and the tiny "D" and "F" could be for Drop Forgings, their early specialty......

Anybody got any ideas?

The profile of the body makes me wonder if it could possibly be of German origin?

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

VLCHEK Screwdrivers I got today.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[Old Radar]

I found an interesting wood-handled spiral screw driver this morning. It seems Lugz has a copy of one also. Here

The info stamped into the brass tube is extremely faint and I couldn't decipher it until I decided to forgo the patina and wiped it down with some Blue Magic.

Even then, all I could see under 10X magnification was:

DE CA . COFFIN CO
. DECA UR ILLS.
PAT. OCT 7 188(and something that might have been a 4)

Lugz's appears to be the smaller of the two versions--extending to 14". Mine is the larger, extending to 19". I don't believe my handle is original, although it looks close. The nail driven into it tells me that's how the handle is fastened to the metal structure and is obviously not the work of the manufacturer. I may have to tap it out to see what's going on inside.

As Lugz mentions in his write-up, the spiral only turns the shaft clockwise--driving the screw into the wood. Although the story is that undertakers didn't need to unscrew anything, the link here indicates viable bi-directional spiral screw drivers weren't available until the mid 1890s--ten years after this patent was granted.

 

[Provincial]

I picked up an interesting screwdriver today. It has a wood handle, is 11-3/4" long, flat tip is 11/32" wide and the shaft is 5/16" diameter. The ferrule is marked:

NONSKID NO.5
US PATENT
NO 1738405

I looked up the patent, and it was issued to Bridgeport Hardware Mfg. Co. on 03/28/1929. It is for grooves in the tip that engage the slot in the screw head to resist slipping out of the slot. These grooves are worn off of my screwdriver.

 

[Old Radar]

Picked this little guy up yesterday to join the beehive club. Six rings and 3-3/4" long.

 

[d42jeep]

I did a comparison of my two Chevron marked Plomb/Proto looking screwdrivers. Although the markings are different the part numbers are the same
-Don

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I'm diggin' that beehive screwdriver OR. Nice find! No maker marks?

 

[highland_hunter]

Sorry, only the wife looks at "my wood screwdriver" and she doesn't do that too frequently anymore....

 

[Old Radar]

I'm diggin' that beehive screwdriver OR. Nice find! No maker marks?

Completely unmarked.

 

[drivesitfar]

while I was picking up a small cabinet last week I also found a nice Yankee driver. are we posting them here or does that have a separate thread?

thanks all for posting up your stuff cause I love these old tools and also these wood ones don't smell like puke like some of the old plastic ones do.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a good thread for your Yankee driver.

Spiral Ratchet Screwdrivers

Picked up this 1908 patent North Brothers "YANKEE" No. 35 at the flea market this morning.

www.garagejournal.com

I need to post mine there as well.
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

Completely unmarked.

The stamp can be faint, partial, worn. 3 lines around the shank: “DISSTON / USA / ELECTRIC”. I have one I can’t see anything (rust pitting swallowed it), others where it’s just “STO” or “RIC”. Some are closer to the blade, some closer to the handle.

 

[Old Radar]

Duly noted, LS. I even checked again under optimal lighting and with heavy magnification--nothing that even resembles a trace of lettering or logo.

So I pitched it.

 

[LesserSon]

Ha-ha…that’s probably for the best.

 

[Old Radar]

Picked up this Winchester 7102 3-inch driver this week. Blade is worn into a fingernail curve so I think it has earned a quiet retirement.

 

[Duke74]

I just have the 4 of them (that I know of). I never use them.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up this Winchester 7102 3-inch driver this week.

Beautiful tool. I'm jealous. I have three Winchester tools (axe, monkey wrench, and nippers) and I've been going through screwdriver lots for years with a genuine yearning, but so far no **** luck. Nice find.

 

[Lesserstore]

I found this old Stanley Defiance 1/4"x 4" screwdriver in my late grandmother's garage. It was rusty so I wire wheeled it and then polished it by hand with flitz. After that I fixed the tip which was messed up. I also cleaned up the handle with murphy's oil soap and old english.

 

[Lesserstore]

I found these three today and they all unknowns to me at least. The first is a 3/16 cabinet with a 5-3/4" blade and a 2-5/8" handle including ferrule, and the only marking than I can see is made in USA on the ferrule. The second has 5/16x 5-7/8" blade and a 5-1/8" handle again with the only marking being made in USA on the ferrule. And lastly is another 3/16 cabinet with a 2-3/8" blade with a 3-7/8" handle, and no markings at all, so it could be an import.
Do any of these look familiar to anybody? I think the second one might be a Stanley Defiance or early Handyman but I'm not 100%.

 

[Mintgrun]

I like the first one you posted. I have an unmarked example that is very similar, aside from subtle differences in the shape of the handle and ferrule. The stubby handled long bladed drivers are fun to use.

Mostly, I am posting because I recently found the tiniest one in my collection.



Tom

 

[bmwrd0]

That looks like a driver from a T&D set. In any case, it is very nice.

 

[Ton ton]

Can you still buy wood handle screwdrivers off of Mac tool trucks?