Let's show our wood (screwdrivers)

[Steven 33]

GMTK correct 16” perfect handle Irwin arrived in the mail yesterday. These are getting pretty hard to find, especially in this condition.
-Don

What makes it gmtk? I have one that looks almost exactly like this in very nice condition but I just don't know what the difference is between gmtk or just a regular Irwin or if there is no difference. I don't have a full picture right now but here's one of the shank and then I may as well just post some others I was gonna post
A worth and Goodell Pratt and harding mfg

 

[d42jeep]

The Irwin-USofA stamped on the shank indicates postwar production. The Irwin ink stamped on the handle indicates WW2 production.
-Don

 

[MisterEd]

When only a wood handle screwdriver will do and you don't have one.
Drill Bit Screwdriver

 

[RTM]

Here are a pair that have been kicking around for a little while, grabbed one, realized its a Millers Falls #77 - 3" in rough shape, someone reground the tip into a short squatty thing. Not wanting to post a single screwdriver, I started poking around in my "other wooden handled screwdrivers waiting for more attention" stash. This one caught my eye, a R&P MFG Co (Reed & Prince) Worcester - Chicago USA. While trying to read the very faint R & P, I noticed the ferrule is very similar to the MF one. Same general shape, same extra hole around the blade. Slightly different handle shapes, different bulbous portions, with 6 grooves and 8 grooves respectively, but the grooves are almost the same size. The MF looks like it is wearing through its original black coating, whereas the R&P has 3 different colors showing, bare wood, red and black. Not sure if Millers Falls made the R&P, or if whoever made it bought there ferrules from the same place. Gotta clean that big goober off the R&P handle in the second pic.

 

[MisterEd]

SigO has an eye for "Perfect Handles"; IRWIN USofA GOV. STOCK #41-S-1076

Scales are loose.

 

[Beerhippie]

Here are a few I've accumulated:



T-B:

Unmarked Perfect Handle--my first. Rode hard and put up wet--repeatedly. I'm considering making new flakes for it, but they're complicated woodworking--not really my bag.

Bridgeport Phillips Patent 1, single patent #.

Plvmb 9704

Stanley--logo barely visible on the ferrule, Phillips Patent No2, double patent #s.

A couple of larger drivers:



No brand, but has these #s on the shaft:



Proto LA 9788 with -7 below and to the right of Proto. 12 1/4" OAL.

I have more around, but they're more like '70s-'80s vintage.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

No brand, but has these #s on the shaft:

That looks like a file handle. And I have never seen a flattened area quite like that on a screwdriver shank. But the shank and tip don't look home/shop-made. What does it look like where the shank enters the file handle? I wonder if that's not a manufacturing number that would be buried inside an original handle, and the branding etc would be on the ferrule or handle. Just my $.02.

 

[d42jeep]

Probably a Skroo-zon or Shur-Grip file handle installed on a screwdriver shank. Check the front of the file handle for brand markings.
-Don
Skroo-zon
Shur-grip

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Here is a HD Smith perfect handle driver plucked off a vendor table. Stamping on the shank is rough and I'll need to dress up the driving end but the handle will clean up well. Ed.

 

[Beerhippie]

Probably a Skroo-zon or Shur-Grip file handle installed on a screwdriver shank. Check the front of the file handle for brand markings.
-Don
....

You called it!



That took a lot of cleaning to reveal.



I guess this belonged to a coffin-maker. No need to unscrew anything.

 

[outofbounds]

I came across this Irwin "Perfect Handle" screwdriver while sorting through some old boxes. Didn't even know I had it. Interesting markings "Gov. Stock #41-S-1076" on the shaft. Is this a WW2 thing?

 

[d42jeep]

Korean war era.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I’ve been looking for a Korean War example of an FSN numbered Irwin perfect handle screwdriver. I found a pair for a fairly reasonable price on eBay. The markings are a little hard to see but they are Gov. Stock #41-S-1076.

eBay photo

-Don

Here are a couple of mine.
-Don

 

[Beerhippie]

I picked up this little Stanley woodie today:





I can always use another long screwdriver in the shop.

 

[LesserSon]

This “beehive” handle driver is of the H.H.Mayhew “Champion” / H.Disston “Electric” type, stamped E.C.Simmons “Blue Brand” on the blade. Simmons (retail hardware based in St Louis MO) is probably more remembered for their “Keen Kutter” line. I have a Disston-mfd saw of that line, some other things. “Oak Leaf” on something, too.

 

[outofbounds]

Found this nice wood handle semi-stubby 5-1/4" overall length slotted screwdriver. Only markings are printed "PYLMAN" on side & **** end of handle. The font is same/similar on both markings but spacing is different
I'm curious if this is a makers, mark, or if this is a previous owners, very careful detailed markings.

 

[RTM]

I'm curious if this is a makers, mark, or if this is a previous owners, very careful detailed markings

I feel if marked more than once, user’s mark, not a maker’s mark. Inconsistent spacing even more so.

But a nice looking shape

 

[Mintgrun]

Someone had some fun with this little Phillips stubby. I have an unadulterated one for comparison and another that's bent ninety degrees, also with remnants of red paint on the end of the handle. I'm guessing that's another user-modified tool.




The Winchester-style driver on the right (unmarked) was in the scrap metal bin. I guess that's because the blade tip needs to be reshaped. The steel was brown too, but all it took was a bit of steel wool to shine it up. The one beside it was the largest one I'd found. I think I may have shortened the handle a bit on that one, due to someone beating the **** out of it.

 

[Steven 33]

Kinda out of good surfaces at the moment so don't mind the other stuff but here's a couple screwdrivers that I can't figure out. The black one has no visible marks and the other one I can't quite make out the markings it's a long flat head. Im sure someone could fill in the blanks on the marked one but im not very familiar with the screwdriver world

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up this club at the flea today. Vendor had an early Goodell-Pratt eggbeater and a bunch of post and beam wood in the same lot. The shank is 3/4" in diameter! Easily the longest and the thicket screwdriver I have. No-roll handle.

 

[Steven 33]

Can anyone identify this

 

[RTM]

Can anyone identify this

I see Spiegel here, and the Spiegel Bros were importers of tools, just a guess.

And Charles here. I hope I don’t have to explain who Charles was.



Cuz I have no idea.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Can anyone identify this

If you mean the marking on the handle, no. If you mean the screwdriver, it might help to show the whole tool, especially the ferrule. Handles are often similar or common, especially the ones without any grooves, whereas ferrules are often most distinctive. And I think that name could be an owner, not a company.

I see Spiegel here

I see "_IEGELER", which I am guessing is CHARLES' last name.

 

[LesserSon]

Tegelen is a town in Holland/Netherlands. Also a last name of some individuals.
Tegeler is a last name, including a Charles who is a neurologist with Wake Forest University Winston-Salem NC.
There is a Tegeler Toyota dealership in Brenham TX, and a Tegeler construction supply in Baltimore MD. I don’t see a company history for the latter, but that would be the first trail I’d follow.
The handle resembles Stanley Harwood drivers, but as Lugz said, a more comprehensive image would help ID the manufacturer. The wood is potentially Buxus sp, Ulmus sp, or some other tight-grained hardwood.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I've been on a research tear, and in the process of reading very early (c. 1950, 1951) issues of PS: The Preventive Maintenance Monthly magazine, I ran across a series of these recurring "Hand Tool Clinic" features.



You can see the others in the Pliers and Hacksaws threads.

If you're not familiar with PS, the US Army recruited a young cartoonist named Will Eisner (The Spirit, Blackhawk, others) into the Ordnance Dept during WWII, and from Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where all vehicular maintenance and training was HQ'd, he led a team as a warrant officer in making preventive maintenance more enjoyable (and more effective!) to mechanics by publishing mimeographed flyers in cartoon form, featuring his loveable loser character, Joe Dope. During WWII, they were published in Army Motors, but in 1950, Joe, Connie Rodd (pinup model in uniform), and Half-Mast McCannick (letter columnist), they became their own publication as a "postscript" (hence the name). Eisner would go on to become one of the most famous and influential cartoonists in history, including credit for the very first "graphic novel" in 1978. The Eisner Award is the highest annual honor in comics, and it's given at the Eisner Comic Books Hall of Fame.

 

[gordyzx9r]

Found this in a lot of vintage tools from an estate sale. I can't find any identifying manufacturer marks on it.

The only writing I can see is "Grip Point Patd" (at least I think that's what it says).
I assume it's some kind of screw-holding screwdriver. When I push up on the knurl/knob there is a shaft that slides up into the notch (see the two photos with the tip).

Any ideas on the manufacturer?

 

[RTM]

The only writing I can see is "Grip Point Patd" (at least I think that's what it says).
I assume it's some kind of screw-holding screwdriver. When I push up on the knurl/knob there is a shaft that slides up into the notch (see the two photos with the tip).

Any ideas on the manufacturer?

There is a vintage screw starter thread. Almost certain it will be there. Can be found in the sticky index, but here you go.

Screw starters...

First up: 262 - SUREGRIP; BRIDGEPORT U.S.A. This is the only Philips screw starter I have...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Almost certain it will be there.

I am certain and I am pretty sure it was you who posted one! Lol

 

[Private Lugnutz]

@gordyzx9r
The best and easiest way to see, know, and access ALL the topics we have threads for, such as the 'Screw starters' thread RTM just linked, which is not active right now, and therefore not displayed on page 1 of the forum, is to review the A-Z Index of Threads in the Sticky at the top of the forum titled READ B4 POSTING!

 

[gordyzx9r]

I am certain and I am pretty sure it was you who posted one! Lol

I don't see it there but I'll move the question over to that thread.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I don't recognize it but.... it looks to be "early" - like 1920s or 1930s at the latest. No matches in the "screw starter" thread?

Goodell Bros.

7th Annual HUMBOLDT IOWA ANTIQUE TOOL AUCTION, May 5, 2012.

photos at
https://www.greatplanestrading.com/HUM12/HUM12-1_202SL.jpg (204)
and
https://www.greatplanestrading.com/HUM12/HUM12-1_202SLb.jpg (204)
(looks like the black-handled model is a match to your specimen.)

* I am not finding a patent number on this one. BK 12/30/24 13:52 PST

 

[fishwatcher]

Here is the one and only wooden screwdriver I have. It’s a Stanley Hurwood No. 20.

 

[powerwagon63]

 

[RTM]

Here's one that I just spotted some information on. Unfortunately, the shaft spins in the handle, so other than being pretty, its kinda useless. May try dripping something down under the ferrule to see if it tightens up.

Apex Dayton,O 1252

 

[d42jeep]

Some Stanley and Irwin wood handle screwdrivers have a long rivet that goes through the ferrule, handle and blade to prevent spinning. They are just peened over at each end. You could try that with your Apex. A nail would be an adequate substitute for the original rivet.
-Don

 

[piehammer]

Found this at the bottom of a tool tote I picked up today at an estate sale for a song. I guess the number is for the length because it's 4" long. Only other marking I can see is the 'Germany'. Six sided shaft.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Found another 1920's era S.J. Cox "HOLDFAST" at the flea yesterday. More photos and info in the 'Screwholders' thread, here.

 

[Beerhippie]

I founds this poor, abused Vessel the other day and decided it needed refuge:



It's been in intensive care the last couple of days--ultrasonic with hot sodium citrate solution--metal only--a little 4-0 steel wool and a touch of thinned BLO and:



It's now living on a nice workbench for abused tools. Actually seems to have seen little or no use, just got parked in a pool of water for a few years. I've never found one with a grip like that before.

 

[Beerhippie]

For reference, I got out my loupe and the screwdriver is a Vessel 1983H. There's a round logo mark above the model # with a 2 upper-left of the circle.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a North Bros ratcheting screwdriver I found at a recent estate sale.
I improved it’s appearance a bit.
-Don