Met-Blue Wrenches and Other Unknown Tools

[BuffaloGuy92]

Hi everyone! New forum member here! Looking forward to any replys I geta nd also hope to be an asset on posts where I have some depth of knowlege!

I recently purchased a large collection of tools from a retiring co-worker. All in all a very nice set with 3 tool boxes and plenty of old SK, Wera, and rare Craftsman sets included. There were also a lot of things that i have struggled to identify or dig up any info on. I'll be posting photos throughout this thread but I wanted to start with a set of combination wrenches that were in the box. Metric sizes 6-32 with the brand name Met-Blue (see photo attached) with a very nice deep blue anodized coating. Ive scoured google looking for any info on them but so far only found a couple of Ebay listings.

Has anyone ever heard of these or know when they were made? Are they a good set (sure seems like it)? Is there a way to source replacements if any are damaged?

Thanks for any replies this gets! Ill be posting other mystery tools in upcoming posts!

 

[woody 73]

Maybe perhaps made by Armstrong ?

 

[four.cycle]

new one for me.... they do look somewhat "Armstrong-ish", but that's just a guess...

welcome to the site!

You will want to keep this link handy

and maybe this one too

 

[RTM]

Here is some background on the trademark to help give you an age. Doesn't say who made them for Keep Fill of Columbus Ohio Filed 12/3/1999, expired as of 1/18/2013.

 

[BuffaloGuy92]

Here is some background on the trademark to help give you an age. Doesn't say who made them for Keep Fill of Columbus Ohio Filed 12/3/1999, expired as of 1/18/2013.

Man that is fantastic! I wanted to guess they were early 2000's but wasnt completely sure. ***** that the compay went **** up but oh well. Thanks for the info!

 

[BuffaloGuy92]

new one for me.... they do look somewhat "Armstrong-ish", but that's just a guess...

welcome to the site!

You will want to keep this link handy

and maybe this one too

Man that list is awesome! Will deffinately keep that in my back pocket! Thanks again!

 

[BuffaloGuy92]

Alright with that question wrapped up nicely (thank you to RTM), I have one more item to post here for the time being.

These sockets were burried in a drawer of that tool box. Ive had a couple people tell me that they are for HVAC but nobody has any for sure answers. What i can say is that of the set of 8, 4 are 3/8 drive and 4 are 1/4 drive. All contain an o-ring at the open end, and some sort of rubber cushion(?) at the base. Ill post the photos of them below.

See what ya'll make of these things. Thanks in advance guys!

 

[flippin]

Tap sockets; Place different sized threading taps into the tap socket and use either a sliding t-handle, ratchet or cordless tool to drive the tap. O-ring serves as a retainer to keep the tap seated.

Tap Sockets Link

 

[Dave455]

Hi everyone! New forum member here! Looking forward to any replys I geta nd also hope to be an asset on posts where I have some depth of knowlege!

I recently purchased a large collection of tools from a retiring co-worker. All in all a very nice set with 3 tool boxes and plenty of old SK, Wera, and rare Craftsman sets included. There were also a lot of things that i have struggled to identify or dig up any info on. I'll be posting photos throughout this thread but I wanted to start with a set of combination wrenches that were in the box. Metric sizes 6-32 with the brand name Met-Blue (see photo attached) with a very nice deep blue anodized coating. Ive scoured google looking for any info on them but so far only found a couple of Ebay listings.

Has anyone ever heard of these or know when they were made? Are they a good set (sure seems like it)? Is there a way to source replacements if any are damaged?

Thanks for any replies this gets! Ill be posting other mystery tools in upcoming posts!

That is interesting! Just when you think you’ve seen everything, something totally new comes along.

Although it’s difficult to say without handling or using a tool, there are a lot of small details about that wrench that suggest to me that it is of the highest quality.

A couple of guys have mentioned Armstrong, and I would agree. Looks very similar to the black oxide Armstrong wrenches, but with a blue coating.

Nobody has spelt it out, but I think you would have to be exceptionally lucky to come across replacements if needed. I’d just use them, and if I needed a replacement I’d pick something similar - either a Snap On industrial finish, or a Williams.

 

[ecotec]

I absolutely love tap sockets.

Just thinking about the old fashioned tap handles makes my hands hurt…

They are a joy to use.

It is interesting that the company that makes those wrenches is from Taylor Michigan. If they were made in USA, I would be on a quest to find every size.

 

[BuffaloGuy92]

Tap sockets; Place different sized threading taps into the tap socket and use either a sliding t-handle, ratchet or cordless tool to drive the tap. O-ring serves as a retainer to keep the tap seated.

Tap Sockets Link

Wow. Had to go test it out to be sure. That is frickin cool! Best part is the box i bought came with probabally 35 or so differnt taps. Thanks a bunch flippin! Will definately be putting those to use!

 

[BuffaloGuy92]

That is interesting! Just when you think you’ve seen everything, something totally new comes along.

Although it’s difficult to say without handling or using a tool, there are a lot of small details about that wrench that suggest to me that it is of the highest quality.

A couple of guys have mentioned Armstrong, and I would agree. Looks very similar to the black oxide Armstrong wrenches, but with a blue coating.

Nobody has spelt it out, but I think you would have to be exceptionally lucky to come across replacements if needed. I’d just use them, and if I needed a replacement I’d pick something similar - either a Snap On industrial finish, or a Williams.

I will say the blue coating on them is awesome! Really sharp looking hanging in the tool box. If push came to shove and i had to replace one I would probabally end up going with SK or Wera as Ive had really good luck with both. Hopefully it will be one replacement at a time as either way would be expensive!

 

[Dave455]

I will say the blue coating on them is awesome! Really sharp looking hanging in the tool box. If push came to shove and i had to replace one I would probabally end up going with SK or Wera as Ive had really good luck with both. Hopefully it will be one replacement at a time as either way would be expensive!

Yes, very unusual too!

I know that if I’d seen those wrenches at a reasonable price I would have bought them for sure!

Williams offer coloured wrenches, but I’ve only seen yellow and black I think. Not sure how durable they are, but they’re for industrial use so probably not bad.

Enjoy them!

 

[BuffaloGuy92]

I absolutely love tap sockets.

Just thinking about the old fashioned tap handles makes my hands hurt…

They are a joy to use.

It is interesting that the company that makes those wrenches is from Taylor Michigan. If they were made in USA, I would be on a quest to find every size.

Based on the markings those are US made. The set i have includes #1-#4 in 1/4 drive and #5-#8 in 3/8 drive.

 

[BuffaloGuy92]

Based on the markings those are US made. The set i have includes #1-#4 in 1/4 drive and #5-#8 in 3/8 drive.

I think i mistook you for taling about the sockets. My mistake!

I wish i knew what the origional set of the Met Blues consisted of but suffice to say the set i have has 6 mm through 32 mm with some exceptions. Only ones Ive see are 46 mm on ebay for 40 ish dollars.

 

[bob15]

Tap sockets, made by Lisle: https://www.lislecorp.com/specialty-tools/tap-socket-set

 

[neophyte]

Yes, very unusual too!

I know that if I’d seen those wrenches at a reasonable price I would have bought them for sure!

Williams offer coloured wrenches, but I’ve only seen yellow and black I think. Not sure how durable they are, but they’re for industrial use so probably not bad.

Enjoy them!

Williams offers powder coated wrenches in yellow, red and black.
I think they’ve been offering these wrenches for at least a decade if not two.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DO6VA0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Dave455]

Williams offers powder coated wrenches in yellow, red and black.
I think they’ve been offering these wrenches for at least a decade if not two.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DO6VA0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Yes, those are the things I was thinking of!

Not sure how durable they are, I’m not generally very impressed with the long term durability of powder coat, but It does depend on the paint used.

The Met-Blue look like they might be durable.

 

[KnurledNut]

This is a piece to the puzzle of another post by @Gepetto :
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/who-makes-these-impact-sockets.505446/#post-9818407