Need info on a few ratchets...

[Jason280]

Picked up a few odd ratchets this week, and wanted to run them by the GJ folk...

First is a Japanese made True Craft in very good condition. Action on this ratchet is extremely smooth, and very solid. Is this simply a knock off of other round heads, or does it have a different style internal mechanism? Are they fairly common?

 

[Jason280]

Second is a rather generic looking 1/2" drive round head, USA made and simply stamped "JS USA". Any information?

 

[Jason280]

Last is an older PLVMB 1/2" drive. Once I cleaned and lubed the ratchet, it made the feel very impressive. I really like the style, and wouldn't mind finding a couple more. Any guesses on the age?

 

[bonneyman]

The JS is probably an S-K clone. I had a JS fine tooth ratchet a couple of years ago, and had a mechanism like the Tuff 1's.
The Plomb could probably be dated from AA. I think the "O" in "Plomb" being an upside down triangle dates it.

 

[Jason280]

The Plomb could probably be dated from AA. I think the "O" in "Plomb" being an upside down triangle dates it.

Any guesses on what the date would be?

 

[ganymede]

I'm gonna guess that Plomb is early to mid 40's.

 

[sk farmer]

The JS is probably an S-K clone. I had a JS fine tooth ratchet a couple of years ago, and had a mechanism like the Tuff 1's.
The Plomb could probably be dated from AA. I think the "O" in "Plomb" being an upside down triangle dates it.

while i have seen items marked js that were clearly sk made, i think this particular model is more like a wright. notice the split ring on the back side and the shape of the selector or cap. i can't say for sure that it is a wright but i don't think it is an sk.

 

[ganymede]

while i have seen items marked js that were clearly sk made, i think this particular model is more like a wright. notice the split ring on the back side and the shape of the selector or cap. i can't say for sure that it is a wright but i don't think it is an sk.

Agreed.
Either that or one of those old Challenger brand rats.

 

[PowderKeg]

Ref the JS ratchet, definitely not S-K, Wright, or old Challenger. AFAIK, JS was another (later) .gov contract brand. I think this particular ratchet design was sourced from Stanley, as I have a few JS branded ones as well as a handful of other brands that I think are also Stanley sourced. I've also seen a healthy number of this style with either no COO or a Pacific Rim COO (got a Taiwan SEARS model) on them rather than USA, so I'm pondering that this might be one of the designs that put Stanley afoul of the FTC for improper use of "USA" for COO. No hard evidence on that thought though

Like sk farmer, I've also seen definite S-K sourced ratchets/tools branded for JS, this just isn't one of them.

 

[Jason280]

I believe I may have another "JS" marked ratchet in the ratchet pile, need to check and see.

No info on the Japanese ratchet?

 

[woody 73]

I have bought tools from some sellers that bought from large government auctions marked with the JS stamp.

 

[ganymede]

Ref the JS ratchet, definitely not S-K, Wright, or old Challenger. AFAIK, JS was another (later) .gov contract brand. I think this particular ratchet design was sourced from Stanley, as I have a few JS branded ones as well as a handful of other brands that I think are also Stanley sourced. ...

What about the old Fleet roundheads ? Are they similar to your JS rats inside?
They're actually what I meant , not Challenger. Fleet would sort of make sense since you mentioned Stanley.

 

[Farleyfan]

The true craft ratchets are very good quality IMHO !
You should post it in the tools of japan thread and see what info you get.

 

[Jason280]

Good idea, thanks!

 

[sk farmer]

pull the split ring off of the js, open it up and i bet we can i.d. it.

 

[zcbauer89]

Those True Craft rats are pretty nice. I have some True Craft odds and ends in my box. Mainly in my service truck. Pretty decent tools. I am going to say that the ratchet marked simply JS looks a lot like a Wright, but that's just by judging from the round head, and the way the mechanism looks. But that's just a guess.

 

[Outlawmws]

Plvmb is late 39 to 48 to the Proto era, does it have a "WF" on it somewhere? If so it's Wright field.

 

[nicksnothereman]

Picked up a few odd ratchets this week, and wanted to run them by the GJ folk...

First is a Japanese made True Craft in very good condition. Action on this ratchet is extremely smooth, and very solid. Is this simply a knock off of other round heads, or does it have a different style internal mechanism? Are they fairly common?

They got these new (look old stock) on ebay for 14 bucks. The way they package some of their stuff (shrink wrapped to card board) means it might be 70s or 80s (unless that's the way japanese mfgs sell sets). Though I've never seen a company offer ratchets and extensions wrapped to cardboard like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRUECRAFT-5...44919775?pt=US_Hand_Tools&hash=item2336e653df

but do see it with old stock stuff, nowadays they use blister packaging.

Looks decent enough for use to me.

 

[bonneyman]

Any guesses on what the date would be?

I think the consensus is 1940's

 

[bonneyman]

while i have seen items marked js that were clearly sk made, i think this particular model is more like a wright. notice the split ring on the back side and the shape of the selector or cap. i can't say for sure that it is a wright but i don't think it is an sk.

Yeah, didn't notice the split ring.
Prolly not S-K.

 

[JDSV]

No info on the Japanese ratchet?

I cannot comment on your exact ratchet but I found these threads that may provide you some additional information.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47278

http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=8790.0

 

[Jason280]

Thanks for the links!

 

[PowderKeg]

What about the old Fleet roundheads ? Are they similar to your JS rats inside?
They're actually what I meant , not Challenger. Fleet would sort of make sense since you mentioned Stanley.

No, not them either really. If I can find some time I might pull several different brands apart to double check, but the only one that I can think of at the moment that is somewhat similar in external appearance is the late design Easco paintbrush handle. However I believe I compared the two sometime back and they were enough differences to consider them unrelated.