Old socket set

[trackwelder]

Got this old socket set for $5.00. Anybody seen one like this? I bought it from a man in his 80's and he said it was from his fathers estate. I couldn't pass it up for five bucks.

 

[old salvage]

Holy smokes!
I wonder if that pre dates Mossbergs sockets.
It looks like you got a complete set too.
Nice find.

 

[ToolGlutton]

Man, please keep these treasures. Since I first saw the many old tools here, I have had a strong motivation to build a Tool Museum in Washington DC. Just like the Spy Museum (showing all the spy weapons). I think it will be great to show people (esp. kids) how human being make progress from using stones in the ancient time to using all the fancy tools they are using today.

 

[eschoendorff]

Man, i'd definitely share that pic with the guy than runs alloy artifacts.

Nice! And for $5... shame on you!!!

 

[trackwelder]

Man, i'd definitely share that pic with the guy than runs alloy artifacts.

Nice! And for $5... shame on you!!!

Well I would have liked to got it cheaper but $5 is as low as he would go

 

[Kevin54]

Pull the ratchet out and let's see a seperate pic of it. BTW...Nice score

 

[trackwelder]

 

[ToolGlutton]

Cool! So GearWrench borrowed the idea from this ratchet to develop their "pass-thru" ratchet?

 

[SocketDeviler]

That's a totally boss set. Sweet score.

 

[Cummins_Powered]

That is awesome! Good find

 

[le6920]

Wow, great find!

 

[Northstar9126]

So is anybody going to guess at the age?

 

[chad s]

So is anybody going to guess at the age?

Is say somewhere between 1908-1918.

 

[bigjon]

Chad, how did you come up with that date range? Just curious.

How come that set (which is older than all my sets put together) isn't showing any signs of rust, but my new sockets will rust by just looking at them?

 

[chad s]

Chad, how did you come up with that date range? Just curious.

How come that set (which is older than all my sets put together) isn't showing any signs of rust, but my new sockets will rust by just looking at them?

I only collect Snap on from the 20's and 30's mainly, but I see these sets all of the time. This is the same style/technology as the Mossenberg sets that are from the teens.

By the early 20's the stretched steel tube sockets were replaced with the far stronger forged sockets from snap on, blackhawk, walden-warchester, etc.

The quality of the steel in this era was probably better (Im no metalergist, but I think the higher carbon content makes the steel harder, and doesnt rust as easily as more mild steels).

 

[chad s]

Well, the patent date is Dec 1907, so that puts is from about then to the teens.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-Champio...oryZ4122QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[trackwelder]

This set has the 1907 pat number also. Thanks for the ebay link Chad. I suppose will see more of this stuff as folks die or part with the stuff they have had squireled away for decades.

 

[old salvage]

How come that set (which is older than all my sets put together) isn't showing any signs of rust, but my new sockets will rust by just looking at them?

What chad said. Also where the tools have been stored. maybe someone kept them in a nice dry closet for many years. Another factor may be that they are in a nice wooden box. Wood can sometimes absorb moisture. Notice also the set in chads link is nickel plated.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

That is a seriously cool set. Wish i had one like that..

 

[foul_ball]

man, that set must be like, 90 years old- I second sharing that with the alloy artifacts site. I'm sure they'd love to see it too.

edit- and then I saw Chad's explanation. um, yeah. What he said.