Post up your Thorsen tools!

[Oldtuleguy]

I have an 89 j works really well

 

[four.cycle]

^ Oh, yeah.... they WORK fine... but they're horribly balanced and the head is monstrous for a 3/8" drive ratchet by contemporary standards.
I believe a testament to their uselessness - I never saw the point of the "socket ejector" idea - is that there are so many that show up in Ebay listings - brand new, still in the package, unopened.
Sold as the "Socket Shooter", which was a huge fail in respect to marketing.

I believe I sold both of mine at a loss just to get them out of here. One was NOS.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

They are clunky!

 

[d42jeep]

I always thought that the premise was worthwhile as sometimes it was difficult to switch sockets with greasy hands. Obviously the marketing worked on me but that wasn’t too surprising. Thorsen made them for Powr-Kraft as well.
-Don

 

[Etchase]

How can anyone sell one of those?!? They are so fun.

 

[four.cycle]

^ If you ever held one in your hand, you would understand why I am saying they're "clunky".
As it turns out, I DO have one left! $25 bucks and it's yours! (looks like the NOS unit sold and this one is still here occupying space.)

 

[Etchase]

My Powr Kraft 3/8 version is a tad over 1 5/8 inch thick including the anvil! I think that qualifies as clunky. It is in what could be described as very little if ever used condition like the rest.

 

[Lesserstore]

I picked up this Thorsen "Value Line" set of Ebay for $38 with shipping and tax. I don't really see what makes them "Value Line" other than the cheap box and spinner, as the sockets and ratchet have the same grade of finish I as other Dallas era tools. The handle on the ratchet looks like they used left overs from a JC Penny contract. I found 2 JCP Christmas catalogs with this style of handle made by Thorsen from 1980 and '81.

 

[four.cycle]

^ that's interesting.. that's the first time I've ever seen "Value Line"
did that come from Oklahoma City, by chance?

(that's actually NOT a bad ratchet if you put some proper lube in it.)

 

[Etchase]

I picked up this Thorsen "Value Line" set of Ebay for $38 with shipping and tax. I don't really see what makes them "Value Line" other than the cheap box and spinner, as the sockets and ratchet have the same grade of finish I as other Dallas era tools. The handle on the ratchet looks like they used left overs from a JC Penny contract. I found 2 JCP Christmas catalogs with this style of handle made by Thorsen from 1980 and '81.

I just posted a similar ratchet in post 1556 above. I had never seen a Thorsen with a flat handle. Great find. Could you post a photo of the other side of the ratchet handle? The anvil side.

 

[Lesserstore]

^ that's interesting.. that's the first time I've ever seen "Value Line"
did that come from Oklahoma City, by chance?

(that's actually NOT a bad ratchet if you put some proper lube in it.)

It came from Dallas. I'm thinking they came out of some old warehouse. I lubed the ratchet with lithium grease, and it's about as smooth as my Husky 45 tooth Kilness. The Value Line logo has a circle R but I've come up empty handed. There were several available and still one left: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3651210575...r-S-2hqTRu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I just posted a similar ratchet in post 1556 above. I had never seen a Thorsen with a flat handle. Great find. Could you post a photo of the other side of the ratchet handle? The anvil side.

Last photo.

 

[Lesserstore]

I watched this video:

Finally found one of my own, but my example has the raised panel on one side and the other side is ground down. I don’t know if it was done by a previous owner or factory. It’s a pretty good job. The ball detent is traditional in my version. Anyone have a story on the flat raised panel handle? I assume the patent is for the pawl issued in 1981.

Here's a picture from the 1981 JC Penny Christmas catalog, it appears in 1980 as well, but not this close up.
Also you'll find a JC Penny ratchet just like it (save for the markings) on post #170 on the JC Penny thread: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/j-c-penny-tools.2632/page-5

 

[Etchase]

Here's a picture from the 1981 JC Penny Christmas catalog, it appears in 1980 as well, but not this close up.
Also you'll find a JC Penny ratchet just like it (save for the markings) on post #170 on the JC Penny thread: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/j-c-penny-tools.2632/page-5

And the Penny version only has the raised panel on the switch side like the unmarked version I found. I picked up the last eBay one thanks to you

 

[four.cycle]

National / National Hand Tool, 12827 Valley Branch Lane, Dallas, TX / est. 1978 / acquired by Stanley 1986 / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/what-can-you-tell-me-about-national-hand-tool.325051/ /

From my observations over the last 9 years that I've been here, I am absolutely convinced - notwithstanding my lacking any empirical evidence - that Thorsen was outsourcing ratchets from National Tool in their waning days.
To support that argument, I submit:


Thorsen 77JCT 3/8" drive RHFT ratchet (Kilness patent design)

Thorsen 77JCT 3/8" drive RHFT ratchet (Kilness patent design)

While this is a completely different ratchet than the 77JC shown above, it is (IMHO) prima facie evidence Thorsen was outsourcing from National, which had been acquired by Stanley in 1986.
Ergo: Stanley would have had all the dies and tooling at their new facility in Ft. Worth, right next door to Giller :.

Giller / Giller Tool Co., 2527 Willowbrook Road, Dallas, TX 75220 / see also Thorsen / est. 1952 (?) / https://wrenchwiki.com/giller-tool-company/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...-chicago-stamped-1967-anyone-have-one.494167/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/giller-socket-set-box.490292/ /

There's just way too much of that "coincidence" stuff there for me to believe otherwise.

Call me crazy if you like, but MY take on it:

Thorsen was in deep doo-doo by the mid-1980s.
Stanley bought National Hand Tool in 1986, and they already owned all the rights to Luther KIlness's patent, and already had all the dies and the tooling.
Obviously this particular unit was outsourced from somebody - it is most certainly not a Thorsen design, which begs the question:
who?
and where?
(why isn't relevant.)

I'd put money on that J.C. Penney unit being made BY Thorsen - possibly IN Emreyville, but more likely Ft. Worth - to fill a J.C. Penney contract. And I would not at all be surprised if it had actually been produced on one of National Tool's production lines.

Just my two cents.

 

[d42jeep]

I don’t believe that the flat handle ratchets were made in Emeryville. I think that production had shifted to Dallas by then. AA’s take on Thorsen history is pretty much the same as yours.

Thorsen Manufacturing: History and Development

An article on the history and development of Thorsen Manufacturing, with examples of its tools.

alloy-artifacts.org

I personally have more interest in tools made in Emeryville than the newer ones made elsewhere but it is an interesting subject.
Here are a couple of the newer ratchets.
-Don

 

[Lesserstore]

I did find a different Value Line set on Worthpoint. It's a 12 piece SAE set with a much better box. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-thorsen-tool-usa-8-drive-12-3895480855

 

[four.cycle]

I think that production had shifted to Dallas by then.

You are correct. By that time (mid-1980's) they'd already moved everything to Dallas.
I should not be on here posting at 2:30 in the morning.

 

[four.cycle]

I did find a different Value Line set on Worthpoint. It's a 12 piece SAE set with a much better box. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-thorsen-tool-usa-8-drive-12-3895480855

same set.
almost identical to the one I sent to Blake a couple years ago, but I think he got a regular ol' round-handled 77JC

 

[Etchase]

Even this guy found one yesterday. He gets most everything wrong, but he provides pictures of a lot of things, so there is that. Snap Ring Chronicles on the other hand is reliable, and both these ratchets in the two videos have the unusual hex peening on the retention ball. My example has the traditional round peen. I’ll try to get the pawl out of one of these to verify that it has the V shaped feature for the switch spring to lock into

 

[four.cycle]

^ That hexagonal peening of the detent ball is definitely odd.

 

[Lesserstore]

Mine is hex peened.

 

[Lesserstore]

Something I noticed about these Value Line sockets is that the broaching and dimensions are slightly different from the rest of my cold formed Thorsen sockets. The Value Line has a sloped ring at the bottom and is shorter and thicker, while my regular Thorsen is perfectly flat, taller, and thinner.
I know Thorsen used cold forming at Emeryville, Dallas, and Emporium. So I wonder if slightly different variations of the cold forming method were used at different plants/time frames?
Also I found a KAL USA socket that is the exact same thickness, only a few thousandths taller, and has the ring at the bottom. I know there is a connection between KAL and Emporium, so I wonder if the Value Line was made there?

Left to right: KAL, Value Line, and Thorsen

 

[d42jeep]

My guess is that those sockets were made by this company In Dallas. They were marked with quite a few brands.
-Don

What can you tell me about National Hand Tool?

I've figured out that they owned husky and blackhawk, and were purchased by Stanley. They also apparently made craftsman EE sockets, or were at least involved with Stanley in some twisted way. Other than that info is slim by my usual methods. Were they a short lived holding company similar to...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[bonneyman]

Well, it looks like I'm going to be able to complete my Thorsen "Mfd in USA" metric combos. Found the missing 16mm on the bay and it's on it's way to me. Unfortunately my camera is not working so won't be able to post a set pic, but wanted everyone to be able to share my joy of completing the set!

Only took 8 years! lol

 

[3baygarage]

An old Thorsen 1/4” drive socket. Plain or cad finish? I don’t see many like this. It was well hidden in a box of Plomb.

 

[d42jeep]

I have some early ones but I don’t think that any are 1/4” drive.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

We found some Thorsen tools at today’s Pinole, CA estate sale. The socket still had most of a price tag on it.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I find quite a bit of Thorsen both in the mountains and in the Bay Area. I normally just throw the tools into a storage box and when the box gets pretty full I go through and add the tools to the collection, keeping the best examples and pulling out the less desirable duplicates. Here is a partial set and the recent tool acquisitions needing to be incorporated.
The rest of the pictures are of the keeper wrenches.
Offset DBE wrenches

DBE wrenches with less offset
Large DOE wrenches


Smaller DOE wrenches
Unmarked DOEs, a tappet wrench and a flare nut wrench.
Emeryville made offset DBE wrenches with no COO.
Large combos
Smaller combos
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Smallest combos
Stubby combos
Half moon wrenches
Vee DOE wrenches
Large Vee combos
Smaller Vee combos
Metric Vee combos

Metric combo wrenches
Stubby metric combo wrenches
Metric Vee DOE wrenches

-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I found these Thorsen tools at this morning’s tool sale and cleaned them up. I needed a 13/16” deep to complete a set but this one is too long. I’m having trouble finding the shorter version.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I’m always tempted to buy 1/4” drive sets with boxes and decals in good condition and this partial set arrived yesterday. The ratchet and extension are too modern but I picked up an appropriate ratchet earlier this month. I’ll go through the Thorsen spares and try to complete the set.
-Don

 

[bonneyman]

We found some Thorsen tools at today’s Pinole, CA estate sale. The socket still had most of a price tag on it.
-Don

Gotta love them middle era Thorsens!

 

[d42jeep]

This 3/8” drive partial set arrived from an eBay seller a few days ago and I got a chance today to add the missing two pieces. The ratchet was a S-K Wayne, the extension Walden and the extra socket was a Britool whitworth.
Cleaned and completed
Contents list
Added the set to the basement Thorsen display.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I’m always tempted to buy 1/4” drive sets with boxes and decals in good condition and this partial set arrived yesterday. The ratchet and extension are too modern but I picked up an appropriate ratchet earlier this month. I’ll go through the Thorsen spares and try to complete the set.
-Don

It turns out that the set was more complete than I thought. After checking the part number on the box with a catalog or two, this set should just be sockets and a flex handle. I need to remove the ratchet and add some period correct 8 point sockets. I spent some time removing what looked like some masses of #2 Permatex from the box
-Don

 

[bonneyman]

Here's my hodge-podge set of Thorsen wrenches.

 

[d42jeep]

It turns out that the set was more complete than I thought. After checking the part number on the box with a catalog or two, this set should just be sockets and a flex handle. I need to remove the ratchet and add some period correct 8 point sockets. I spent some time removing what looked like some masses of #2 Permatex from the box
-Don

The correct 8 point sockets arrived to complete the #1411 set.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I was happy to find this almost complete Emeryville made set missing only the 1/4” 8 point socket. This one may have one of the most pristine interiors that I’ve seen. I added the missing socket to complete the set.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I hadn’t seen one of these in Thorsen so I thought I should buy it.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ why?

 

[d42jeep]

Why not?
-Don