Post up your Thorsen tools!

[d42jeep]

Thanks! I took some pictures of wrenches while I had them out.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

Nice.
Do you think the Evaporust was a big factor on Thorsen chrome, or do you think it's more a matter of Thorsen chrome?

 

[555]

FWIW, completely irrespective of your roll and Thorsen, I have found that particular size combination to be very iffy across the industry. Most mfgrs made it, and listed it in their total inventory, but many mfgrs did not include it in sets, with the 11/16" more often being paired with 5/8", and the 3/4" more often being paired with 7/8", and not wanting to repeat ends.

The most remarkable thing about that Emeryville K3000 roll from my perspective is the marketing slogan. "Manufacturers of SPEED-HED wrenches". It's not even a Speed-Hed set, obviously. One wonders how many other things they were emblazoning that slogan on. It's significant and should not at all be taken lightly that that is what they're choosing as their identity over anything else. It reminds me of the puff piece from a trade mag that MR. X posted from 1949 on the Emeryville facility, which was completely focused on the facility itself, the sizes, new machines, processes, etc, except for the three column inches they used to talk about their Speed-Hed production. They were obviously all-in and promoting the heck out of it at that time (1948-1951).

Another surprising thing about the roll (and Oily’s box) is that Emeryville is mentioned rather than the myth of being made in Oakland or their sales office in San Francisco. All through Thorsen’s history of manufacturing in the East Bay, they intentionally excluded the fact that their tools were made in Emeryville in favor of having Oakland as part of their logo and listing Oakland as part of their Emeryville address. They even had Oakland marked right on the Speed-Hed wrenches. The mention of Emeryville was obviously brief, since the Oakland logo was used right up until it was replaced by Dallas.
-Don

My wife's great uncle was the Mayor of Emeryville for many years. His house is about 1/2 mile from the Thorsen plant. It was a rough area and likely still is.

 

[d42jeep]

In recent years Emeryville has moved upscale and is now quite the shopping destination. Parts of Oakland are now generally considered much less desirable and more crime ridden than Emeryville. It’s funny how perceptions change over the years. Here are some pictures of early Thorsen tools including some with the TT markings. In the first picture the tools are likely earlier than the box.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

This USN marked 8 point socket came in last night’s mail. It will go into the Navy box.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

1933 Thorsen Tool Catalog No. 3334 now available at International Tool Catalog Library

* be sure to click the little button up at the top with the little red heart on it.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are my Thorsen estate sale finds from yesterday. The little ratchet immediately went into the evaporust.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

wow! that 3814 set is brand new! very nice!

curious to see how that 77MC comes out of the Evaporust bath.

which reminds me....

if any of you gentlemen are die-hard Giller fans, there's a 77MC with the screwball "sunburst" selector knob on the back listed on ebay here:

Giller 2pc 77MC 1/4" Dr 4-1/2" Long Ratchet Knurled Handle Universal Joint USA | eBay

Preowned shows normal wear from use as pictured.

www.ebay.com

pretty sure I already have a couple or I'd snag it.

 

[genog]

Today was S-K Day at the Flea Market.
I missed an early Dog Bone Wrench
But.....
The buyer of that wrench left this Thorsen for me:

 

[OilyRascal]

1933 Thorsen Tool Catalog No. 3334 now available at International Tool Catalog Library

* be sure to click the little button up at the top with the little red heart on it.

Thank you!

 

[d42jeep]

wow! that 3814 set is brand new! very nice!

curious to see how that 77MC comes out of the Evaporust bath.

It didn’t come out like new, but it looks better than it did.
-Don

 

[OilyRascal]

Here are my Thorsen estate sale finds from yesterday. The little ratchet immediately went into the evaporust.
-Don

Very Nice

 

[four.cycle]

so it didn't mottle that finish at all then? interesting.

 

[d42jeep]

Just some pits where the chrome plating is missing. Just found a few pieces at today’s estate sale. An adapter, 5/8 deep socket and a 12mm socket. The DBE is 13/16” x 7/8”.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

THORSEN 24" x 24" TOOL BOARD (1/2" drive sockets and drive accessories)
(see photos)
used
$20.00 + $25.00 shipping now. 0 bids now. ends Mon 11/29

Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

==

THORSEN 24" x 24" TOOL BOARD (1/2" drive sockets and drive accessories)
(see photos) missing some hooks!
used
$20.00 + $25.00 shipping now. 0 bids now. ends Mon 11/29

Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[OilyRascal]

The "Socket Shooter" in yet another packaging form.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/608023045995532/permalink/2386452191485933/

 

[four.cycle]

"Socket Snake" is not a term I have heard before.

I have to wonder how well that went over in respect to marketing.

 

[OilyRascal]

"Socket Snake" is not a term I have heard before.

I have to wonder how well that went over in respect to marketing.

Good Eye! I missed that.

 

[Mintgrun]

"Socket Snake" is not a term I have heard before.

This one's got a couple THORSEN 1/4 inchers in its tail.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

They made a tool to handle those safely in the wild.

 

[OilyRascal]

Here are my Thorsen estate sale finds from yesterday. The little ratchet immediately went into the evaporust.
-Don

Wow. That is one nice, cherry, set. I just don't run across such things in Arkansas. I have to depend on friends and scouts.

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks. It seems that Thorsen, having been a local brand for so many years, is fairly common to find at Bay Area estate and garage sales. That being said, I was very surprised to see a complete, unused set. I almost missed it because the box was so pristine that I assumed that it was a modern offshore set. Another customer at the sale was looking for a screwdriver to remove a tool from a workbench and opened the box right in front of me. It was all I could do to wait for him to barely close it before I snatched it up. I am a frequent buyer with that particular company and the gentleman checking me out gave it to me for half the marked price, much to my surprise.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

1933 Thorsen Tool catalog No. 3334 now available for download at International Tool Catalog Library

1938 Thorsen Tool catalog No. 3839 now available for download at International Tool Catalog Library

There are 32 other "Thorsen" documents available for download at ITCL, many of which were just uploaded to the site.
(They were single fly sheets in a binder and we determined that since the dates were different on them they should be scanned and uploaded separately.)

 

[bonneyman]

THORSEN 24" x 24" TOOL BOARD (1/2" drive sockets and drive accessories)
(see photos)
used
$20.00 + $25.00 shipping now. 0 bids now. ends Mon 11/29

Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

==

THORSEN 24" x 24" TOOL BOARD (1/2" drive sockets and drive accessories)
(see photos) missing some hooks!
used
$20.00 + $25.00 shipping now. 0 bids now. ends Mon 11/29

Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I have that tool board. A member gifted it to me some years ago in a Secret Santa, and I still haven't found all the pieces to fill it.
Nicely constructed, long pegs so the owner can have several of the same pieces hanging.

 

[OilyRascal]

I have that tool board. A member gifted it to me some years ago in a Secret Santa, and I still haven't found all the pieces to fill it.
Nicely constructed, long pegs so the owner can have several of the same pieces hanging.

Send me a list of what you need and I will hunt for spares. I know have the Thorsen group well organized and cN put my hands on things.

 

[OilyRascal]

1933 Thorsen Tool catalog No. 3334 now available for download at International Tool Catalog Library

1938 Thorsen Tool catalog No. 3839 now available for download at International Tool Catalog Library

There are 32 other "Thorsen" documents available for download at ITCL, many of which were just uploaded to the site.
(They were single fly sheets in a binder and we determined that since the dates were different on them they should be scanned and uploaded separately.)

Thank you!

 

[bonneyman]

Send me a list of what you need and I will hunt for spares. I know have the Thorsen group well organized and cN put my hands on things.

Oh thanks, man, but I gave up on filling that Thorsen board long ago. Too many other "collections" needing my attention.

 

[four.cycle]

more Thorsen documents available at ITCL here

There were a lot of single-sheet flyers, most of which had different dates on them. Many of those (Thorsen flyers) are only a single sheet.

It looks like there have been some other catalogs uploaded to the site as well.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are my Thorsen estate sale finds today. Before and after, kind of.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Out of the evaporust. I think that they are as good as I could get them.
-Don

 

[bonneyman]

Those open gear rats are brute's! I've used my 3/8"er on jobs and it is a tough beast and a half.

And I've had my 77MC rat since 1981 and it still does the job.

 

[MR.X]

Another surprising thing about the roll (and Oily’s box) is that Emeryville is mentioned rather than the myth of being made in Oakland or their sales office in San Francisco. All through Thorsen’s history of manufacturing in the East Bay, they intentionally excluded the fact that their tools were made in Emeryville in favor of having Oakland as part of their logo and listing Oakland as part of their Emeryville address. They even had Oakland marked right on the Speed-Hed wrenches. The mention of Emeryville was obviously brief, since the Oakland logo was used right up until it was replaced by Dallas.
-Don

about 9 years ago Lawton Shurtleff's (ran Thorsen from 41-68) son got on the PAPAWS wrench forum for a minute and said "Since in the early days, nobody recognized Emeryville, Thorsen would just say that their company was in Oakland." Of course that doesn't make it definitive, the decision likely had a variety of considerations and Thorsen was using Oakland on their stuff long before the Shurtleff's arrived on the scene, but hell, Lawton might have discussed it with the previous owner too, and consider Thorsen's original founder Ned Boyd's previous company P&C. Located in Milwaukie, Oregon they eventually just used Portland as their address likely for the same reason. Plus, as early as the 20's there were only a couple tool company listings in the Portland phone book and one of them surprisingly was a local number/address for Milwaukee Tool & Forge ( Wisconsin) which must have caused some confusion.

 

[OilyRascal]

I am cross-posting a request here as a matter of maximum visibility. I am seeking to establish contact with any person that has served as an employee of Thorsen Tool at any point in history. Details are in the post link below - as not to dilute this thread with something beyond it's intended scope:

Seeking people that served as employees of Thorsen Tool Co. at any point in history

Hello - I am seeking to make contact with any person that has ever served as an employee of Thorsen Tool company. If you would kindly make contact yourself with me, or direct any acquaintances you may have that have served in such a role to me. Private Message here would likely be the best...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[OilyRascal]

Oh thanks, man, but I gave up on filling that Thorsen board long ago. Too many other "collections" needing my attention.

I completely understand. I have had to make some of those same decisions myself. I have been "out of the game" for some time for many personal reasons and have recently re-engaged in my love of tools. I do have an accumulation of some things "Bonney" from over the years if you are interested and would like to take those details into a PM here.

 

[four.cycle]

(* posting this here as well for those of you who don't pay any attention to the "ebay" thread *)

THORSEN (US) 11-pc 3/8" drive Metric socket set w/blow-mold case
ratchet is a 77JC - sizes of sockets listed in ad. confirmed with seller it's all US-made stuff.
brand new
$14.99 incl. shipping "buy now"

11 piece 3/8" Metric Drive Socket Set, Made in USA | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 11 piece 3/8" Metric Drive Socket Set, Made in USA at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

* at that price you can buy them for stocking stuffers for your grandchildren. *

 

[OilyRascal]

about 9 years ago Lawton Shurtleff's (ran Thorsen from 41-68) son got on the PAPAWS wrench forum for a minute and said "Since in the early days, nobody recognized Emeryville, Thorsen would just say that their company was in Oakland." Of course that doesn't make it definitive, the decision likely had a variety of considerations and Thorsen was using Oakland on their stuff long before the Shurtleff's arrived on the scene, but hell, Lawton might have discussed it with the previous owner too, and consider Thorsen's original founder Ned Boyd's previous company P&C. Located in Milwaukie, Oregon they eventually just used Portland as their address likely for the same reason. Plus, as early as the 20's there were only a couple tool company listings in the Portland phone book and one of them surprisingly was a local number/address for Milwaukee Tool & Forge ( Wisconsin) which must have caused some confusion.

Yes, sir. He left brief comment on a thread I originated and maintained for many years.. I have recently made contact with him, Jeffrey via other more personal means. He has provided invaluable information and guidance. I am also seeking contact with you (in a more personal way than here) when you have a desire and time to do so. I feel strongly we are in a position to help each other as it relates to Thorsen research.

 

[four.cycle]

1983 Thorsen Catalog and Price list NOW AVAILABLE for Download at International Tool Catalog Library!

thanks Mark!

 

[honza.vosalik]

THORSEN 24" x 24" TOOL BOARD (1/2" drive sockets and drive accessories)
(see photos)
used
$20.00 + $25.00 shipping now. 0 bids now. ends Mon 11/29

Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

==

THORSEN 24" x 24" TOOL BOARD (1/2" drive sockets and drive accessories)
(see photos) missing some hooks!
used
$20.00 + $25.00 shipping now. 0 bids now. ends Mon 11/29

Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage THORSEN TOOLS ratchet and socket sales display board 24"x24" at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

The issue with these is unless they come with the appropriate tools, they turn into a nightmare of searching for the tools. I know what I'm talking about.

 

[saukit]

I know that this is the Thorsen thread but that Craftsman cabinet is awesome!

 

[OilyRascal]

^ yeah. this.

all of the model 77, 77J, and 77M Thorsen ratchets that i own are the open-gear type.

the "sealed" models all have a "C" in the part number. (e.g, 77C, 77JC, 77MC)

I realize you're using the 77 series for your example, but this very early model 79 presents an issue with the theory, at large, across all ratchets that closed head ratches had a "C" behind the model number. I have not yet seen an example, but it could be the model 77 shared the same history as this 79.