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Proto Bet'R Grip Screwdriver part numbers

natas2000

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Jan 18, 2011
Messages
255
Does anyone have the clear yellow Proto screwdriver part numbers from either 70's to the 2000's. I think its all the same. And they were all called Bet'r Grip? The part numbers start with 98xx or 96xx I think. I've been picking them up everywhere pretty cheap. The old 50-60's catalogs are missing certain numbers or are different part numbers I've come across. I'm trying not to duplicate them.
Thank you.
 
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bonneyman

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Apr 22, 2010
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Desert SW
Great tool to be collecting!
I have all of the drivers except 4 model numbers. I have a few specialty tools and allen drivers.
Here's the most recent pic of my collection. Best of luck on your search!
 

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Private Lugnutz

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I couldn't find any past '61.
Not sure what you mean by "find", but are you searching for "Proto" and/or "Challenger" on Internet Archive? Here is a link to a list of ALL the Proto catalogs on IA/ITCL - where @macaxis linked the '67 from, sorted by date, in descending order. A very handy site and a very handy sorting feature for any hand tool collector. I see an '88, '82 (Challenger by Proto), '80, and '69 later than the '67.

But I only clicked here to comment on the BET'R GRIP name.

As many collectors know, especially those with a fondness for J.P. Danielson, decades before the name was used by the Proto Tools Division of Pendleton Tool Industries, Inc. (1963-1964), Ingersoll-Rand (1964-1984), and Stanley (1984->) for a line of screwdrivers, it was used by J.P. Danielson for a line of adjustable wrenches. It was TM'ed by J.P. Danielson on October 13, 1936, claiming first use in 1933. When Plomb Tool Company bought J.P. Danielson in October 1946, they acquired the rights to the TM. In 1962, the head honchos at PTI, Inc. cleverly un-retired the name for screwdrivers. Strangely, they filed a new TM, apparently because the original TM was for adjustable wrenches only.

I have talked about this before, but just in case you weren't aware. It's one of the more interesting branding stories in hand tools. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to think of another in which a TM was used for one type of tool and then used decades later for a different type of tool. The neat part is that is still made sense, functionally, and semantically, and was just as catchy, even though the tools had different applications.
 

bonneyman

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Apr 22, 2010
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I like the handles so much I've modded some other tools out of them.

Long #2 phillips
Water tube cleaner
6-in-1 driver with accessories
1/4" flex driver
Mini-bit extendable driver
2-in-1 pocket screwdriver
Yankee driver and ratcheting stubby driver
Hex bit driver and two short #2 phillips that Proto didn't offer
 

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bonneyman

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No, I had a flex end from an old breaker bar or something, and took a Proto standard driver with a buggared end. Cut it off, drilled a hole, and made a steel rivet to attach the knuckle.
 
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cody1325

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Apr 17, 2024
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Southwest Virginia
Are Urrea ones welcome here? I've got a couple of those from my local mine supply, as well as several of the original Protos from my Granddad.

PS: they're still great in the hand, and inexpensive. Arguably, one of my favorite handles. Thus, I plan to finally buy a complete Urrea set. Shouldn't be over $50 from the mine supply.
 

bonneyman

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Are Urrea ones welcome here? I've got a couple of those from my local mine supply, as well as several of the original Protos from my Granddad.

PS: they're still great in the hand, and inexpensive. Arguably, one of my favorite handles. Thus, I plan to finally buy a complete Urrea set. Shouldn't be over $50 from the mine supply.
I'd say so! I have a full size Bet R Grip bit driver that's marked Urrea. Slightly different yellow color, but feels like a Proto to me.
 

Provincial

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Sep 21, 2011
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Near Salem, OR
Just a refresher: Campos Hemanos made tools in Mexico, including Snap On "Z" tools. In 1964 they switched over to Proto and made Proto designed tools under the Protomex brand until 1984. In 1984, the brand name was changed to URREA, and they continued to make Proto designed tools until 2012.
 
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