Red Devil Hand Tools

[tin medic]

I see threads about Red Devil paint and drywall tools but not their hand tools. Outside of pliers and auger bits I haven’t seen anything else even though I know their out there. This is my current crop of Red Devil pliers.

 

[four.cycle]

Red Devil hand tools - Red Devil Pliers

(* not to be confused with the "Red Devil" tools of the painting and drywall trade - see note in post #7 of this thread. *)

manufactured by Smith & Hemenway Co. Inc., 101 Coit St., Irvington, New Jersey
(also 102 Coit St., Irvington, N.J., also 267 Broadway, New York, N.Y.)

see also: http://alloy-artifacts.org/smith-hemenway.html

1914 Richmond Hardware Co. catalog Red Devil Utica pliers ad pp 79 by four.cycle, on Flickr

1917 Smith & Hemenway Co. Red Devil pliers ad pp_ by four.cycle, on Flickr

1918 Red Devil pliers ad pp_ by four.cycle, on Flickr

1921 Smith & Hemenway Co. Red Devil wrench ad pp_ by four.cycle, on Flickr

 

[four.cycle]

Red Devil hand tools - Red Devil Pliers

(* not to be confused with the "Red Devil" tools of the painting and drywall trade - see note in post #7 of this thread. *)

manufactured by Smith & Hemenway Co. Inc., 101 Coit St., Irvington, New Jersey (also 102 Coit St., Irvington, N.J., also 267 Broadway, New York, N.Y.)

see also: http://alloy-artifacts.org/smith-hemenway.html

1922 Hardware Buyers catalog Red Devil Kilborn & Bishop ad pp 371 by four.cycle, on Flickr

1924 Buhl Sons catalog Red Devil Diamond pliers ad pp 338 by four.cycle, on Flickr

1924 Buhl Sons catalog Red Devil pliers ad pp 337 by four.cycle, on Flickr

1924 Townley Metal & Hardware Co. catalog Red Devil Pliers ad pp 155 by four.cycle, on Flickr

 

[four.cycle]

Red Devil hand tools - Red Devil Pliers

(* not to be confused with the "Red Devil" tools of the painting and drywall trade - see note in post #7 of this thread.*)

manufactured by Smith & Hemenway Co. Inc., 101 Coit St., Irvington, New Jersey
(also 102 Coit St., Irvington, N.J., also 267 Broadway, New York, N.Y.)

see also: http://alloy-artifacts.org/smith-hemenway.html

1924 Townley Metal & Hardware Co. catalog Red Devil Pliers ad pp 156 by four.cycle, on Flickr

1925 Supplee-Biddle Hardware catalog Red Devil pliers ad pp 365 by four.cycle, on Flickr

1926 Decatur & Hopkins Co. catalog Red Devil pliers ad pp 97 by four.cycle, on Flickr

1929 Shapleigh Hardware Co. catalog Standard Bridge Red Devil Diamond Edge pliers ad pp 206 by four.cycle, on Flickr

(* that's all I've got at the moment - hope that helps *)

(* and remember that Red Devil pliers are your fingers of steel! *)

 

[tin medic]

Thanks four-cycle. I believe they are the same company. The Red Devil website states that they were initially founded as Smith and Hemenway.


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[tin medic]

The old ads are cool. It would be neat to find one of those old display boards.


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[Private Lugnutz]

I believe they are the same company.

One or both of the founders of S&H started the painting tools business after the original company was sold to Crescent, and boldly used their old favorite RED DEVIL brand name for the new company name - even though Crescent was still selling tools (see RED DEVIL hacksaws) with the same brand name!

 

[four.cycle]

I believe they are the same company. The Red Devil website states that they were initially founded as Smith and Hemenway.

I did not know there was any connection at all.

I see Lugnutz has figured it out for us... makes sense, since AA says Smith & Hemenway sold out to Crescent.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Collective effort on another board for that one after WWII collectors started showing up with prewar Crescent RED DEVIL brand hacksaw frames and wartime Red Devil (the company) putty knives!

 

[d42jeep]

I see threads about Red Devil paint and drywall tools but not their hand tools. Outside of pliers and auger bits I haven’t seen anything else even though I know their out there. This is my current crop of Red Devil pliers.

Nice collection!
-Don

 

[boro_boy70]

I wonder if there is a connection to Utica pliers? I notice a bunch of the pliers are the same part numbers as Utica part numbers. Also the displays are very similar to the displays used by Utica. The displays could have been sourced from the same supplier.

I think I have a couple of Red Devil pliers at home, I'll have to look them over and compare them to my Utica's.

 

[gpw_42]

Found this Red Devil 3/4" cold chisel. At 6-1/4" length (dressed), it was too short for my purposes, but thought it might be useful to add to this thread.

Steve

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Dang.. something else for me to keep my eyes peeled for... lol

 

[Sawdustmaker]

I see threads about Red Devil paint and drywall tools but not their hand tools. Outside of pliers and auger bits I haven’t seen anything else even though I know their out there. This is my current crop of Red Devil pliers.

I have a Red Devil 6 inch "Crescent" wrench. Use it all the time.

 

[four.cycle]

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a pair of longnoses destined for Tin Medic's collection. They even include the Smith and Hemenway markings
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

tin, all,

To see a later post-Crescent purchase version of one of the oak-and-glass hardware store display cabinets shown in some of the ads in this thread, go to a GJ thread I just posted here.

 

[HeelSpur]

Old coping saw.

DSCF2118 by wvwheaties, on Flickr
DSCF2119 by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[Modern Garage]

That's a neat coping saw. It appears that the handle can be moved up and down? I wonder what keeps the clip on top from working loose while sawing?
Joe

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here's one for you, tin medic. A classic pressed steel DOE wrench. Picked it up at the flea today! Some before and after shots.

I only need to find four (4) more for a set (see 4.c ads in post #2).

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Last year, I picked up one of the Red Devil glass cutters pictured in the catalog ad in post #2. I figured it was the painting supply Red Devil. I'll try and post a pic this weekend if I can remember. Cool to learn the background. Will keep my eyes open for some of their other tools.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I figured it was the painting supply Red Devil.

You probably figured correctly. It probably is the company by that name based out of Union and Irvington, NJ, not the Smith & Hemenway brand, but who knows, you may have found a really old one. I've got a mess of them (they grown on trees out here!) and I believe they're all 40's or later vintage.

I've never been motivated enough to track down the legal aspects of how they managed to start a new company with their old brand name (and not just the name, but the entire logo!) after they were bought out by Crescent. Perhaps it was never actually trademarked. Or they cut some kind of deal with Crescent.

 

[jgromada]

what an incredibly informative thread! Unfortunately scanning all the pics here I did not locate the pair of pliers i have. They are a 9" button style linesman pliers. I will have to locate them again to see what model # is.

So the question i have is what was the last date that Red Devil pliers were actually made before they got bought out by Crescent?

 

[d42jeep]

Apparently around 1925.
https://archive.org/details/SmithAndHemenwayCrescent
-Don

 

[safariknut]

Here is a contraption I picked up awhile back:a Red Devil Jak-Nife. Uses a single edge razor blade for a cutting tool;folds closed for safety and in the open position can be used as either a scraper or a knife.Locks in position by means of a wing nut. Anyone know how this one might be?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Cool knife! Patent was granted February 1937. I have the same utility knife, posted here, no blades for it though.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have a Red Devil trademarked No. 1971 “Ford Car Special Socket Set” that Smith & Hemenway was offering in the early to mid 1920’s, just before they were sucked up by Crescent. Picked it up at an estate sale a few years ago. Notice the address is the same address as the future Red Devil Tools, and also the same address as a former S&H supplier, Irvington Manufacturing Company, where Mr. Hemenway was a director, prior to its merging with S&H. The ratchet is made by Syracuse Wrench Co and the sockets are all made by Mossberg. The only thing S&H about this set is the decal, and they didn't make that either! Not at all unusual in this era. I’ve shown it in the group shot for my ”Early Roaring 20’s” collection thread, and I've been meaning to give it its own thread like the others in that niche for some time now, but since this thread has some activity, I’ll just leave it here and link it there. AA has one of these sets and does a decent job of detailing the contents.

 

[safariknut]

Cool knife! Patent was granted February 1937. I have the same utility knife, posted here, no blades for it though.

You can use single edge razor blades in it which I believe was what was originally used.

 

[MR.X]

Smith & Hemenway "Crown & Anchor" mark
-from a shop i came upon
-and then picked to death in Tucson
-OK

 

[Private Lugnutz]

What is the word under the logo, MR. X?

Also, check your PM.

 

[MR.X]

looks just to be the abbrev. of "patent applied for"

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks. Couldn't make it out.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found this nifty little ****** at the flea this morning. Smith & Hemenway called it their 5-inch Standard Lineman. You can see it on a few of the ads with tool boards posted upthread.

 

[MR.X]

Not much tool hunting lately, though I did come across this 4" adjustable Red Devil "Auto wrench". Not really visible in the pics is that it has much thicker jaws then what you normally see on these little wrenches.

 

[3baygarage]

That’s a nice one Mr. X. I have a Scholler 4” that looks a lot like it. I don’t know if there’s any manufacturing connection though.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Added these gas and burner fittings pliers to my Smith & Hemenway RED DEVIL collection this morning.

 

[d42jeep]

I spotted this rusty hacksaw frame at a garage sale yesterday. Upon closer examination (by my wife) it turned out to be a Red Devil so I grabbed it. I’ve amassed quite a few early wood handled hacksaws and am hopeful of being able to complete it.
-Don

 

[Catfishdan]

I’ve only seen Red Devil painting tools until I picked up these pliers today. Any of you red devil guys need them for a collection?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Those are almost certainly Smith & Hemenway/Crescent RED DEVIL branded pliers, not pliers made by the RED DEVIL company, Dan. See posts #7 and #23. EDIT: Nice find!

 

[LesserSon]

Gaah!
This is what happens when you make a “mental note” to post something! I came across a small linesman pliers last September(?), eventually identifying the crown & anchor logo as Smith & Hemenway, and having a discussion on the Garage Sale and Logos threads about the complex company and brand history. Never got around to posting them here.
Teamed them up with a couple 10” pairs of slipjoints (925 and 725? they look identical) and a “damaged” pair of bentnose (888) for photos. Of course, the linesmans were the ones I spent an hour looking for today, after briefly using them in a pinch last week.
The 925 slipjoints were mangled when I found them, while the 725 had the improvised nut. I decided to put the original nut on the 725 and just beat the 925 enough that they work again. I love the USA shields on the grips.

EDIT - I found a pair of Button’s pattern pliers lurking around my bench. Seem contemporary with the bent-nose pair, by the grip pattern. Has a “2” stamped on it...possibly part of the model number.