Red Devil Hand Tools

[WisJim]

I have a Smith & Hemenway Red Devil pocket catalog, showing wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, chain drill (my particular interest), glass cutters, and more. 23 pages and from 1923.

 

[LesserSon]

I have a Smith & Hemenway Red Devil pocket catalog, showing wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, chain drill (my particular interest), glass cutters, and more. 23 pages and from 1923.

So...IS there a model 725 AND a model 925? Or is it a mis-strike on my “725”?

 

[WisJim]

My pocket catalog doesn't show everything, just examples of each type of tool they made. It does show a 925 slip joint plier.

 

[LesserSon]

Thank you. I’m going to assume a mis-strike, or mis-reading.
The No.24 Crescent catalog pdf shows 925 slipjoints, but nothing between 717 and 732.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I love the USA shields on the grips.

Me too! I'm jealous. I have three (3) S&H RED DEVIL pliers, tiny linesman, burner, and lap joint dykes, all posted upthread, but only the dykes have the shield, and that one is missing the "U.S.A." letters.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I’m going to assume a mis-strike, or mis-reading.

Several of the 1920's era hardware store catalog ads posted by four.cycle in post #3 and #4 include No. 725 pliers, LS. The Smith & Hemenway model numbering scheme is puzzling. None of the numerals signify OAL. I haven't studied it, but it has to be a difference in type or finish or some other feature like the jaw or cutters, perhaps.

 

[LesserSon]

You are right: the 925 (significantly pitted) must have lost the original coppered & blue nickeled finish specified in the ad.

On closer inspection, the better pair doesn’t really look like 725, but rather /25...but I’m back to a slight mis-strike on that pair. The ad is an exact match, so there’s the date for them, too: 1924.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

On closer inspection, the better pair doesn’t really look like 725, but rather /25...

That would be very strange and unlikely. My bet is on that being a worn or mis-stamped "7". Did you look at all the S&T RED DEVIL No. 725 pliers in the catalogs that have been posted in posts #3 and #4 in comparison?

The 725's are called "Button Cutters". The 825's are called "Tractor" pliers. And the 925's are called "Machinists' "V" nose" pliers. Each type comes in various OAL's, but they all have the same model number, despite the length.

 

[LesserSon]

Did you look at all the S&T RED DEVIL No. 725 pliers in the catalogs that have been posted in posts #3 and #4 in comparison?

Of course not; I just kept shooting off my mouth without looking first - apologies - see edited post.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Haha. Glad you figured it out. Irrespective of the finish, I remember four.cycle and I talking offboard about how all the slip joints look alike despite the different descriptions (button, tractor, machinists...), which may have just been marketing.

 

[LesserSon]

‘Xactly - both have Button’s cutters and the same V-notch. The original finish (long gone on mine) is the only difference.

 

[Straightgrain]

Here's my glass cutter with a likeness of the devil himself. He doesn't look very much like the images you usually see of him so I'm thinking he may be in disguise.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Just as point of interest, that logo and name is actually different than, but related to, the "Red Devil" in the thread title.

Smith & Hemenway started in 1898, used "Red Devil" as a brand name for many years, and sold everything to Crescent in 1926.

Hemenway disappeared from the tools business.

Smith concentrated his efforts on a manufacturing company in Irvington, NJ which Smith & Hemenway had always used as a factory for their pliers and other tools. He changed the name to Red Devil Tool Company.

Your glass cutter was made by the Red Devil Tool Company, either in Irvington, NJ, or its later location in Union, NJ.

EDIT:

As a point of further interest, there was a time in the late 30's into the 40's when Crescent was still using the former Smith & Hemenway "Red Devil" name as a brand name while Smith's new company, the Red Devil Tool Company, was making glazier and painter related tools with the same name!

I have had Crescent RED DEVIL hack saw frames and Red Devil Tool Co putty knives, both from the early 40's.

One of the more peculiar and obscure name-related factoids in vintage tools history.

 

[four.cycle]

see also: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344169

see also: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9023649#post9023649

 

[d42jeep]

Speaking of the Devil. The putty knives are postwar.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I found another pair of Red Devil 1950 Lineman’s pliers on Friday like the pair that Tin Medic showed in the first post of this thread. The markings look different than the one shown in the catalog but the part number is the same.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

This one definitely caught my attention earlier, and when I remembered who Landon P. Smith was, it made me wonder "how old is this thing?"

Interested in hearing from you gentlemen on this one:




( photos courtesy George Roberts )

Seller notes that repairs were effected by the previous owner with common box nails. (More photos posted in the ad for the item: https://www.ebay.com/itm/194089787997 )

Is this the only widget that Mr. Smith was making? Or were there others as well prior to "Smith and Hemenway"?

Smith / Smith & Hemenway Co. Inc., 101 Coit St., Irvington, NJ / "Red Devil" "Never Slip" / http://alloy-artifacts.org/smith-hemenway.html / http://alloy-artifacts.org/smith-hemenway.html#smith-hemenway / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=374811 / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8700232&postcount=23 /

Smith / Landon P. Smith Inc., Irvington, NJ / hacksaw /

 

[LesserSon]

I don’t think the saw is as old as you may be thinking. Landon P. Smith Inc existed 1926-1945, before the name changed to Red Devil under Smith’s son-in-law, George Ludlow Lee, Sr. Not prior to, but after Smith & Hemmenway.

Lee was a noted stamp collector, too. Born 1901. Died 1966.

 

[four.cycle]

ahhh! thank you. I was really puzzled by this one.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I picked up these glazier's pliers at the flea this morning.



Extra wide tapered jaws as smooth as a baby's behind.



As you can see by the marking, they were undoubtedly made in Irvington, NJ.



One might jump to the conclusion that means they were made by Red Devil Tools. But note the fancified "Red Devil" marking, particularly the quote marks. That looks like a brand marking to me, not a company name.

I think this could be a Smith & Hemenway "Red Devil" tool or at the very least a good illustration of the bizarre, tangled relationship between Smith & Hemenway, Crescent, and Red Devil Tools.

Remember, before S&H sold out to Crescent, the factory they used in Irvington, NJ, owned and run by Smith, made all kinds of S&H "Red Devil" tools, including pliers, including, apparently, pliers intended for the glazier business that the later Red Devil Tools Company would focus on, along with painting tools.

Here's an ad for auger bits showing the quote-marked "Red Devil", the Red Devil TM logo, and Irvington, NJ as an S&H address.



As I have noted several times earlier on this thread, after S&H sold out to Crescent, Hemenway retired, and Smith somehow retained the rights to the "Red Devil" brand and it eventually became the name of his company in Irvington, NJ.

Here's the same tool in the 1947 Red Devil Tools Company catalog No. 19 (credit: Mark Stansbury's International Tool Catalog Library).

 

[LesserSon]

Those are nice, Lugz. Would you agree - 1926 or earlier?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Those are nice, Lugz. Would you agree - 1926 or earlier?

Thanks. And yes, I would.

I was less explicit, but that's what I was trying to get at in the discussion of the marking as the brand, not the later company name, and the fact that Smith & Hemenway used Irvington Manufacturing Company (IMCO) in Irvington, NJ as their factory and eventually moved their HQ there, too.

That IMCO eventually ended up being called Red Devil Tools (in 1945) and re-using the same image of the devil that S&H was using makes perfect sense from that perspective, since so many tools bearing that name were originally born there. What I have not been able to explain is how they were able to do that when Crescent bought S&H. I am assuming that sale included the S&H TM's, including "Red Devil." It typically does. And, as I have said before upthread and elsethread, Crescent was also using the "Red Devil" brand name after the acquisition, well into the 1940's. Something neither AA or the Bio on the Trowel and Masonry Tool Collectors Website mentions. I've always been curious if the 1945 name change was some combination of largesse and fait accompli or if they actually cut a deal.

Note that we see a lot of S&H "Red Devil" tools (from before 1926), and conversely, a lot of Red Devil Tools tools (from after 1945). What we don't seem to see are a lot of tools in between 1926 and 1945. Those would be IMCO. Were they also branded "Red Devil"? Or not? See what I'm getting at?

It's almost like Red Devil acquired the TM back from Crescent.

Whether they bought it or they just appropriated it, it was a hugely successful business decision.

My sole pause is that the pliers look so much like the pliers in the 1947 Red Devil catalog and have the same model number.

 

[LesserSon]

Picked up these linesmen pliers at a flea Wednesday. Stamped DAMAGED across the branding.

 

[LesserSon]

New slipjoints from Wednesday flea trip. Have not looked them up yet to see if asymmetrical grips are factory or PO-mod, but what a dramatic no-slip pattern!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...what a dramatic no-slip pattern!

Those are very cool. Almost brocade. I don't have any with that pattern. Nice find.

 

[four.cycle]

interesting find there. I'm guessing the curve on the handle was a modification. love the pattern on the handles.

 

[Outlawmws]

I have a Smith & Hemenway Red Devil pocket catalog, showing wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, chain drill (my particular interest), glass cutters, and more. 23 pages and from 1923.

Would the Catalog happen to slit a Hollow handle tool with multiple bits?

I found this Red Devil today - -apparently an early S&H (Smith & Hemenway) RED DEVIL

I was wondering about the heat marks on two of the bits, but I'm seeing similar Heat marks on the one I posted earlier in othe threads (a Millers Falls version) as well so apparently factory:

and the Markings:

S&H Co.. W MFG. Co.
RED DEVIL Williamsburg Mass.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

You had yourself a day!

 

[Outlawmws]

Thx Lugz! yesterday and today were a nice change!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Happy for you. Nobody likes slumps and dry spells!

 

[WisJim]

My Red Devil catalog doesn't show any tool handles. I think that the chuck on it is similar to the chuck on a small Millers Falls brace that I have, but it's packed up (I think) and might be hard to get to. Nice find!

 

[Outlawmws]

Thx Jim!

 

[Mintgrun]

I've scanned the pliers display pictures in this thread, but could not fine any quite like these. The grips are straighter and narrower. Sorry for the poor quality logo photo. They're quite pitted. Tom

 

[WisJim]

Outlaw, here are pictures of my Millers Falls No. 16 brace which uses the same chuck as the M-F tool handle. They seem similar to your Red Devil tool handle jaws. (I just noticed that I tagged this brace with the wrong model number, it's a No 16 with 2" throw and special chuck.)

 

[Outlawmws]

Yep! very similar! You seem to be missing the spring for the jaws?

 

[WisJim]

Yes, apparently should be a spring. I've never seen another one of these braces so I wasn't sure. But it makes sense, and the picture of your tool handle shows me what it could be like.

 

[RTM]

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?

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

Add me into the Jak-Nife club. Found one at Saturday's garage sale, recognized the name, figured I'd add it to the other two oddball scrapers I just picked up in the past months. Not really very pretty, probably a bit later than the two linked above as theirs have nice rivet things around the holes in the handle, mine seems to have a braze or weld and nothing around the other one. Like most things around here, a fair amount of rust in one spot.

Here's the patent

US2071562A - Scraper - Google Patents

There is talk of using the blade as a cutter if lined up as figure #1, but that scares me. I think Figure 6, with my index finger between the blade and the body makes more sense, to pinch the finger rather than fillet it open. Or as shown here, with a dainty grip, well back from where the blade could fold.

Red Devil : Catalog No. 19 : Red Devil Tools : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

64 p., illus., 27.9 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

The blade that came in mine was a Warner Accuracy Blade, No 108 Blade, Made in USA,
1959 catalog here, does not show up in the 1940, they specialized in wall paper tools.

Warner Tools : Catalog 59 : Tools and Equipment for Painting, Paperhanging and House Repair : Warner Manufacturing Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

16 p., illus., 27.9 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Snagged this heavy ho-hum No. 825 so-called (by S&H) "Tractor plier" at the flea this morning.

 

[LesserSon]

Smith & Hemenway linesmans pliers. No “Red Devil” brand on it. Smooth grips, single-direction diagonal teeth in the jaw.

 

[LesserSon]

A recent purchase: Red Devil 1050 linesmans.