Show Off Your Antique Ratchet

[AntiqueBen]

An argument can be made that the ratchet is one of the most important tool inventions of all time. The ability to put different size sockets on a single tool literally changed the tool & automobile industry.

Garage Journal has countless threads, discussions & information on about any type of ratchet you can think of. This thread will focus on pre-vintage or Antique ratchets (preferably pre-1920's). These were the days when pressed steel sockets were the industry standard. I felt the need to start this thread after recently acquiring my first Mossberg socket set. I have used ratchets all my life & when I look at this Mossberg set it's amazing to think that it all started with something like this. These sets were used to work on carriages, tractors, Model T's & even the pre-Model T gasoline vehicles. I always wander what my old set might have been used for or who used it.

Of course Frank Mossberg wasn't the only one in the game. J.J. Richardson's ratchet stretches back to 1863. I always find it interesting to see & learn more about some of these ratchets from the early 1900's. All the different design variations an innovative ideas for ratchets during this period was a cool part of history. We are still finding today unknown ratchets & design variations that are a forgotten part of our past.

So, post up your antique ratchets & sockets & any stories you may have about them. Let's see what's out there. My pics are of the Mossberg set I recently acquired.

 

[d42jeep]

Although the sockets aren’t pressed steel, the ratchet in my early Blackhawk set is functional but pretty rudimentary although it is reversing.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here is an unsophisticated Walden ratchet followed by an even more rudimentary Walden ratchet.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

This early Snap-on ratchet is slightly newer than the prompt but it’s like Johnny Cash’s Cadillac. It has date codes from ‘29, ‘30 and ‘31.
-Don

 

[Orangina]

Hello everyone,

Hazet (Germany) ~ 1920 to 1930 with hex drive (alternative wooden box are also common at this time)
(1933 exchanged by other 1/2" square drive ratchets)







regards,

 

[jazzyc]

Hello everyone,

I've just joined, I bought this early Hazet set a few years ago. I think the tools are correct ? but welcome any further information about it!

Thanks

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I've seen that ratchet before, but never in a set. That's a handsome box.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Anyone have an idea who invented the first ratchet that had the ability to reverse direction without switching sides, by either a lever or knob? I know in the 1880's the Lowell Wrench Co had a reversible ratchet by a knob on the bottom of the handle, but was theirs the first that offered such an option?

 

[craftsman creep]

This is the oldest ratchet I own

 

[d42jeep]

This is the oldest ratchet I own

Nice wartime 1/2” drive ratchet that might have been included in a GMTK.
-Don

 

[wrenchr]

I came across a few to contribute.

 

[Mintgrun]

This thread will focus on pre-vintage or Antique ratchets (preferably pre-1920's).

You might want to put "Pre-1920's" in the title.

 

[wrenchr]

You might want to put "Pre-1920's" in the title.

Oh, I seen antique...............

 

[Mintgrun]

Exactly. Putting "Pre 1920s" in the title should help steer content in the direction he's requesting. That's all.

Nice ratchets!

Tom

 

[four.cycle]

Anyone have an idea who invented the first ratchet that had the ability to reverse direction without switching sides, by either a lever or knob? I know in the 1880's the Lowell Wrench Co had a reversible ratchet by a knob on the bottom of the handle, but was theirs the first that offered such an option?

Good question.

Walden Worcester's first "wire" ratchet wasn't intended to turn sockets. It was designed to use on wheel nuts on wagons, then later automobiles.
It was not reversible, and required the user to flip it over to change directions, the same as with several other models of early ratchets.
By 1910, Walden had jumped on the "interchangeable socket" bandwagon with other players.

The Richards "Wizard" claimed to be "reversible" in early advertising. Joseph Noyer received a patent for it May 21, 1907

Will B. Lane, was advertising his "Ratchet Screw Wrench" as early as 1910. James Bartholomay was issued patent 876680 Jan 14 1908

Bay State Tool Co. of Boston, MA was advertising an "Interchangeable Ratchet and Socket Wrench" in 1909.

Syracuse Wrench Co. was advertising their "Champion" ratchet wrench as early as 1908. Patent 873977 was issued Dec 17 1907 to one Jacob J. Albrecht for a "ratchet wrench".

 

[vf1000g24]

This is not my oldest but a war period or simply post war American style ratchet found in France although the writing "Army 41" may put us on the wrong track. Very rough finish, and certainly not US for me. It also looks a lot like the post-war Lauravia and SAM, but it's really too rudimentary to be one of them. Maybe someone can help:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Very rough finish, and certainly not US for me...[ ]...Maybe someone can help:

Well, I adhere to the 100 years rule (currently, anything made in 1923 or older is antique), and I don't want to contribute to further thread drift, but yes, I can certainly help. That is very likely a postwar French Army ratchet made to US specs. The "41-H-1505" forged-in marking is the US Federal Stock Number for a 1/2-inch drive reversible ratchet. The "41" is the stock class. In this case, Hand Tools. "H" is handle, which is where all the drive tools (ratchet, hinge handle, speeder) were binned, except extensions, which were considered bars, hence assigned under "B". "1505" is the specific handle. We see this convention a lot with postwar French Army gear, especially toolkits, maybe especially Signal Corps. It was easiest and effective for them to simply adopt and copy our entire system. I'd guess that "STEF" is an acronym for the OEM or perhaps a military designation, something similar to QMC or "REME" (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers), etc, where the "F" is Francaise. What I normally see is Armee Francaise. (See oilcans Pic below) But that is pure speculation. Cool ratchet.

EDIT:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Anyone have an idea who invented the first ratchet that had the ability to reverse direction without switching sides, by either a lever or knob? I know in the 1880's the Lowell Wrench Co had a reversible ratchet by a knob on the bottom of the handle, but was theirs the first that offered such an option?

As I said on your 'Richardson wasn't the first!' thread exploring similar questions...

I have never considered Avery (1848), Packer, any of the designs that never got produced after that, or Richardson (1863) to be the first detachable socket set "ratchet" in the way most collectors would think that refers to.

For the same reasons I don't think of Lowell that way, even though I own a couple early Lowell ratchets and admire them, especially the ingenious selector knob at the end, in what might be the longest pawl switch in history! They were female ratchets meant to turn fasteners directly, and exclusively in industrial and civil engineering and construction applications.

As a fellow early Mossberg collector, you know, Ben, that I have often referred to Camille Contal of Paris, France, in that respect. The reversible ratchet, detachable pressed steel sockets, universal joint and extension in his Auto Cle set was the first set of tools designed, built and sold with automotive maintenance as its purpose.

The Contal was 1902. Granted, the switch wasn't a lever or a knob, it was a collar, and the ratchet wasn't a gear, it was coarse, clutch-type mechanism. But I'm sticking with L'Auto-Cle!

 

[four.cycle]

WOW! I hit a wall on that one... I did figure out that "Armee" is "Army" but that was as far as I got.

we're cross-posting here....

So ... you think the "Auto Cle" was the first to come up with "reversible" ??

Okay... I just found the thread (from back in June) you referred to above - I wasn't around so I wasn't part of that conversation.

It's just a little frustrating that Richardson gets all the credit on Google searches when there where men before & after him that played a major role in the historical aspect of ratchet & socket invention. And worst of all, Contal almost always doesn't even show up or get mentioned in these searches or conversations.

You will find, as have I, that very little of the information on really early tools on the web is 100% accurate. People in too big a hurry to get something posted online will forego the usual and customary steps involved in what is considered "the scientific process".

We have a unique advantage here in respect to that, because WE can collectively "peer review" each other as we go along here.

====

As Private Lugnutz notes, assuming that all of these devices were intended to be used on "automobiles" with what we currently call a "socket" starts from a false premise that can only lead to an erroneous conclusion. (Hence my comment above about Walden's first "wire ratchet".)

 

[Orangina]

Looks like you're only looking in US patents...
Only during an initial small search in German registers did I find the following:
(it's difficult to search for it because today's terms have not yet been used for it e.g. as ratchet, so I searching for wrenches. It looks like a lot of drill ratchets with ratchet wheels have been known and registered before these ratchet wrenches)

from 7th April 1900 #7882 at Austrian Imperial Patent Office from a man Christian Titus from Bamberg (Germany, Bavaria):


Or from 9th May 1899 #19245 at Federal Office for Intellectual Property, Switzerland from a man Albert Rüegg from Luzern (Switzerland):


There are probably more... also in England etc... And not everything was patented at that time.

Nice site with about early US ratchets: oldtoolheaven.com/millers-falls/biography/backus.htm

regards,

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hence my comment above about Walden's first "wire ratchet".)

Which I read with a great sense of confirmation. We were thinking independently alike, since I knew you hadn't seen my comments.

Looks like you're only looking in US patents...

Well, Contal was French, but yes, other than tracing his US imports back to him and Paris, you're right, I was. As for your submissions, I'd put them in the same category as turning fasteners, not socket wrenches, and those go back to 1857 in the US, and with a switch, to the 1880s, as Ben alluded to.

 

[four.cycle]

@Orangina -

There is an inherent problem in trying to figure out patent numbers and dates for European manufacturers of hand tools: the nomenclature.
When a "wrench" is a "spanner" (in Britain) or (in French) a "clef" or (in German) a "schraubenschlussel", the task of ascertaining patent date, patent number, and name of inventor (and/or manufacturer) becomes somewhat a daunting task.

it was for that exact reason that I started the "Nomenclature" thread

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

My Richard’s Wizard rachet. It is reversible. One of my favorites

 

[AntiqueBen]

Nice Wizard. Here is one I haven't posted yet with a 1908 patent date. If I remember correctly, back when I looked this up, the patent date was wrong. It was off by one digit or something. That's been a while ago so I can't remember the manufacturer on this one. It's very unique in that it uses a collar to change direction, a lot like my early Contal ratchet. I believe it also had its own specific sockets made to only fit it specifically. Anyone have any ideas??

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Nice Wizard. Here is one I haven't posted yet with a 1908 patent date. If I remember correctly, back when I looked this up, the patent date was wrong. It was off by one digit or something. That's been a while ago so I can't remember the manufacturer on this one. It's very unique in that it uses a collar to change direction, a lot like my early Contal ratchet. I believe it also had its own specific sockets made to only fit it specifically. Anyone have any ideas??

That’s a beauty.

 

[four.cycle]

@AntiqueBen -

U.S. Ratchet / U.S. Ratchet Wrench Co., 215 No. Adams St., Peoria, IL / ratchet wrench / patent 897584 Sep 1 1908 Victor Carlson / * some units appear to be stamped with date of 3 7 08 * /

This is an excellent example of what I was referring to in the drill chuck thread regarding wrong patent dates/patent numbers stamped on objects.

 

[AntiqueBen]

@AntiqueBen -

U.S. Ratchet / U.S. Ratchet Wrench Co., 215 No. Adams St., Peoria, IL / ratchet wrench / patent 897584 Sep 1 1908 Victor Carlson / * some units appear to be stamped with date of 3 7 08 * /

This is an excellent example of what I was referring to in the drill chuck thread regarding wrong patent dates/patent numbers stamped on objects.

Thanks fourcycle. Good work. I remember now. Victor Carlson. I'll have to look this up again. I'm curious how long these were produced. Yeah, oddly enough I have several old tools that have incorrect or error stampings.

 

[four.cycle]

^ note that one doesn't include any notation about "erroneous" in the entry. I found that using the "search" function (in notepad) with "3 7 08" - I tried to set up that file in such manner as to allow it to be "searchable" easily. - BK

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Here is one I’m crazy over. At first glance you will say it’s a wrench but not a rachet. It’s actually both. You stick the wrench portion on the nut and then rachet it to desired position. It’s super cool. Stephens wrench

 

[AntiqueBen]

Here is one I’m crazy over. At first glance you will say it’s a wrench but not a rachet. It’s actually both. You stick the wrench portion on the nut and then rachet it to desired position. It’s super cool. Stephens wrench

Pretty cool. Kinda reminds me of the Larson Speednut. Those actually came in 6 different sizes. See the patent HERE

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

This is version of the auto cle which was distributed with the ray tools socket set

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "version." It's the same type of tubular clutch ratchet, but the rats in the Packer Auto "RAY" sets were patented and made by F.H. Ayer, Chicago. Patent 1,199,737 (1916). Should be marked. Is it not marked?

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

I’ll take a pic of my other auto cle so you can compare. It was in the auto cle box

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "version." It's the same type of tubular clutch ratchet, but the rats in the Packer Auto "RAY" sets were patented and made by F.H. Ayer, Chicago. Patent 1,199,737 (1916). Should be marked. Is it not marked?

Heck I don’t think it is. I’ll check today

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Yeah, please double-check the marking. There is no need to do a comparison. The resemblance of the "RAY" rat to the Auto-Cle rat is well known and has been noted here and on Alloy Artifacts. But I am not aware of Packer Auto literally "distributing" Auto-Cle ratchets in their "RAY" sets. They were very similar. But the only ratchet I have ever seen in a "RAY" set was Packer (I neglected to mention he had his own patents for a tubular clutch style rat...) or the Ayer that I did mention. That's what I meant by questioning what you meant by "version" and why I asked you if it was marked.

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Yeah, please double-check the marking. There is no need to do a comparison. The resemblance of the "RAY" rat to the Auto-Cle rat is well known and has been noted here and on Alloy Artifacts. But I am not aware of Packer Auto literally "distributing" Auto-Cle ratchets in their "RAY" sets. They were very similar. But the only ratchet I have ever seen in a "RAY" set was Packer (I neglected to mention he had his own patents for a tubular clutch style rat...) or the Ayer that I did mention. That's what I meant by questioning what you meant by "version" and why I asked you if it was marked.

Well that is why there is a difference. The first was from a ray set and the other from an Auto Cle set

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Yeah, please double-check the marking. There is no need to do a comparison. The resemblance of the "RAY" rat to the Auto-Cle rat is well known and has been noted here and on Alloy Artifacts. But I am not aware of Packer Auto literally "distributing" Auto-Cle ratchets in their "RAY" sets. They were very similar. But the only ratchet I have ever seen in a "RAY" set was Packer (I neglected to mention he had his own patents for a tubular clutch style rat...) or the Ayer that I did mention. That's what I meant by questioning what you meant by "version" and why I asked you if it was marked.

Boy you were dead on. I pulled the auto cle and they are very different.

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

Ok guys I beginning to think you guys knowledge of rachets is unsurpassed. Here is another offering. It’s a Billmont rachet. Hollow sockets were shipped in the handle. Works like a right angle drill so to speak. It will turn the socket in both directions. Billmont also sold a larger more traditional set of which I’ll post a pic but it’s somewhat boring.

 

[Patrick Eubanks]

The larger Billmont set