Innocently picking up this $1 pair of dykes at a garage sale sure took me down a rabbit hole to find out about their origin company. This company name has never been discussed on Garage Journal. In 1968, one (biased) retailer described this company as “New York’s largest importer of tools”.
The diagonal cutters are marked: ‘SW 402 -5’’ TOPSPEC England Drop Forged’ and are 5.3 inches long.
I originally thought these were sold by TOPSPEC and the model number was SW-402. However, it turns out that “SW” stands for the distributor, Smith-Wolff Co., and TOPSPEC was one of their brands. Their other brands were FEDSPEC and TECH-SPEC (creative, huh?).
Smith-Wolff imported from multiple countries and was a distributor. Online, I’ve found Smith-Wolff products from England, Italy and Japan. Other, unconfirmed info, says they also imported from Germany, Sweden and Spain.
The earliest reference to the company (that I’ve found) is the first use of their FEDSPEC brand trademark in 1955. Their address in the early years was on Broadway in New York City. They later moved to Mt. Vernon, New York. Gordon Wolff appears to have been the principle.
There was a big promotion of Smith-Wolff (SW) items in a 1960 Ace Hardware advertisement (see attachment). Throughout the 60’s their stuff was heavily featured in advertisements from discount stores and bargain centers. The last mention of Smith-Wolf I found was in 1981.
Looking at the ads, they had myriad tools, and some (most?) of them are cheap looking. However, my made-in-England diagonal cutters and their Lineman’s pliers seem to be good quality. Smith-Wolff sold everything from rope and garden tools to wrenches and socket sets. I am not sure who they used for manufacturers in the various countries.
The only tool from them on Garage Journal is an Italian made TOPSPEC adjustable open-end wrench that @Chrome Vanadium Cody posted in the 2024 garage sale thread. eBay has multiple DOEs, DBEs (and 1 combo) made in Italy, a wood-handled chisel set made in Japan, and lineman’s pliers, needle nose & side cutters made in England.
The diagonal cutters are marked: ‘SW 402 -5’’ TOPSPEC England Drop Forged’ and are 5.3 inches long.
I originally thought these were sold by TOPSPEC and the model number was SW-402. However, it turns out that “SW” stands for the distributor, Smith-Wolff Co., and TOPSPEC was one of their brands. Their other brands were FEDSPEC and TECH-SPEC (creative, huh?).
Smith-Wolff imported from multiple countries and was a distributor. Online, I’ve found Smith-Wolff products from England, Italy and Japan. Other, unconfirmed info, says they also imported from Germany, Sweden and Spain.
The earliest reference to the company (that I’ve found) is the first use of their FEDSPEC brand trademark in 1955. Their address in the early years was on Broadway in New York City. They later moved to Mt. Vernon, New York. Gordon Wolff appears to have been the principle.
There was a big promotion of Smith-Wolff (SW) items in a 1960 Ace Hardware advertisement (see attachment). Throughout the 60’s their stuff was heavily featured in advertisements from discount stores and bargain centers. The last mention of Smith-Wolf I found was in 1981.
Looking at the ads, they had myriad tools, and some (most?) of them are cheap looking. However, my made-in-England diagonal cutters and their Lineman’s pliers seem to be good quality. Smith-Wolff sold everything from rope and garden tools to wrenches and socket sets. I am not sure who they used for manufacturers in the various countries.
The only tool from them on Garage Journal is an Italian made TOPSPEC adjustable open-end wrench that @Chrome Vanadium Cody posted in the 2024 garage sale thread. eBay has multiple DOEs, DBEs (and 1 combo) made in Italy, a wood-handled chisel set made in Japan, and lineman’s pliers, needle nose & side cutters made in England.
