Thorsen Wrench

[AutoTeck84]

New here and tools are a way of life. I'm trying see if anyone has any info a wrench I bought at a garage sale a while back. It says it's a Thorsen pro quad-grip CRV. It's an awesome wrench and I would like set. But I can't even find a pic of this wrench online nevertheless any for sale. In my experience Thorsen is lower tier brand but I have only tried newer stuff. I'm only 31 but my gramps has some old Thorsen and they look better. I will try to post a pic and anyone has seen or used these I would like to know what you think.

 

[AutoTeck84]

I did find some that said quad grip on Sears and dirt cheap but look nowhere near the quality. Those ones were polished and cheaper looking. Mine almost has a goldish tint. I believe for a metric set of six they are like seventeen dollars lol

 

[928'er]

Thorsen used to make quality tools. I have a set of metric combination wrenches I bought when I got out of the AF in 1972 that are still my "go to" wrenches.

The company fell on hard times and was sold and re-sold a number of times. I think the company was finally put out of it's misery some time in the '90s.

There has been some chinese **** labeled as Thorsen in recent years - no connection to the real stuff.

Here is a link to some history:

http://alloy-artifacts.org/thorsen-manufacturing.html

 

[four.cycle]

we had Thorsen when we dropped Indestro due to fill rates.
at first it was primo stuff - that would have been mid-late 1980s.
then for some reason (I don't know details) we got "TAT" - "Thorsen Allied", which was Taiwan stuff. again, I'm no help on the details, because that wasn't a line I dealt with then.
looks like AA only has a few of the later items in their photos. I have a few oddball pieces... have to photograph them and post them too I guess.... 77JC 3/8" ratchet, some wobbly sockets and a few other things.... nice stuff, actually.

 

[AutoTeck84]

Wow that is pretty interesting. Sad to think about people who put everything into these companies just for them to be known as Chinese **** today. Since the wrench doesn't look old and doesn't have USA stamp like the ones in the article I'm guessing it was a very limited run inbetween owners of the company. Still the quality is amazing

 

[AutoTeck84]

Thanks for the in 4cycle! Sad to see quality names selling out to overseas

 

[shoggoth80]

Older Thorsen stuff is alright. You'd probably have to haunt eBay to complete the set, or get lucky with Craigslist, or garage sale hunting.

 

[martin666]

Really like older Thorson tools, when I was 15 or so the local auto parts store a few blocks from my house sold Thorson tools so they were the first tools I had. Had a pretty large collection at one time but over the years all I have left is this 1/4" drive socket set bought new around 1971, also have a 3/8" set I bought back then but it's not here right now for a picture.

 

[woody 73]

Back in the day thorson could be had at parts counters and cheaper type small box stores. I picked up a few of their sockets some time back while sorting through piles of rat turds in some guys garage/barn shed. Nothing special the insides had a lot of metal shavings ((USA Made) and they had seen better days before I bought them.

Like others have pointed out the line got so watered down in the end I just stopped buying them.

 

[Davefr]

I also love old Thorsen. (especially the ratchets). The exposed gear design made the heads really compact. Thorsen ratchets can access tight spots where many others can't even dream of getting into.

 

[Frank Dukes]

still use my 70s era Thorsen spanners. good stuff.

 

[wayne55]

My first socket set, which I still have, was a Thorsen 1/2" drive set I got by using Top Value stamps from the grocery store. This was probably in the late 1960's.

 

[Kensgarage]

I have an old metric combo set that looks like the XV series Snap-On but HEAVY. They have a bod like the Williams Superwrenches.

 

[bonneyman]

Picked up a Thorsen 77JC 3/8" drive ratchet in 1980 for $1 since it was sitting alone on the shelf and the salesperson had no idea what to charge me. Since then I've been assembling a set to go with it.

 

[chris142]

I bought a MADE IN USA Thorsen 5/8 wrench @ Chief Auto Parts back in the 80's. Still have it.

 

[four.cycle]

bonneyman - nice collection!

actually a heck of a design on that 3/8" ratchet. I was surprised when I opened mine up and took a look at the internal workings.

 

[AutoTeck84]

Yeah those are nice. My grampa has a ratchet that looks similar. I'm so jelous of his tools . Old craftsman , proto, indestro. Mac , Armstrong. All vintage and all awesome!

 

[four.cycle]

I think these may have been samples the rep left behind... not sure.
I may have a few more pieces out in the garage somewhere.... it's kind of a mess out there.
I think the only one of these I've ever used was that spark plug socket on a Briggs Intek OHV.


Thorsen 62J 3/8" dr speeder handle by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 77JC 3/8" dr ratchet 01 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 77JC 3/8" dr ratchet 02 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 90 3/8" to 1/4" dr adapter by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 98 3/8" to 1/2" dr adapter by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 412JX 3/8" dr 3/8" 6 pt universal joint socket_01 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 412JX 3/8" dr 3/8" 6 pt universal joint socket 02 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 414JX 3/8" dr 7/16" 6 pt universal joint socket 01 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 414JX 3/8" dr 7/16" 6 pt universal joint socket 02 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 418J 3/8" dr 9/16" 12 pt universal joint socket 01 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 418J 3/8" dr 9/16" 12 pt universal joint socket 02 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 412JX 414JX 418J universal joint sockets by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 420JR 3/8" dr 5/8" universal joint spark plug socket 01 by four.cycle, on Flickr

Thorsen 420JR 3/8" dr 5/8" universal joint spark plug socket 02 by four.cycle, on Flickr

 

[bonneyman]

Nice flex sockets!

Here's my middle period Thorsen combos in metric. I've added a few since this pic - still needing the 15 an 16 mm.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Welcome, AutoTek. I'm still fairly new here myself, but I've found that the more senior members here are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. Maybe some day, I'll know as much as some of them have forgotten LOL

 

[AutoTeck84]

Thanks man this forum has been great and provided some very good reading. I'm not used to forums with this much traffic.

 

[four.cycle]

bonneyman, I suppose you could call all that Thorsen of mine "NOS" - it's been rattling around in a drawer for decades. Only piece I regularly use is a 1/4" drive 6" extension (which was lost under my workbench for two years and found only after I purchased a Craftsman from Sears to replace it.)

Might have a couple more odd pieces in the 1/4" drive box, but I haven't looked there yet. Stuff is kind of scattered all about here.

 

[zakmartin]

Wow, I've only heard people talk smack about Thorsen on this site in the past. I've personally never had any issues with the Thorsen tools I own. I've found them to be as good as or maybe a little better than 60's and 70's vintage Craftsman.

 

[bonneyman]

Wow, I've only heard people talk smack about Thorsen on this site in the past. I've personally never had any issues with the Thorsen tools I own. I've found them to be as good as or maybe a little better than 60's and 70's vintage Craftsman.

 

[four.cycle]

re: "smack talking"

no way. Thorsen was primo stuff when it was US-made. when they went to offshore sourcing it went to hell. prior to that on a par with any of the other blue-chip US tool manufacturers of the day.

 

[shanny19]

Wow, I've only heard people talk smack about Thorsen on this site in the past. I've personally never had any issues with the Thorsen tools I own. I've found them to be as good as or maybe a little better than 60's and 70's vintage Craftsman.

I've come to believe that during the "golden age" of hardline tools, that brands were much more regionalized that we're accustomed to today. (I think this even continued past the "golden age" into the 80's. KAL is all over the PNW but scarce in other places, for example.)

P&C is tough to find back East I hear.
Plomb has dead spots.
In my part of the PNW Bonney is scarce, Indestro is even rarer, and I have seen exactly ONE Cornwell tool in my life.

Back to Thorsen, on this board, when you see someone talk favorably about Thorsen, often their location is WA/OR/ID/MT/CA. This thread holds true to that pattern....My dad (ID) has a GREAT set of Thorsen wrenches from the 60's. I think that during Thorsen's best times, they were a West Coast thing. I think that people who "smack talk" Thorsen, have only been exposed to the import **** after the name rights changed hands........

 

[zakmartin]

Shanny - that makes a lot of sense. My Thorsen tools were bought in Central California farm country back in the mid-1960s (these are my only possessions besides a busted late-1950s vintage PENN fishing reel that belonged to my grandfather, whom I had no real relationship with.)

When I need a 9" 1/2" drive extension, I always grab the Thorsen. It just feels really good in the hand and it's got just the right amount of texture to still be usable if my hands are covered in grease. There aren't many tools in my boxes that have gotten as much mileage as the Thorsen extension has. I have a few other Thorsen tools, like a pair of pliers that stay in the "inside the house" tool drawer and a couple C-clamps and they've all held up well.

 

[four.cycle]

I've come to believe that during the "golden age" of hardline tools, that brands were much more regionalized that we're accustomed to today. (I think this even continued past the "golden age" into the 80's. KAL is all over the PNW but scarce in other places, for example.)

^ true.
it all depended upon what territory the sales rep was covering and what kind of job he was doing.
the west coast rep for Indestro was Guy Wheaton of Walnut Creek, Ca. he was a factory agent (employed directly by the manufacturer) - as opposed to an independent agent (one who works for a sales representative agency representing and selling multiple lines of products.)
he told me one time at the warehouse we were the only Indestro "Super" WD out here in the northwest.
there were lots of "Duro-Chrome" distributors out here, but not Indestro.

when we switched to Thorsen the rep was Don Hall, and independent rep who also sold us Master (Airtex), Buss Fuse, and a few other lines. Don was a hell of a rep - knew how to finagle deals with the vendors - and did a hell of a job.
might well be why there was lots of Thorsen out here.

most all those companies canned their reps at some point and went to direct sales to the mass-merchandisers and big distributors. my brother-in-law repped Great Neck - all of North America and Mexico. sold a hell of a lot of stuff for them and made damn good money. then one day they just up and canned him.

the game used to be played much differently than it is today, hence the "regional" thing. you hardly ever saw Williams or Bonney (or a mess of other lines) out here in the northwest either.

 

[928'er]

I've come to believe that during the "golden age" of hardline tools, that brands were much more regionalized that we're accustomed to today. (I think this even continued past the "golden age" into the 80's. KAL is all over the PNW but scarce in other places, for example

...

Back to Thorsen, on this board, when you see someone talk favorably about Thorsen, often their location is WA/OR/ID/MT/CA. This thread holds true to that pattern....My dad (ID) has a GREAT set of Thorsen wrenches from the 60's. I think that during Thorsen's best times, they were a West Coast thing. I think that people who "smack talk" Thorsen, have only been exposed to the import **** after the name rights changed hands........

True. Thorsen's plant was in Emeryville, CA (Oakland, SF area).

 

[Hootbro]

IMHO, Thorsen went to **** in the later years when they consolidated everything in Texas. My grandfather had a ton of their stuff from that time mixed in with some Craftsman stuff. Every socket he ever broke was a Thorsen and he was hardly one to abuse his tools.

 

[Jerryrigged]

Still have an early 1970's era wrench set my father bought for us to work on cars together. Used them to build my first V-8 Vega. He also bought them in the the early 70's about the same time he retired from the Military just like an earlier poster did.