Vintage Craftsman Screwdriver

[A E Numan]

I picked this up at a estate sale last week. I have never seen one like this, is this part of that elusive deluxe amber handle sets of the 30 ties.

 

[jim]

the clear ones just yellow with age. Jim

 

[drivesitfar]

AE: i'm not sure if i own any of these or not, but i'm GETTING ORGANIZED so one day i'll know. in the meantime i wanted to congratulate you on your find and not sure that clear ones yellow that much if any cause i've got some pretty old ones that are still white.

what is strange though is the lettering doesn't have the LONG C to start Craftsman like most of the tools in the 30's did.

I think you might have to drive up with some trading stuff to maybe improve your craftsman collection cause i've got more than a few things from them that probably are doubles, triples or quads.

have a great day and get ready for the rains that are coming soon to us in the PNW.

 

[ryan20021982]

Here's some more info on the amber handles, and no they aren't just aged clear handles

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256245

 

[A E Numan]

drives; yes I would like to get together and have a look at some of your collection sometime! ryan; Thank you for that link! That at least confirms that its not that color because of aging, but because it was made that way. I always keep my eyes out for that amber color Craftsman tools.

 

[A E Numan]

Another picture of an amber handle Craftsman tool.

 

[3baygarage]

AE, here's a 1/8 I found at a sale a week ago.

Here's some more info on the amber handles, and no they aren't just aged clear handles

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256245

Charles in GA stated in that thread remembering them as being that color as a kid.

Although fine as a screwdriver, these are not the stink hande bull ****.

 

[3baygarage]

 

[A E Numan]

3bay; are there any code letters on your screw driver ? Mine has what looks like BC on it.

 

[3baygarage]

3bay; are there any code letters on your screw driver ? Mine has what looks like BC on it.

No. It has a slant shaped (3 sided) C though, so maybe there's some age difference.

Also just noticed it has PAT.NO. 2292657 on back which is for screw holding screwdriver mechanism that is apparently missing. Those were common on a lot of old flat blades by Craftsman.

 

[A E Numan]

No. It has a slant shaped (3 sided) C though, so maybe there's some age difference.

Also just noticed it has PAT.NO. 2292657 on back which is for screw holding screwdriver mechanism that is apparently missing. Those were common on a lot of old flat blades by Craftsman.

Thank you for taking another look. It would be interesting really know how old it really is.

 

[ganymede]

Here's mine.
I like them and use the screw holder feature to help with shaky hands n small screws.
The only thing I've noticed is that they don't take a re-grind as well as the later Craftsmans from the 60's n 70's (The ones a lot of people hate).
That doesn't stop me though, I just leave the tips a bit fatter at the end.
Modern screw slots are huge anyway.
View media item 76195

 

[3baygarage]

Nice lineup.

 

[A E Numan]

That's a nice a nice assortment! I hope I can find some more. Thanks for showing yours.

 

[ganymede]

Thanks
Also forgot to mention the code on all except one (which isn't marked ) is an I in a circle.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are a few that I've run across in the past. I've seen some of the more modern ones discolor slightly but the amber ones look quite different. Mine was missing the screwholder.
-Don

 

[lauver]

Gang,

The OP's screwdriver has a "BC" series code stamped on the handle.

This code is associated with Vlchek between 1935 and 1941. Most of the Crafty tools found with this code were striking tools (i.e. chisels, punches, awls, & hammers) but a few screwdrivers have also shown up with this code.

As to the handle of the OP's screwdriver, it was originally yellow with a blue band on it. All the ones I've seen in person were yellow/blue and all had darkened with age (to be expected given the age and usage).

I hope this helps....

 

[A E Numan]

Gang,

The OP's screwdriver has a "BC" series code stamped on the handle.

This code is associated with Vlchek between 1935 and 1941. Most of the Crafty tools found with this code were striking tools (i.e. chisels, punches, awls, & hammers) but a few screwdrivers have also shown up with this code.

As to the handle of the OP's screwdriver, it was originally yellow with a blue band on it. All the ones I've seen in person were yellow/blue and all had darkened with age (to be expected given the age and usage).

I hope this helps....

lauver; Thank you ! That's great information. 1935-1941 that really nails it down.

 

[d42jeep]

I found some pictures of an early stubby screwdriver.
-Don

 

[A E Numan]

d42jeep: Thank you for posting that.