Vintage S-K Tools

[Harry Oh]

Don, I've looked at your set several times and it always seems your box appears to be wider than mine. My box is 17" x 3 1/2" x 1 3/4" deep. Is it just my eyes playing tricks on me? Harry (Gary)

 

[d42jeep]

Gary,
I’ll measure it and let you know. Thanks for posting your rare set as a reference.
-Don
It looks like mine is around 17-1/2” long, a little less than 2” tall and around 4-1/4” wide. These tools should be a fairly close match to your set but earlier.

 

[d42jeep]

This partial 1/4” drive set that I believe to be pre or early war arrived in the mail yesterday. I cleaned it up a bit and added the missing pieces.
-Don
As it arrived.

Added missing pieces.

Next to a complete larger prewar set. As with other prewar and wartime sets the breaker and extensions are unmarked.

 

[Raineman]

Recently acquired. Separated by stamping variations and sizes. All 3/8 drive.
And picked up this set to add

 

[d42jeep]

That is quite an S-K haul!
I found this partial set yesterday at an estate sale. I brought it home and added some wide groove spares. Looks like just two sockets are missing.
-Don

 

[Harry Oh]

I came acrossed this Artisan 12" adjustable and I'm wondering if it has any connection to S-K Lectrolite like the Artisan ratchets? I did a bit of searching but didn't come up with any manufacturer for Artisan adjustables. There are some similarities. I'm assuming Lectrolite made there own adjustables and didn't farm them out, but sure don't know. Maybe they are both made by Diamond or Crescent.

 

[d42jeep]

I have one too. I couldn’t determine who the maker was. Your S-K Wayne adjustable still has the residual LC casting marks in the corners indicating Lectrolite Corporation
-Don.

 

[four.cycle]

any idea if a trademark was issued on "ARTISAN" OR "A.R.T.I.S.A.N." ??

 

[d42jeep]

I don’t know much about products sold by Gambles. I usually pick them up based on the fact that some of the products were supplied by S-K.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ usually " DROP FORGED ALLOY STEEL " is something you see on stuff from Asia

 

[Harry Oh]

That was my first impression of this Artisan adjustable, Asian, but it is made in USA. I got it in a box lot at an auction that had something in it that I wanted. I had just finished reading the 82 pages of Vintage S-K Tools and just was wondering if S-K or Lectrolite made more than the ratchets for Artisan (Gambles).

 

[d42jeep]

i found my second Artisan combo recently looking very much like it’s S-K and S-K Lectrolite cousins.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I found some 1/2” drive S-K sockets at yesterday’s estate sale plus Tin Medic sent me the nice 1” socket in a care package.
-Don

 

[1982fxr]

Still sealed nos crows foot set. What era would these be from?

 

[d42jeep]

I don’t know exactly when they were made but the logo on the packaging is still in use.
-Don

 

[consti2tion]

Still sealed nos crows foot set. What era would these be from?

They are shown in my 1988 catalog but not in my 1992 catalog.

 

[d42jeep]

I‘ve been taking advantage of some hot weather to refinish some 1/4” drive sets with wrinkle finish overcoated with my favorite Midwest Military green. These boxes badly needed repainting.
-Don

I did one more prewar small set yesterday afternoon. I almost waited too long since the hot day started to cool off.

 

[d42jeep]

We found some rusty S-K tools at an estate sale today. Hopefully the evaporust will work it’s magic and resurrect most of these. I was happy to find an S-K tray that is often missing from the toolboxes.


The tray was a perfect fit in the top of this S-K toolbox.

-Don

 

[Outlawmws]

Great find on the tray!

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks, outlaw. I was glad that the rust was on the surface and that there was no rust through. Here are some of the other tools, just a little cleaner. Thorsen, Vaco, a couple of Plombpire sockets, a smooth shorty Barcalo DBE and a really short Craftsman USA combo. I’m going to give the S-K tools an extra day in the evaporust since they are so rusty.
-Don
The large combos came out okay but with a few rust pits from neglect.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I made quite a bit of progress de-rusting my Friday’s estate sale S-K finds. There are still plenty of surface defects but they are all usable. I added some other 3/4” drive S-K sockets and a sliding Tee from my user box and came away with a pretty decent 3/4” drive S-K set.

The smaller drive and other tools came out pretty well too.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ those certainly cleaned up nicely. way mo' betta!

 

[Kdaniel8601]

Recieved four sockets from eBay today, a 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" eight point and an 11/16" 12 point S-K Chrome 3/8 drive sockets.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice rare finds. I have an extra long unmarked 3/8” drive extension if you are putting a prewar set together. Here are my rare Chrome Alloy 3/8“ drive tools at the moment.
-Don

 

[Kdaniel8601]

Has anybody ever seen an S-K Chrome socket like this? It is shaped just like the early Chrome Vanadium Steel Sockets, but it is labeled S-K Chrome, both sockets are 3/8”, 1/4” drive 8 point

 

[d42jeep]

My 1/4” drive S-K Chrome sockets in the set are pretty conventional in appearance. Those are kind of unusual. They kind of look more like the 1/2” sockets.
-Don
I notice that my spares are all 12 point so perhaps your odd shaped socket is earlier than 1941.

 

[Kdaniel8601]

I have seen quite a few 1/4" drive S-K Chrome sockets, and they all look like yours, that is the first one i have ever seen like that. I wonder if they were made right after the ones marked Chrome Vanadium Steel Sockets, and then they changed the design.

 

[d42jeep]

I suspect that you are absolutely correct. There were so many changes happening in the early days.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

In order to incorporate my new large S-K combination wrenches into the main S-K box I had to figure out which wrenches would still fit in the drawer. I was able to put the S-K and S-K Tools branded wrenches along with the S-K Lectrolite back in the drawer but had to relocate the Lectrolite wrenches into another box.
S-K and S-K Tools combination wrenches. I’m gradually replacing the S-K Tools marked wrenches with just S-K.
All the S-K/S-K Tools wrenches
S-K Lectrolite wrenches
I was able to squeeze the DBE roll back in the drawer.

These Lectrolite marked wrenches and roll got relocated.



-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Some progress was made yesterday in replacing the S-K Tools wrenches with ones marked S-K. Some wrenches arrived in the mail.
13/16” combo wrenches
7/8” combo wrenches
15/16” x 1” DOE wrenches
The new wrenches together
The mailman also brought a 3/8” drive 5/8” Chrome Alloy socket.
-Don

 

[StillTooManyHobbies]

Don, which SK do you still need? Are you differentiating between those with or without the size stamped on the open end? I have some I could send depending on the sizes

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks very much for the offer but I believe that I have the rest of the wrenches covered in an upcoming trade. I’ll let you know if I end up missing any. I haven’t worried about the additional stampings on the open ends. I know that indicates that they are newer but it doesn’t really concern me.
-Don

 

[StillTooManyHobbies]

Glad you have it covered.

 

[d42jeep]

I’ve recently put together a pretty close to complete set of circa 1941 S-K Chrome 1/2” drive sockets including most of the obscure /32” sockets. I’m actually missing several of the pieces to complete the set shown in the ‘41 catalog but I thought that I could come close visually.
-Don
1/2” drive S-K Chrome sockets before cleaning

Images from the 1941 Catalog

Tools laid out
Added to the upper tray
Tray in the box
S-K Chrome 1/4” drive set

 

[d42jeep]

We checked out a tool heavy estate sale in Pleasanton, CA. My wife used to refer to it as Unpleasanton when she had the 45 minute each way commute for the last couple of years before she retired. I spotted a fairly complete looking postwar 1/2” drive socket set in the pictures and much to my surprise it was still there when we arrived. It may have been the extremely high price tag ($80.00)the estate sale company had put on the set but fortunately I have a pretty long term relationship with this particular company and the owner let me suggest the price for all the tools so the set worked out to be quite reasonably priced. The sockets cleaned up really well although the box needed a bit of straightening. The catalog listing is from 1956.
-Don

 

[Ricky Joe]

We checked out a tool heavy estate sale in Pleasanton, CA. My wife used to refer to it as Unpleasanton when she had the 45 minute each way commute for the last couple of years before she retired. I spotted a fairly complete looking postwar 1/2” drive socket set in the pictures and much to my surprise it was still there when we arrived. It may have been the extremely high price tag ($80.00)the estate sale company had put on the set but fortunately I have a pretty long term relationship with this particular company and the owner let me suggest the price for all the tools so the set worked out to be quite reasonably priced. The sockets cleaned up really well although the box needed a bit of straightening. The catalog listing is from 1956.
-Don

$80 might be high for a cheap socket set, but for S-K, that is a bargain. I saw one sell on eBay for $200, exact set you have but with the six point smallest sockets, which would place it after 1958.

 

[four.cycle]

^ ebay prices have gone nuts across the board.

 

[d42jeep]

S-K tools are currently much more expensive than they were a few months ago. I’m not sure exactly why. I’m getting close to completing this partial set I found a while back.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I ordered up the missing 1/2” socket from Rick Higgins, GJ member and excellent eBay seller, for my new 1/2” drive set. I discovered the part number on the end of the box, 4168W. Checking the catalogs online contributed by GJ member Kdaniel8601 indicate that the set was made around 1949 or 1950 since by 1953 S-K had changed the part number. I also added the missing crossbar from my spares.
Socket from Rick
Part number tag on the end of the box
Catalog listings
Here is the completed set.
-Don

 

[1982fxr]

In the second pic above, what is the small box?