Walker All-Stars
- Thread starter CRTDI
- Start date
hammergodthor
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2009
- Messages
- 475
Super cool! Thanks for posting! 
I have a number of older Walker Catalogs this one is much newer than any I have seen previously. A person could go crazy trying to collect all those models. Never seen the 780 Asphalt Model before would be interesting to find.
My cousin keeps all his jacks outdoors and the weather beats down on them and when the ground gets wet that Asphalt Model would work quite nicely on the wet dirt and gravel grounds of his.
My cousin keeps all his jacks outdoors and the weather beats down on them and when the ground gets wet that Asphalt Model would work quite nicely on the wet dirt and gravel grounds of his.
I have to agree, that the asphalt/gravel jack would be a pretty nice find. You say this catalog is newer than anything you have? I know you have some pretty amazing tool collections, so I'm pretty sure that your jack catalogs are nothing short of amazing as well.
I'm constantly seeking and trying to gain knowledge about these great old American jacks. Since there is very little to no information about old floor jacks on the internet, these catalogs represent a great resource for me. It's very frustrating that they just seem so difficult to find. I'm pretty sure that older catalogs must have gotten tossed away in the garbage as newer ones replaced them.
With the catalog you posted of the SJ-18, I was able to confirm as told before by an older gentleman, that it was indeed available with optional rubber wheels. I now see in this catalog that these Walkers had the same option. I recently picked up another Blackhawk catalog, and was shocked to see that an S-4 was also available with rubber wheels.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114011&highlight=blackhawk
I don't know the model of this jack, but now I can say that I've seen an old floor jack in a picture that actually has a set of rubber wheels installed. This is quite an accomplishment for me....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290602080904
I'm constantly seeking and trying to gain knowledge about these great old American jacks. Since there is very little to no information about old floor jacks on the internet, these catalogs represent a great resource for me. It's very frustrating that they just seem so difficult to find. I'm pretty sure that older catalogs must have gotten tossed away in the garbage as newer ones replaced them.
With the catalog you posted of the SJ-18, I was able to confirm as told before by an older gentleman, that it was indeed available with optional rubber wheels. I now see in this catalog that these Walkers had the same option. I recently picked up another Blackhawk catalog, and was shocked to see that an S-4 was also available with rubber wheels.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=114011&highlight=blackhawk
I don't know the model of this jack, but now I can say that I've seen an old floor jack in a picture that actually has a set of rubber wheels installed. This is quite an accomplishment for me....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290602080904
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Those last images you have posted are quite unusual (from ebay listing) especially the Jack with the rubber wheels. It appears to be a Walker transitional model early 1930's. The other two jacks next to it are Walker first models from the late 1920's (first model came out possibly in late 1927 or for sure 1928). The unusual actuating mechanism for the pump was the result of an effort to get around the Manley Patent for a horizontal floor jack pump.
Manley was the first Floor Jack to utilize the horizontal pump feature which greatly improved the lifting capacity of floor jacks over the previous vertical arrangements. The first Manley Jacks have a look of girder and steel more like a bridge than a jack. They are the funkiest jacks I have ever seen and for anyone who cares and ounce about jacks would love to own. This would be the holy grail of floor jacks to find.
Manley went through many permutations and model changes in the early years of production it would be quite a challenge for a collector to assemble a collection of these first jacks. I have 3 early Manleys including a first model. I would post images of the first model but unfortunately at the moment it is a apart spread around my garage. I do have catalogs though and will post an image of the first model when I have some time.
That first model Walker pictured while not common is still much more available than any early Manleys would be. I too have one of them. I feel that Walker had a better distribution system or perhaps was better known than Manley was and the the reason they are seen much more often than the Manleys are. This is obviously very true for later models as Walkers are in abundance in the 40's and 50's while any Manley from that era is next to impossible to find.
Manley was the first Floor Jack to utilize the horizontal pump feature which greatly improved the lifting capacity of floor jacks over the previous vertical arrangements. The first Manley Jacks have a look of girder and steel more like a bridge than a jack. They are the funkiest jacks I have ever seen and for anyone who cares and ounce about jacks would love to own. This would be the holy grail of floor jacks to find.
Manley went through many permutations and model changes in the early years of production it would be quite a challenge for a collector to assemble a collection of these first jacks. I have 3 early Manleys including a first model. I would post images of the first model but unfortunately at the moment it is a apart spread around my garage. I do have catalogs though and will post an image of the first model when I have some time.
That first model Walker pictured while not common is still much more available than any early Manleys would be. I too have one of them. I feel that Walker had a better distribution system or perhaps was better known than Manley was and the the reason they are seen much more often than the Manleys are. This is obviously very true for later models as Walkers are in abundance in the 40's and 50's while any Manley from that era is next to impossible to find.
I wanted to update this thread with a little more vintage Walker info. Unbelievably, the jacks on E-bay are still available: 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1930s-40s-5...1289128433296200272&pid=100011&prg=1005&rk=1&
Here are some ads I came across that might help to I.D. some of these interesting old floor jacks.
I find this 1939 showroom photo to be particular interesting with all the Walker jacks and a lone Blackhawk unit smack dab in the middle of all of them. To me, the Blackhawk appears to be ahead of it's time with its futuristic looks as compared to the Walker shorty units.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1930s-40s-5...1289128433296200272&pid=100011&prg=1005&rk=1&
Here are some ads I came across that might help to I.D. some of these interesting old floor jacks.
I find this 1939 showroom photo to be particular interesting with all the Walker jacks and a lone Blackhawk unit smack dab in the middle of all of them. To me, the Blackhawk appears to be ahead of it's time with its futuristic looks as compared to the Walker shorty units.
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