I picked up 1/2 inch parx spanner today at a flea market......has made in Canada and a serial number either BO16 or 8016 I cant find any history on Parx on google does anyone have a link to a reference cheers in advance

Better try Par X. A Snap On trademark per JAFE in a thread on The Garage Gazette- http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=1183.0

hmmm, Par - X  is a new name for me,  will have to keep an eye out for one.

thanks for your help  folks I cant get into the garage forum but I managed to find stuff under par x in google

You might want to join the Garage Gazette. GG is a sister site to Tool Talk in some ways, and lots of shared members. Some quite different subjects are discussed over there beyond the focus of Tool Talk.

Par-X Canada is harder to find in my experience - I have only a couple. I copied and pasted the first half of the post Papaw linked to so you can see it:

I have a fascination with Par-X tools I must confess. The recent discussion in the favorite ratchet thread got me to thinking I should post what little I know. So here it is.

Par-X tools were made by Snap on as a lower cost alternative to the SO brand. The operative words in that sentence are made by SO. In the majority of cases the tools were made using older forging blanks sometimes modified a bit. The finish quality was not as good as main line SO either.  The ratchet guts interchanged with main line SO and even today Par-X ratchets can be rekitted with existing parts although the tooth count will be higher than the original 20.

There is little documentation I have been able to uncover. In fact the mystery and lack of documentation is probably the majority of my interest. A good hunt is always fun. As far as I can tell production ran from late 50's through early or mid 80's. For a short time after the Par-X brand was phased out the tools were still sold but with a Blue Point name and the part numbers remained the same between Par-X and BP. I have seen a few Par-X tools with date codes. Most of the 1/4 ratchets and 3/8 ratchets did not have the code. Most of the 1/2 and the one 3/4 I have seen have date codes. I have not seen any other Par-X tools with date codes. The date codes were the same as SO. The warranty was the same as SO.

Par-X tools were sold off the SO truck. If there was another venue that SO used I am not aware of it. The tools never showed up in any catalog I have seen and the only documentation I have seen is an insert a friend found on ebay and generously gifted to me.

The four page insert:

thanks J.a.f.e. for your reply and knowledge  I will endeavor to scan the one I have a bit later tonight and post a picture

You're welcome. Most interested to see pix.

Finally managed to get a scan of the ParX spanner

JAFE,

I've never seen a Par-X tool stamped Canada before today.

Did Snap-on have a factory in Canada during the late 1950's to mid 1980's?

I have an 1988-1989 catalog that lists facilities (factory & offices) in Concord, Ontario, Canada.  Perhaps this is the source of Par-X Canada tools?