I picked this up yesterday because I found it odd.



now my questions......has anyone ever seen one like this? does anyone have an action or a thorson with anything other than a knurled round handle? does anyone know of the patent used (it has pat pend)?

I am assuming that the handle is an import that someone has replaced the head with one from an action ratchet but would like to solve the mystery.

krusty,

I've never seen that handle style on any Thorsen or Action ratchet.  But, I'm not a Thorsen expert.

I suspect the Pat Pend on the ratchet refers specifically to the ratchet core, not the handle.

Shoot a PM to member OilyRascal... he's your guy (i.e. Thorsen guru). 

The ratchet head appears common to Thorsen, rebranded Action, but the handle seems a misfit.  The handle reminds me of the JCPENNEY branded SK.  If it's Thorsen I've not seen such.  From the picture it appears the head is loose fitting.

It actually fits well and works like it belongs there!

krusty,

It's looking like your original assumption may be correct.  Are there any markings anywhere on the ratchet handle?

I have a Truecraft (Japan) 41-tooth round head ratchet that has a similar, but not exact handle.  It's close, but no cigar

Gary, nothing stamped in the handle at all. It was painted black when i got it and hoped there was something under the paint......no luck.

Quote from: OilyRascal on January 07, 2016, 08:01:52 PM
The ratchet head appears common to Thorsen, rebranded Action, but the handle seems a misfit.  The handle reminds me of the JCPENNEY branded SK.  If it's Thorsen I've not seen such.  From the picture it appears the head is loose fitting.

oily, from this thread it appears to be thorsen made handle and all.....

http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=25012.msg338144#msg338144

so, I now suspect that it was a low cost alternative to the round/knurled handle for a military contract.

krusty et al., I live near a military base (in fact, the town probably would not be here were it not for the base), and I find a lot of Thorsen tools in the second hand market. I have figured one reason for so much of the Thorsen brand would be the military 'surplus'. (surplus in quotes because I'm not sure that is the correct term for tools that an airman has walked off with and sold to a pawn shop, maybe so, I don't know. Maybe the air force was going to throw them out ... but that is a different discussion, I digress). Anyway, I see Thorsen products maybe 5:1 more than any other brand except Craftsman of course.
The point of my long winded story is, that I haven't seen a ratchet like yours before, other than the JC Penny model in the GG thread and I do think I have seen a Japanese Craftsman copy that had a similar look, but I don't recall where. The military surplus is a good guess, but I would have thought I'd have seen one in my travels if the USAF bought them in quantity. Another guess might be for a regional discount hardware or parts store contract deal.  I also think oily's guess is good; think it is possible that someone found some spare guts that fit the Japanese handle they had on hand.
In any case, it is an unusual piece.
*edit: I thought oily had guessed japanese as a possibility in his post above. Not so.

I think it looks cool.

Gang,

Where did the Japan connection come from... where did I miss that? 

My understanding is there are no markings of any kind on the handle.

Quote from: lauver on January 09, 2016, 06:42:33 PM
Gang,

Where did the Japan connection come from... where did I miss that? 

My understanding is there are no markings of any kind on the handle.

No solid Japan connection, just one of the guesses. Krusty says he thinks it it Thorsen through and through.

gary, it was I that thought the handle could have been of Japanese origin. it was just one of the possibilities that ran through my mind.

kxxr, while it is possible I wasn't part of a military contract, there is a strong likelihood. I purchased it from a resale store named compel ministries. they buy tools buy the pallet load from the US military and sell them to finance their community outreach programs. they are very good people and have treated me very well in the past. this ratchet was purchased along with a sk tuff1, a proto palm control and a dellacor labeled 1/4" ratchet adapter for $17. most places would have priced those at $15 each! here is a link to their site (and a link to their ebay store).

http://compelministries.org/