Perfect!!!!!!

Quote from: Papaw on August 01, 2018, 03:35:15 PM
Jim- I bet these don't fit in your Type Study !

Hey Papaw,

I can absolutely assure you that there will be nothing anywhere near as cool as those ratchets in the Type Study.  Those ratchets are works of art!  The rest of the Type Study is gonna be boring compared to those.  What's the story behind them? 

Jim C.

These ratchets were made from Craftsman ratchets and H D Smith Perfect Handle screwdrivers by my friend Brian Jordan of thunder_forge@cox.net in Arizona. He goes by 64longstep here on Tool Talk.
The wood used for the scales is Red Cedar from a large tree downed by Hurricane Ike.

Brian made me several tools using Perfect Handle tools as a base with new handles.
 

He hasn't been around lately, and I think he has slowed down a lot on knife making and forging. I have other things he had made for me. I once sent him a bunch of old files which he used to make knives.

Quote from: Jim C. on August 01, 2018, 09:43:54 AM

Hi Spartan-C,

Thanks for checking in.  I'd like to see your dad's ratchet.  Can you post a photo or two?  I'd also be interested in knowing how many teeth it has. 40? or 32?  As for your 1980s ratchets, well, I plan to cover them through 1993, so we'll get to them.

Jim C.

Sorry, I'm late posting, been a busy week for me.  Here are a few pictures of my dad's 1/2" drive ratchet made around 1959.  It is a 32 tooth ratchet.  I'll get pictures of the other ratchets I have from my 1980 set and a couple others picked up along the way. (Sorry for the crappy pictures. If you need higher resolution pics, PM me with your email and I'll be glad to send.)

Ken

This don't really fit in with ratchets, but had to post.  It is a socket that did not make a full hit during the forging operation.  Kind of neat.  It's the only Craftsman tool I have ever received that should have been kicked out by inspection.

A few years back when I was starting to publish my first draft of this Type Study, Dr. Doom was working on his Craftsman ratchet videos.  Not long after I posted what I thought were Type 1 ratchets, he contacted me and alerted me to the fact that I had mixed Type 1 and a second Type (that would eventually become Type 3 in this Type Study) together.  After considering his comments I concluded that he was right.  While the Type 2 ratchets are easily identified by their "V" shaped directional lever (VL), the Type 1 and Type 3 ratchets are somewhat similar in appearance to the untrained eye (like mine was at the time).  I had barely published Type 1 and already I had a major error.  That was the down side.  The up side was that I was made aware of another Type..... the Type 3 for purposes of this Type Study.

Based on my initial interpretation of the catalogs it was my thinking that the Type 3 ratchets in all three drive sizes were manufactured and available only for a short period of time.  But it only makes sense to start the Type 3 timeline where the Type 2 timeline ended, that being 1965/'66.  DadsTools observed what appeared to be ratchets with a Type 3 style long directional lever as early as 1966 in a Sears catalog.  The Type 3 is significant because it was the last Teardrop ratchet to be offered without the quick release (QR) mechanism we have all become so familiar with.  Based on my initial review of the 1967, 1968 and 1969 Sears Craftsman tool catalogs, it appears that Sears released a few different QR versions (Types 4, 5 and 6) and a non-quick release (NonQR) version (the Type 3) at the same time between '67 and '69.  Well, based on the 1966 catalog, we now know that the Type 3 ratchets were on the market prior to 1967, and more likely closer to 1965/'66.

From a collector's point of view, any of the Type 3 sizes are relatively scarce, and I found that the 3/8" version is next to impossible to find.  I don't know why or if that's even true.  It was just my experience.  I see the 1/2" and the 1/4" now and then, but not the 3/8".  Anyway, I believe the ratchets depicted below are the last NonQR ratchets offered by Sears between 1966 and 1969.  The 1970 catalog makes no mention of the NonQR ratchets.  Going forward, all Sears/Craftsman ratchets were outfitted with the QR mechanism.  Like I said earlier, trying to put a date range on some of the individual Types in this study is occasionally an educated guess that is based on catalog supplied information.  Unfortunately, the catalogs aren't always accurate.  However, when new and better information comes to light, it only makes sense to incorporate that information into the Type Study whenever possible.  The following paragraphs illustrate this point. 

(The following information was added to the Type 3 narrative on 9/22/20.)  A couple weeks ago, while cruising eBay like I do everyday, I came across yet another Craftsman teardrop ratchet that I hadn't seen before.  It is sort of ironic because not too long before I stumbled on to this new-to-me ratchet, another tool enthusiast asked me if the Craftsman Teardrop Type Study was finally completed.  In a half kidding response, I said it would never be complete because every time I think it's finished and I have them all identified, I come across another ratchet I was unaware of.  Well, it was almost like I jinxed myself because it happened again, this time with the Type 3. 

Until now, it was my belief that all Type 3 and earlier Types were stamped with a pointed letter "A" in the word CR"A"FTSM"A"N.  Well, if you take a look at the 1/2" drive ratchet at the bottom of each photo, you'll see that it clearly has a flat top letter "A."  Everything we know, or think we know about the pointed letter A and the flat top letter A says that the transition from the pointed A to the flat top A occurred at some time right around 1968 – 1969.   Now you're thinking, "Why does this matter?"  Well, it clearly means that Sears's ratchet manufacturer/supplier was still making these non-quick release models as late 1968/'69.

At first this doesn't seem significant, but it is another piece of the puzzle that's based on fact versus educated guesses or conjecture.  The ratchet depicted below also solidifies the ending date of the Type 3 teardrop ratchets, that being 1968/'69.  Prior to finding this Type 3 flat top A ratchet, there was a hypothesis floating around that says once Sears bought the quick release patent rights from their creator, Pete Roberts, in 1965, Sears immediately ramped up production of the quick release ratchets AND immediately dumped the current non-quick release model (the Type 3).  Without knowing for sure, it's a reasonable theory to consider, but the existence of this ratchet now proves that it's not correct.  While Sears did jump on the quick release ratchets as fast as possible, and rush them into production, the opposite is not true of non-quick release ratchets.  Production did not immediately stop as some may have previously thought. The ratchet shown below puts to rest any idea that Sears was simply liquidating its previously manufactured non-quick release model (Type 3) once the new quick release models were in stores, by advertising them (the non QR model) in the 1967 through 1969 catalogs.  Like I said, if we are to believe well documented Craftsman tool history/fact, then the ratchet shown below was stamped with a flat top letter A no earlier than 1968/'69.   

Basically, the Type 3 was ACTIVELY being manufactured for Sears for several years and clearly as late as 1968.  Based on this recent information, the non quick release ratchet was most likely advertised in the 1967 through 1969 catalogs because Sears thought there was still a market for the cheaper non-quick release model.  In hindsight that may have been faulty marketing strategy on Sears's part.  By 1969, Sears must have realized that the non-quick release ratchet had reached the end of it's logical life span, and it was dead and gone by 1970.  At that point, Sears probably started to liquidate whatever was left of its non-quick release ratchet inventory.

Although I have not seen a Type 3, 3/8" drive or a 1/4" drive with a flat top A stamp, I can only assume that they do exist.  I'll keep an eye out for both.  I guess from a collector's perspective any Type 3 ratchet would be considered relatively scarce.  Based only on my experience and nothing else, I would say that the later version Type 3, with the flat top A stamp, is probably one of the most rare teardrop ratchet examples featured in the Type Study.  So, if you come across another Type 3, take a closer look at the CRAFTSMAN stamp on the handle.

Here's the Type 3 nomenclature:

Type 3:  1965/'66 - 1969, TD, OH, LL, NonQR, PA & FA, =V=, Non#
(represents 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" drive sizes)

Early on I had a little trouble identifying the differences between a Type 1 and Type 3 ratchet.  The four photos in the following post illustrate those differences for identification purposes.  In the first and second photos, the Type 1 is on the left and the Type 3 is on the right.  Notice the difference in shapes between the directional levers?  See how the Type 1 lever has a domed appearance while the Type 3 is more flat?  Also notice the casting difference immediately below and around the lever itself.  The Type 1 affords significantly less room to get a pair of needle nose pliers around the protrusions of the lever retention spring, while the Type 3 provides much more clearance.  For the record, taking apart Type 1 ratchets for purposes of servicing them and then re-assembling them requires a little patience.  The tolerances are really precise.  Don't say I didn't warn you!!  In the second photo, take notice how the socket post on the Type 1 is finished in chrome, while the Type 3 socket post is finished in black oxide.  In the third and fourth photos, the Type 1 handle is on top and the Type 3 is on the bottom.  See the subtle difference in the shapes of the raised panels?  Notice how the ends of the Type 1 raised panels are oval shaped while the ends on the Type 3 are more squared off in appearance?  Well there you have it.  Now you're an expert in identifying the external differences between a Type 1 and Type 3 Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet.  Please stay tuned for Type 4 . . . it's the game changer.


Jim C.

These photos depict the external differences between the Type 1 and Type 3 ratchets.  In the first two photos, the Type 1 ratchet is on the left, and Type 3 is on the right.  In the third and fourth photos, Type 1 is on top and Type 3 is on the bottom.

Jim C.

Jim,

Thank you for the detailed descriptions of these ratchets. Very interested.  I remember very well studying the old Sears Power and Hand Tool Catalogs back then.  You know at 11-13 years old, I wish I could have that, how neat that was and so on.  I think over the years, I got most I wished for!
I think I have one of those Type 3 ratchets here. Try to post more pictures later today of the other C-ratchets I have.

Ken 

I ran into a friend at an estate sale today, and he showed me what he called "some little funny-looking 3/8" Craftsman ratchet thing".
This is what came out of a plastic bucket in the back of his pickup.

https://www.google.com/search?q=craftsman+3/8+v+series+speed+spinner+ratchet&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=doLkxiQm9ApDaM%253A%252CnhBRmUnqW_XclM%252C_&usg=AFrqEzc86fiIc4n1vBhzaoTor5-EIHJkaA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjtzvizrtTcAhVMR6wKHeRmD3AQ9QEwAnoECAEQCA#imgrc=doLkxiQm9ApDaM:

I immediately began to drool.  Offered him a price for it (he had sold me tools before) but he turned me down flat and refused to make a counteroffer, all the while saying he wanted to sell it.  He is not a ratchet guy.

I feel it is hopeless.

Sooooooo frustrating.

Those fetch good money.

I see....

If it is in good shape with a good handle, easy $100.

I have a 3/8" drive and 1/2" drive with the V selector. The 3/8" is stamped REBUILT in the valley of the handle.

Those are sweet.