The only wrench I have seen with war finish stamped on it. It is a Plomb 1135


. by radguy1, on Flickr

Dan

I like this particular style of Plomb DBE. Long for good torque, with just a slight offset for clearance. Nice lines, pleasing to the eye.

QuoteRestrictions were imposed on all manufacturing for the civilian market in order that sufficient amounts of critical materials were continually available to meet the requirements of the war effort. With this in mind it is then reasonable to assume that the "War Finish" imprinted on civilian tools indicate that these tools did not necessarily meet the material standards set by the company during peacetime, when there was access to bountiful supplies.  If the words "War Finish" were just related to the texture and appearance of the exterior, the stamping would be redundant, and not worth the added expense.

From- http://plombtools.com/WarFinishWF.aspx
Plombtools.com

> critical materials

Which included chrome, and nickel, 2 of the three important steel alloying metals, resulting in some very odd alloys for tool steel...

Makes you wonder if the majority of these tools didn't end up broken and discarded..