Corbin/Craftsaman Tool Box vintage?

[dimwittedmoose51]

Picked this up at a resale shop in town.  The finish is a dark blue crackle coating, but well worn down. The C-man logo inside is realy old and it does have the metal corners on top and bottom.  The "Corbin" on the center latch makes me  wonder if it's the manufacturer of the tool box or just the latch.  It does have some rust in the bottom of the box, but nothing that goes all the way through.  Any help in dating it would be great..


THX In Advance

DM&FS

[geneg]

Corbin is just the latch.  They made door & lock hardware for years.  Later merged with Ruswin. 

[HeelSpur]

What does it say inside the lid?

[Branson]

I like it.    Ought to be able to begin dating it by the Corbin lock.

[john k]

I like these long carpenters boxes.   The ones I have found, have  a hasp lock.   They are also lined with wood.  It looks like your carry handle is leather?   Plastics look a big leap forward in WWII, so I would date yours to the late 40s, early 50s?   Someone will jump in with a date on the Craftsman logo.  Is that a pull handle on the end too? 

[dimwittedmoose51]

Yeah, the Craftsman Logo inside is in oe of the photos, and yes it does have a leather pull handle on the side.  Lid shuts pretty well.  The right side latch has lost its spring tension, but still hooks up just fine.  I don't have the key for it, but locks were pretty simple back then, assuming rust hasn't messed with the innards too badly.  I was thinking the metal corners would've dated it back to the 30's. but I'm no espert on the matter, I just find these things and go from there.  The hose clamps holding the top leather handle prolly need a better solution....lol  Thanks all


DM&FS

[johnsironsanctuary]

The underlined logo started to be phased out in '47 or '48. Some things had the newer logo. By '52 the underline was pretty much gone. My thought was that Sears let old inventory be sold til it ran out. Maybe Lauver knows when the underline started. I think it was about 1932, but I'm not sure of that.

[dimwittedmoose51]

Thanks.  I was also curious as to when the metal corners disappeared on the Craftsman boxes?  Or if that's not a reliable method of datig C-man boxes when logos are long gone.....

DM&FS