Flea Market ratchet find for 3/31/12 - Napa NB41 3/8" drive

[keykeeper]

I got to get out a little yesterday and do some hunting at the fleas/antique shops.

Found this nice 3/8" drive Napa USA ratchet. Couldn't pass it up, just liked the looks of it. Only thing that bothers me is the direction selector is plastic. If it breaks, I'll have to find a new, better one made of metal.

All the research on GJ indicates this is made by Danaher? Anyone know if this is correct?

Enjoy.

[bonneyman]

Yeah, that figure-8 style of cover plate and snap ring looks C-man/Danaher.
I saw an older NAPA rat the other day with an "NB" number. Looked New Britain-ish to me. Could it be?
NB = New Britain

[lbgradwell]

All the research on GJ indicates this is made by Danaher? Anyone know if this is correct?

Definitely.

I saw an older NAPA rat the other day with an "NB" number. Looked New Britain-ish to me. Could it be?
NB = New Britain

Definitely.

[PowderKeg]

Yeah, that figure-8 style of cover plate and snap ring looks C-man/Danaher.
I saw an older NAPA rat the other day with an "NB" number. Looked New Britain-ish to me. Could it be?
NB = New Britain

All the NAPA branded ratchets I have are MDF/EASCO/Danaher sourced - 1/4" are NMxx,  3/8" are NBxx, and 1/2" are NSxx.

NAPA was the exclusive source for New Britain branded tools, with Sparta (also from New Britain Machine) the "value priced" NAPA alternative.   What I 'd like to find some more info on is whether the NAPA store brand came about as a result of New Britain going belly up, or did NAPA, by starting their own store brand using a competitor (MDF/EASCO), provide some of the final nails in the New Britain Machine coffin?

As a side note, several of my NAPA branded ratchets of the pear head MDF design have a waaaaaaay smoother action than most of the Craftsman ratchets of the same design.   Only the RHFT ratchets have no noticeable differences in ratcheting action across all the different brands (Craftsman, NAPA, KD, Allen, Armstrong, et.al.).