J.P. Danielson Company

Table of Contents

Introduction

The J.P. Danielson Company was a maker of pliers and wrenches and is probably best known for their "Bet'R-Grip" adjustable wrenches. The company had an early connection to the Crescent Tool Company and was later associated with the Plomb Tool Company.

This article will explore the company's history and products.

Company History

The first incarnation of J.P. Danielson & Company began in 1903 as a partnership between J.P. Danielson and Karl Peterson in Jamestown, New York. The company initially operated as a maker of pliers and wrenches, including a type of plier-wrench known as a "lightning wrench".

Fig. 1. 1907 Notice for Danielson Lightning Wrench. [External Link]

Fig. 1 shows a new product announcement for Danielson, as published on page 966 of the May 1907 Hardware Dealer's Magazine.

The illustration shows the Danielson "Improved Lightning Wrench", and the description notes that the wrench works for both pipes and nuts. (The design also includes a wire cutter, screwdriver, and nail-puller.)

The construction was noted as drop-forged steel, and the available sizes were 6, 7, 8, and 12 inches.

Dissolution and Succession by Crescent Tool

A recently discovered (October 2015) notice provides a new twist on the early history of the company. Originally we had stated "The company was reorganized as a corporation after Peterson left the partnership. (Karl Peterson went on to found the Crescent Tool Company.)"

However, the actual events turn out to be a bit more complicated.

Fig. 2. 1907 Notice of Dissolution for J.P. Danielson Company.

Fig. 2 shows a notice stating that J.P. Danielson & Company had been dissolved and absorbed into the newly formed Crescent Tool Company, as published on page 60 of the September 10, 1907 edition of Hardware.

In other words, Karl Peterson basically bought out his partner and formed Crescent Tool to carry on the earlier J.P. Danielson product lines.

This new information clarifies why the earliest Crescent tools were the same as the prior J.P. Danielson products.

For this article though, it leaves us with some questions — did Crescent continue to use the Danielson brand? What did J.P Danielson (the person) do after Crescent Tool? Did he immediately form another J.P. Danielson entity?

The Second Incarnation of J.P Danielson & Company

Fig. 3. 1909 Notice for J.P. Danielson & Company.

The answers to some of these questions can be found in the composite scan in Fig. 3, as published on pages 304-305 of the June 5, 1909 issue of Domestic Engineering. (Thanks to a diligent reader for bringing this to our attention!)

In addition to noting the new building being constructed for J.P. Danielson & Company, the text notes that the company had been formed a year and a half earlier, when Danielson withdrew from Crescent Tool.

Working back from the publication date of the notice, we can infer that the second incarnation of J.P. Danielson & Company was likely formed in late 1907 or early 1908, and initially set up operations in the Webber building. This suggests that J.P. Danielson continued working at Crescent Tool for a few months after the reorganization of his prior partnership, before branching out on his own.

By 1914 (or earlier) public references appear again for J.P. Danielson & Company.

The April, 1914 issue of the Automobile Trade Journal listed J.P Danielson on page 512 under "Combination Pliers", and the January, 1915 issue of the same publication listed the company under both "Combination Pliers" and "Nut and Bolt Wrenches".

A notice on page 715 [External Link] of the June 1, 1917 edition of the Plumbers' Trade Journal announced the availability of Danielson catalog No. 5, which included descriptions and illustrations of wrenches and pliers.

Incorporation as J.P. Danielson Company

In 1920 the new J.P. Danielson Company was incorporated with $300,000 of capital stock.

Fig. 5. 1920 Notice of Incorporation for J.P. Danielson Company. [External Link]

Fig. 5 shows a notice of the company's incorporation, as published on page 1415 of the May 13, 1920 issue of Iron Age.

The principals are listed as J.P. Danielson, K. Tornebohn, and A. Swanson, and the intended products are listed as tools and machine parts.

Fig. 6. 1921 Advertisement for J.P. Danielson Tools.

The scan in Fig. 6 shows some examples of the tools produced by the newly-incorporated J.P. Danielson, as published on page 325 [External Link] of the Febrary 15, 1921 issue of the Plumbers' Trade Journal.

The illustration shows several sizes of Stillson-pattern pipe wrenches, several models of combination pliers and a number of gas-and-burner or similar pliers.

The text notes the availability of catalog No. 6, but currently no catalogs for the company have been found.

"Bet'R-Grip" Adjustable Wrenches

In later years J.P. Danielson was probably best known as the maker of "Bet'R-Grip" brand Crescent-style adjustable wrenches. During the 1930s the company supplied adjustable wrenches and other tools to Western Auto Supply, a major retailer of tools and automotive supplies. J.P. Danielson was also a contract manufacturer for Sears Roebuck and supplied adjustable wrenches for the Sears Craftsman and Merit brands. (See our article on Early Craftsman Tools for more information.)

"Auto-Kit" Wrenches

Recent findings (as part of this article) have established that J.P. Danielson was the maker of Auto-Kit wrenches, a popular brand of open-end and open+box wrenches typically sold in nested sets. Auto-Kit tools were likely sold by Western Auto and probably other high-volume retailers, and were available from around 1933 or possibly earlier. The evidence linking Auto-Kit with J.P. Danielson is presented in the section on Auto-Kit Tools shown below.

Danielson has also been established as the maker of the "Controlled Steel" brand of tools, an economy brand sold widely in the late 1930s through 1950s.

Acquisition by Plomb Tool

In the mid 1940s Danielson began providing contract manufacturing services to Plomb Tool of Los Angeles, and shortly after this (in 1947) J.P. Danielson was acquired by Plomb. The tools made for Plomb included a line of "Plombaloy" adjustable wrenches in the "Bet'R-Grip" design, and some type of pliers as well. See for example the Plomb "Plombaloy" 708 Adjustable Wrench and Plomb 246 Combination Pliers.

After the acquisition by Plomb, the J.P. Danielson factory is believed to have supplied adjustable wrenches for all of the brands in the Plomb (later Proto) family: Plomb, Proto, Penens, Fleet, P&C, and later even Vlchek.

Additional examples of tools made by J.P. Danielson can be found in our article on the Proto Empire.

Patents

Trademarks

In 1935 J.P. Danielson filed a trademark application for "BET'R-GRIP", a brand name used on a line of adjustable wrenches. The application listed the first use date as 1933, and the trademark was issued as #339,680 on October 13, 1936.

This appears to be the only trademark registered by J.P. Danielson.

Manufacturing Dates

Many of the tools made by J.P. Danielson are marked with a forged-in code that in certain forms is believed to represent a manufacturing date, and this section will present evidence for the date code interpretation. The forged-in code typically consists of a letter followed by two numbers, with a dot or dash as a separator, as for example "T-12-4" or "U.5.2". We'll refer to this form as the L-N-N code, for Letter-Number-Number.

On some tools the forged-in code may appear in other forms, including one or two numbers followed by a letter. These alternate forms initially were thought to have the same interpretation as the L-N-N codes, but are now believed to represent something other than the manufacturing date. The alternate codes have been observed only on open+box and open-end wrenches, with no known examples on adjustable wrenches. A discussion of the alternate codes can be found in the section on the Auto-Kit No. 100 Wrench Set. The remainder of this section will consider only the L-N-N codes, unless otherwise stated.

Examination of a large number of the L-N-N forged-in codes revealed a pattern in which the first (lefthand) number was observed to range from 1 to 12, suggesting that this number may represent a calendar month. The second (righthand) number was observed only as a single digit, which in turn suggests that the number may represent the year in a decade. Based on these observations, our preliminary hypothesis is that the righthand number represents the calendar year, with the decade determined by other factors.

In order to test this hypothesis, we first need to find a reasonable number of tools for which an independent estimate of the manufacturing date can be made, then check to see whether the date indicated by the forged-in code is consistent with the independent estimate.

Unfortunately it has proven difficult to estimate a manufacturing date for most individual Danielson tools, due to the lack of catalogs or other secondary information. However, a few special cases have been found for which a reasonable estimate of the manufacturing year could be made, such as the Auto-Kit wrenches with a patent pending marking. In addition, the 1947 acquisition of J.P. Danielson by Plomb Tool resulted in many short-term changes to the tool markings produced by Danielson, and these changes provide good estimates of the production date. For example, one class of tools for which we can estimate the production dates are the "Plombaloy" adjustable wrenches produced for Plomb Tool from around 1944 through 1948.

Table 2 below shows the examples collected thus far for the date code analysis. The "Estimated Date Range" column gives the a priori expected manufacturing date -- in some cases only a crude estimate can be made, but for other cases (e.g. the Proto-Plomb examples) the date may be known very precisely. The "Mfg. Date" column then gives the manufacturing year indicated by the date code, but only when an unambiguous choice can be made.

In the table the examples that have helped validate the date code hypothesis are highlighted with a light blue background color. For each of these cases, the prior estimated range was reasonably narrow, and the manufacturing date indicated by the code was consistent with the range. Based on this preliminary analysis, the evidence does support the hypothesis that the second digit represents the manufacturing year, provided that the decade can be determined by other markings or factors.

Other Factors for Estimating Production Dates

In addition to the forged-in codes, a number of other marking and construction details may be helpful in estimating the production dates for Danielson tools.

• "Bet'R-Grip" Brand Adjustable Wrenches. The "Bet'R-Grip" brand was first used in 1933, based on a recently found trademark registration.

• Patent Pending Marking for Auto-Kit Wrenches. Some Auto-Kit wrenches have a "Pat. Pend." notation referring to patent #2,083,131, one of only two patents known for J.P. Danielson. As the patent was filed in 1935 and issued in 1937, this marking indicates production from 1935-1937.

• Alternate (Non-Date-Code) Forged-in Codes. Earlier production of open-end and open+box wrenches was consistently marked with forged-in codes in the form of a number followed by a letter. Based on the examples analyzed, the number appears to represent the nominal length of the tool, rather than the manufacturing date. These alternate forged-in codes appear to have been used as early as 1933, but by 1939 the alternate form had been superseded by the L-N-N style date codes. This suggests that the presence of an alternate form forged-in code should indicate production in the range 1933-1938.

• "Typewriter" Font for Markings. During the 1930s (and possibly earlier) J.P. Danielson used a distinctive "Typewriter" font style for forged markings on tools. Based on the usage of this font on tools with known production dates, the Typewriter font was used from the early 1930s (or earlier) up through 1941 or 1942, but by sometime in 1942 Danielson had switched to a simple block font for markings.

• Checkered Gripping Pattern for Pliers. Earlier Danielson pliers typically used a diamond checkered gripping pattern on the handles, an example of which can be seen on the Danielson 8 Inch Combination Pliers. This pattern remained in use until about 1942.

• "Herringbone" Gripping Pattern for Pliers. Around 1942 Danielson switched to a geometric "herringbone" gripping pattern for plier handles. The transition date was estimated based on a few examples of pliers with date codes forged into the handles.

• Broached Hanging Hole for Adjustable Wrenches. Danielson adjustable wrenches were made with a double-hex broached hanging hole from the early 1930s (or earlier) up through 1947.

• Plain Hanging Hole for Adjustable Wrenches. In 1948 Danielson discontinued the broached hanging hole for its adjustable wrenches and switched to a plain (non-reinforced) hole. The date of this change is change has been well established by a number of examples with dual Proto and Plomb (PRVTV-PLVMB) markings. The plain hanging holes continued in production until the mid to late 1950s.

• Reinforced (Ridged) Hanging Hole for Adjustable Wrenches. In the late 1950s Danielson added a reinforcing ring to the hanging hole for its adjustable wrenches, so that the holes had a complete circular ridge of uniform thickness.

References and Resources

Photographs and observations of particular tools are based on items in the Alloy Artifacts collection.

Catalog Coverage

Currently we have no catalogs for J.P. Danielson.

Publications in the trade press indicate that a catalog No. 5 was available in 1917 and that a catalog No. 6 was available in 1921.

Pipe Wrenches

6 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench

Fig. 7. J.P. Danielson 6 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail.

Fig. 7 shows a Danielson 6 inch pipe wrench of the Stillson design, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." on the flat area above the handle, with "Drop Forged Steel" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the handle. and with "Tool Steel" forged into the back side. The back side also has a partially obscured forged-in code "?.3.5" near the jaw.

The overall (closed) length is 6.0 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

One "feature" worth noting is that the movable jaw of this wrench was made by Walworth, the original maker of Stillson wrenches. It's unknown whether this is the original jaw or a replacement.

10 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrenches

Fig. 8. J.P. Danielson 10 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, 1940.

Fig. 8 shows a Danielson 10 inch Stillson-pattern pipe wrench, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." on the flat of the handle. The shank is marked with "Drop Forged" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the handle panel, with "Tool Steel" forged into the back side.

The back side is also marked with a forged-in code "?-8-0" below the fixed jaw, shown as a close-up in the lower inset.

The overall length is 9.7 inches closed, and the maximum opening is about 1.5 inches. The finish is plain steel.

A close look at the text forged into the handle shows the use of the "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used by Danielson from the early 1930s through about 1941. The "0" year code together with the Typewriter font indicates production in 1940.

Fig. 9. J.P. Danielson 10 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench, with Insets for Back Side Detail, 1945.

Fig. 9 shows a somewhat later Danielson 10 inch pipe wrench of the Stillson design, marked with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." forged into the handle, with "Drop Forged Steel" forged into the back side.

The back side is also marked with a forged-in code "P-10-5" below the fixed jaw, shown as a close-up in the lower inset.

The overall (closed) length is 9.6 inches.

The text forged into the handle of this example uses a plain font, rather than the "Typewriter" font seen in the previous figure. The "5" year code together with the plain font indicates production in 1945.

14 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench

Fig. 10. J.P. Danielson 14 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1940.

Fig. 10 shows a Danielson 14 inch Stillson-pattern pipe wrench, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." on the flat of the handle. The shank is marked with "Drop Forged" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the handle panel, with "Tool Steel" forged into the back side. The back side is also marked with a forged-in code "T-6-0" below the fixed jaw, shown as a close-up in the upper middle inset.

The overall (closed) length is 12.4 inches, and the maximum opening is about 2.0 inches. The finish is plain steel.

A close look at the text forged into the handle shows the use of the "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used by Danielson from the early 1930s through about 1941. The "0" year code together with the Typewriter font indicates production in 1940.

Adjustable Wrenches

J.P. Danielson had a long history of producing Crescent-style adjustable wrenches, probably beginning in the 1920s with a line of carbon-steel wrenches. In the early 1930s Danielson introduced a new line of alloy-steel adjustable wrenches, which offered thinner and lighter construction, as well as a distinctive double-hex broached opening in the end of the handle.

The Bet'R-Grip Brand

By 1933 these new alloy wrenches were being marketed under the "Bet'R-Grip" brand, later registered as a trademark. (The 1933 introduction date for "Bet'R-Grip" is based on the recently discovered trademark application.)

The "Bet-R'Grip" brand is significant in that it provides a connection to Western Auto Supply, a major retailer of hardware and automotive supplies. A 1937 Western Auto catalog has an illustration of an adjustable wrench with the "Bet'R-Grip" mark clearly visible, indicating that J.P. Danielson was the supplier of these tools to Western Auto. The "Bet'R-Grip" wrench was listed as Western Auto's "Chrome-X-Quality" selection, their highest quality grade.

In addition to the broached hole, the J.P. Danielson adjustable wrenches had another distinctive feature in that the fixed jaw joined the milled base at a 90 degree angle, with only a small rounded corner for stress relief. This is in contrast to the 60 degree shoulder found on wrenches made by Crescent, Diamond, and most other makers, and was intended to provide a closer grip for square nuts. (Possibly this is the origin of the "Bet'R-Grip" moniker.) Utica adjustable wrenches were also made in the square-jaw style.

By 1934 J.P. Danielson had begun producing adjustable wrenches for the Sears Craftsman brand. These wrenches were made with basically the same design as the Bet'R-Grip wrenches, but used customized dies to provide forged-in (instead of stamped) markings. In addition, the opening gullet was made with a 60 degree shoulder instead of the square opening generally used by Danielson. Examples of Danielson's production for Craftsman can be found in the section on Craftsman Adjustable Wrenches.

In the mid 1940s J.P. Danielson began supplying adjustable wrenches to Plomb Tool, which can be identified by the "Plombaloy" brand forged into the shank. These wrenches were basically identical to the "Bet'R-Grip" models except for the markings. (Plomb Tool was apparently pleased with Danielson as a contract partner, and in 1947 Plomb Tool acquired J.P. Danielson.) Examples of the adjustable wrenches produced for Plomb can be seen in the section Danielson Adjustable Wrenches. In later years Danielson supplied adjustable wrenches to all of the tool divisions of Plomb (later Proto), including Penens, P&C, and later Vlchek.

Some features were changed in the later production of adjustable wrenches. In particular, the distinctive broached hanging hole had been discontinued by 1948, based on examples with dual Proto and Plomb Tool markings. By 1961 the wrench handle had been redesigned with a ridge around the hanging hole, based on a (later) P&C catalog.

Early Carbon Steel Adjustable Wrenches

Two recently discovered examples show that Danielson was producing carbon-steel adjustable wrenches even before the introduction of the alloy "Bet'R-Grip" wrenches.

Early Carbon Steel 8 Inch Adjustable Wrench

Fig. 11. J.P. Danielson Early Carbon Steel 8 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1920s to Early 1930s.

Fig. 11 shows an early Danielson 8 inch adjustable wrench of carbon steel construction, marked with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y." forged into the shank, with "Forged Tool Steel" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The overall length is 8.0 inches, and the finish is polished steel.

The markings on this wrench are made using a distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used on Danielson Auto-Kit wrenches from the mid-1930s.

The wrench is not marked with a forged-in code, a detail that suggests early production before the codes came into general use.

Early Carbon Steel 12 Inch Adjustable Wrench

Fig. 12. J.P. Danielson Early Carbon Steel 12 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1920s to Early 1930s.

Fig. 12 shows an early Danielson 12 inch adjustable wrench of carbon steel construction, marked with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y." forged into the shank, with "Forged Tool Steel" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The overall length is 12.3 inches, and the maximum opening size is 1.3 inches. The head thickness was measured at 0.75 inches.

The finish is plain steel with polished faces.

The markings on this wrench are made using a distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used on Danielson Auto-Kit wrenches from the mid-1930s. The wrench is not marked with a forged-in code, a detail that suggests early production before the codes came into general use.

Early Vanadium Steel Adjustable Wrenches

This next several figures show early examples of the Danielson vanadium steel wrenches, with the same style and features as the Bet'R-Grip line, but not yet marked with the Bet'R-Grip brand.

Early Vanadium 4 Inch Adjustable Wrench

Fig. 13. J.P. Danielson Early Vanadium 4 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1930-1933.

Fig. 13 shows an early Danielson 4 inch adjustable wrench of vanadium steel construction, marked with "J.P. Danielson Co." and "Jamestown, N.Y." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The overall length is 4.3 inches, and the finish is nickel plating.

The hanging hole is broached with a 5/16 double-hex opening, although the size is not marked on the shank, possibly due to the limited space on this small wrench.

The markings on this wrench are made using a distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used on Danielson Auto-Kit wrenches from the mid-1930s.

The wrench is not marked with a forged-in code, a detail that suggests production before the codes came into general use.

Early Vanadium 8 Inch Adjustable Wrench

Fig. 14. J.P. Danielson Early Vanadium 8 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1932-1933.

Fig. 14 shows an early Danielson 8 inch vanadium steel adjustable wrench, marked with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and "9/16 In." forged into the back side.

The overall length is 8.1 inches, and the finish is plain steel. (Note though that the wrench was badly rusted when acquired, so it's possible that an original plated finish has been lost.)

The hanging hole is broached with a 9/16 double-hex opening, and the size is marked with "9/16 In." forged into the shank.

As with the previous examples, the markings on this wrench are made using a distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used on Danielson Auto-Kit wrenches from the mid-1930s. The wrench is not marked with a forged-in code, a detail that suggests production before the codes came into general use.

A comparison of the markings on this wrench with the previous and next figures shows a few minor differences. In particular, the "Made in U.S.A." marking found on the other examples is missing, suggesting that this might be an earlier example. The size marking on this wrench also appears on an early example of the Bet'R-Grip line, suggesting that the present example may have been produced only shortly before the change to the Bet'R-Grip brand. (See for example the Danielson Early Bet'R-Grip Adjustable Wrench in the figure below.)

Fig. 15. J.P. Danielson Early Vanadium 8 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1932-1933.

Fig. 15 shows another early Danielson 8 inch vanadium steel adjustable wrench, but with an unusual hex broaching for the hanging hole. The wrench is marked with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The overall length is 8.2 inches, and the finish is nickel plating.

As with the previous examples, the markings on this wrench are made using a distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used on Danielson Auto-Kit wrenches from the mid-1930s.

The wrench is not marked with a forged-in code, a detail that suggests production before the codes came into general use.

The hex opening in the hanging hole is believed to be the result of a production accident rather than a real feature. Close examination of the hole showed a small ridge in the center of each face, probably left over from the trimming operation, which would indicate that the hex hole was part of the wrench forging. A later production step was supposed to broach a double-hex opening, but somehow that step was missed.

Early Vanadium 10 Inch Adjustable Wrench

Fig. 16. J.P. Danielson Early Vanadium 10 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1932-1933.

Fig. 16 shows an early Danielson 10 inch vanadium steel adjustable wrench, marked with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and "Made in U.S.A." plus "5/8 In." forged into the back side.

The overall length is 10.2 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The hanging hole is broached with a 5/8 double-hex opening, and the size is marked with "5/8 In." forged into the shank.

The markings on this wrench are made using a distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used on Danielson Auto-Kit wrenches from the mid-1930s. The wrench is not marked with a forged-in code, a detail that suggests production before the codes came into general use.

Bet'R-Grip Brand Adjustable Wrenches

In 1933 Danielson introduced its "Bet'R-Grip" line of adjustable wrenches, which became one of the company's most successful products. (The "BET'R-GRIP" brand was trademarked in 1936 as #339,680, with the first use date listed as 1933.) The early Bet'R-Grip wrenches were designed primarily for contract production, as the markings omitted the J.P. Danielson name, leaving a space on the shank for a stamped customer brand, if needed.

"Bet'R-Grip" 4 Inch Adjustable Wrenches

The next figures show several generations of the "Bet-R-Grip" 4 inch adjustable wrench.

Fig. 17. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 4 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1933-1935.

Fig. 17 shows an early Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 4 inch adjustable wrench with a broached hanging hole, marked with "Bet'R-Grip" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" forged into the back side.

The overall length is 4.3 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with polished faces.

The hanging hole is broached with a 5/16 double-hex opening, with the "5/16 IN." size forged into the shank.

The markings on this wrench are made using a distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail known to have been used on Danielson Auto-Kit wrenches from the mid-1930s.

The wrench is not marked with a forged-in code, a detail that suggests early production before the codes came into general use.

Fig. 18. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 4 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1939.

Fig. 18 shows a later Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 4 inch adjustable wrench, marked with "Bet'R-Grip" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" forged into the back side.

The back side shank also has a forged-in code "L-7-9" visible at the right, and shown as a close-up in the middle inset.

The overall length is 4.3 inches, and the finish is plain steel with some pitting from rust.

A close examination of the "Bet'R-Grip" and "Vanadium" markings on this example shows the use of the distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail seen in the previous figure as well.

The "9" year code and Typewriter font markings indicate production in 1939. This example is currently our earliest marked date code for an adjustable wrench.

Fig. 19. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 4 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, 1942.

Fig. 19 shows another later Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 4 inch adjustable wrench, marked "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." in raised letters, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" on the back side.

The back side shank is also marked with a forged-in code "U.5.2" visible at the right.

The overall length is 4.3 inches, and the finish is plain steel with some pitting from rust.

In contrast with the previous two figures, the markings on this wrench were made using a plain (sans serif) font, rather than the Typewriter font used for earlier production.

"Bet'R-Grip" 6 Inch Adjustable Wrenches

The next figures show several examples of the "Bet'R-Grip" 6 inch adjustable wrench.

Fig. 20. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 6 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1942.

Fig. 20 shows a Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 6 inch adjustable wrench, marked "Bet'R-Grip" followed by "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." in forged raised letters, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" forged into the back side. The back side shank also has a forged-in code "D-11-2" visible at the right.

The overall length is 6.2 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The wrench has a 1/2 inch double-hex broached opening at the end.

Fig. 21. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 6 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, 1944.

Fig. 21 shows a similar example of the Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 6 inch wrench, but with some differences in the markings. The front is marked "Bet'R-Grip" and "Forged Steel" in raised letters, with "Mfd. By J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." on the back side.

The shank also has a forged-in code "T-12-4" visible near the hanging hole.

The overall length is 6.1 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The wrench has a 1/2 inch double-hex broached opening at the end.

The use of the "Forged Steel" marking instead of "Forged Vanadium Steel" suggests that this wrench was likely made during the 1942-1945 wartime years, when material shortages restricted the use of alloy steel.

Fig. 22. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 6 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1945.

Fig. 22 shows another similar Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 6 inch wrench, marked with "Bet'R-Grip" and "Forged Steel" forged into the shank, with "Mfd. By J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." forged into the back side. The shank also has a forged-in code "W-4-5" visible near the hanging hole, and shown as a close-up in the middle inset.

The overall length is 6.1 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The wrench has a 1/2 inch double-hex broached opening at the end.

The use of the "Forged Steel" marking instead of "Forged Vanadium Steel" suggests that this wrench was likely made during the 1942-1945 wartime years, when material shortages restricted the use of alloy steel.

This next example illustrates the return to the "Vanadium" marking in the post-war years.

Fig. 23. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 6 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1946.

Fig. 23 shows a later Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 6 inch wrench, marked with "Bet'R-Grip" and "Forged Vanadium Steel" forged into the shank, with "Mfd. By J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." forged into the back side. The shank also has a forged-in code "P-4-6" visible near the hanging hole, and shown as a close-up in the middle inset.

The overall length is 6.2 inches, and the maximum opening is 0.75 inches. The finish is plain steel.

The wrench has a 1/2 inch double-hex broached opening at the end.

The year code "6" and plain font markings indicate production in 1946. The "Forged Vanadium Steel" marking shows that Danielson returned to using alloy steel after the wartime restrictions were lifted.

"Bet'R-Grip" 8 Inch Adjustable Wrenches

The next figures show two generations of the Bet'R-Grip 8 inch wrench.

Fig. 24. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 8 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1940.

Fig. 24 shows a Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 8 inch adjustable wrench, marked with "Bet'R-Grip" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" forged into the back side. The shank also has a forged-in code "V-12-0" visible at the right, shown as a close-up in the middle inset.

The overall length is 8.2 inches, and the maximum opening is 0.90 inches. The head thickness was measured at 0.49 inches.

The finish is chrome plating with polished faces.

The wrench has a 9/16 inch double-hex broached opening, and the size is marked with "9/16 In." forged into the back side.

A close examination of the "Bet'R-Grip" and "Vanadium" markings on this example shows the use of the distinctive "Typewriter" font, a detail noted in most of the earlier Danielson production. The year code "0" and Typewriter font markings indicate production in 1940.

Fig. 25. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 8 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1945.

Fig. 25 shows a later Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 8 inch adjustable wrench, marked with "Bet'R-Grip" and "Forged Steel" forged into the shank, with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The shank also has a forged-in code "K-6-5" visible at the right near the 9/16 double-hex broached opening.

The overall length is 8.2 inches, and the maximum opening is 1.0 inches. The head thickness was measured at 0.51 inches.

The finish is plain steel.

The use of the "Forged Steel" marking instead of "Forged Vanadium Steel" suggests that this wrench was likely made during the 1942-1945 wartime years, when material shortages restricted the use of alloy steel.

"Bet'R-Grip" 12 Inch Adjustable Wrench

Fig. 26. J.P. Danielson "Bet'R-Grip" 12 Inch Adjustable Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1942.

Fig. 26 shows a larger example of the "Bet'R-Grip" brand, a Danielson 12 inch adjustable wrench, marked "Bet'R-Grip" and "Forged Steel" in raised letters, with "Mfd. By J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown N.Y. U.S.A." on the back side.

The shank also has a forged-in code "K-7-2" visible at the right.

The overall length is 12.3 inches, and the maximum opening is 1.3 inches. The finish is plain steel.

The top inset shows a side view of the wrench to illustrate the proportions, with the maximum head thickness measured at 0.74 inches. The wrench is likely made of alloy steel, though not marked as such.

The use of the "Forged Steel" marking instead of "Forged Vanadium Steel" suggests that this wrench was likely made during the 1942-1945 wartime years, when material shortages restricted the use of alloy steel.

Pliers

Early Handle Pattern

Earlier Danielson pliers were made with a small diamond checkered pattern on the handles, giving a dotted appearance from a distance. Danielson continued using this pattern until around 1942, after which the geometric "herringbone" pattern came into use. An example of the diamond checkered pattern on pliers date coded to 1941 can be seen as the Fulton Thin-Nosed Pliers.

One exception should be noted, as Danielson continued to use the diamond checkered pattern for contract production supplied to Lectrolite from the late 1940s into the early 1960s.

8 Inch Slip-Joint Combination Pliers

Fig. 27. J.P Danielson 8 Inch Slip-Joint Combination Pliers, with Inset for Side View, ca. 1930s to 1942.

Fig. 27 shows a pair of Danielson 8 inch combination pliers, marked "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." on the handle.

The overall length is 8.0 inches. The finish was originally nickel plating, but most has been lost due to rust.

The inset shows the diamond checkered gripping pattern on the handles, which remained in use until about 1942.

7 Inch Parrot-Head Combination Pliers

Fig. 28. J.P Danielson 7 Inch Parrot-Head Combination Pliers, with Insets for Handle Pattern and Marking Detail, ca. 1930s to 1942.

Fig. 28 shows a pair of J.P. Danielson 7 inch parrot-head combination pliers, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." on the handle.

The overall length is 7.3 inches, and the finish is nickel plating.

The upper inset shows the diamond checkered gripping pattern on the handles.

6 Inch Long Thin-Nose Pliers

Fig. 29. J.P. Danielson 6 Inch Long Thin-Nose Pliers, with Inset for Handle Pattern, ca. 1930s to 1942.

Fig. 29 shows a pair of J.P. Danielson 6 inch long thin-nose pliers, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." on the handle.

The overall length is 6.3 inches, and the finish is nickel plating.

The inset shows the diamond checkered gripping pattern on the handles.

8 Inch Gas and Burner Pliers

Fig. 30. J.P Danielson 8 Inch Gas and Burner Pliers, with Insets for Side View, Construction, and Marking Detail, ca. 1920s to 1942.

Fig. 30 shows a pair of J.P. Danielson 8 inch gas and burner pliers, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." on the handle.

The "Jamestown" location commonly marked on Danielson pliers is not present on this example, or at least is no longer readable.

The lower inset shows a close-up of the jaw construction. Note the serrations at the tip of the jaw, the defining feature for "Burner" pliers.

The overall length is 8.2 inches, and the finish is plain steel, with extensive pitting due to rust.

Further information on the "Gas and Burner" style of pliers can be found in the section on Utica Gas and Burner Pliers.

The "Herringbone" Gripping Pattern

Later Danielson pliers used a geometric "herringbone" gripping pattern on the handles. This pattern has been noted on pliers marked with the "Plomb" brand, indicating that it was definitely in use by the mid to late 1940s. (See the Plomb 246 Pliers for an example.) Based on the observed date codes on several examples, the transition to the "herringbone" pattern probably occurred around 1942.

The "herringbone" pattern remained in use into the 1960s and later.

6 Inch Slip-Joint Combination Pliers

The next several figures show examples of Danielson combination pliers using the geometric "herringbone" handle pattern.

Fig. 31. J.P Danielson 6 Inch Combination Pliers, with Inset for Side View, ca. 1945-1947.

Fig. 31 shows a pair of Danielson 6 inch slip-joint combination pliers, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." near the pivot.

The overall length is 6.4 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

The handles of these pliers show traces of forged-in codes, but the markings are too faint to read. The "Danielson" marking and "Herringbone" gripping pattern indicate production in 1942-1947, and the chrome finish makes the postwar years 1945-1947 most likely.

8 Inch Slip-Joint Combination Pliers

Fig. 32. J.P Danielson 8 Inch Combination Pliers, with Insets for Side View and Marking Detail, 1942.

Fig. 32 shows a pair of Danielson 8 inch slip-joint combination pliers, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." near the pivot (see lower inset).

The handles are also marked with forged-in codes, with "B-11-2" on the lower handle and "Q-12-2" on the back side of the upper handle (not shown).

The overall length is 8.0 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The "2" year code and "Danielson" marking indicate production in 1942. This is currently the earliest example known with the "herringbone" gripping pattern.

Fig. 33. J.P Danielson 8 Inch Combination Pliers, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, 1943.

Fig. 33 shows another pair of Danielson 8 inch slip-joint combination pliers with the geometric gripping pattern, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." near the pivot.

The handles are also marked with forged-in codes, with "X.4.3" on the front and "V.5.3" on the back side (see lower inset).

The overall length is 8.0 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The "3" year code and "Danielson" marking indicate production in 1943.

Fig. 34. J.P Danielson 8 Inch Combination Pliers, with Insets for Side View and Marking Detail, 1944.

Fig. 34 shows a third pair of Danielson 8 inch slip-joint combination pliers with the geometric gripping pattern, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." near the pivot.

The handles are also marked with forged-in codes, in this case the same "S.6.4" code on both handles.

The overall length is 8.0 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The "4" year code and "Danielson" marking indicate production in 1944.

6 Inch Thin-Nose Slip-Joint Combination Pliers

Fig. 35. J.P. Danielson 6 Inch Thin-Nose Combination Pliers, with Inset for Handle Pattern, ca. 1942-1947.

Fig. 35 shows a pair of Danielson 6 inch thin-nose slip-joint combination pliers, stamped with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." near the pivot.

The overall length is 6.5 inches, and the finish is plain steel with a black oxide coating.

The inset shows the "herringbone" gripping pattern on the handles, indicating later production for this example. The handle pattern and "Danielson" marking suggest production in 1942-1947.

7 Inch Universal Slip-Joint Combination Pliers

Fig. 36. J.P. Danielson 6 Inch Universal Combination Pliers, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1942-1947.

Fig. 36 shows a pair of Danielson 7 inch universal slip-joint combination pliers, stamped with "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." on the back side.

The overall length is 7.2 inches, and the finish is nickel plating.

The top inset shows the "herringbone" gripping pattern on the handles, indicating later production for this example. The handle pattern and "Danielson" marking suggest production in 1942-1947.

Other Pliers

Danielson "Controlled Steel" 10 Inch Waterpump Pliers

The next two figures show examples of Danielson waterpump pliers bearing a "Controlled Steel" marking.

Fig. 37. J.P. Danielson 10 Inch Waterpump Pliers, with Inset for Back Side and Marking Detail, 1942.

Fig. 37 shows an earlier pair of Danielson 10 inch waterpump pliers, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." on the handle (see top inset).

The back side (bottom image) is marked with "Forged Controlled Steel" and an "N.6.2" code forged into the upper handle, with "Made in U.S.A." and an "L.5.2" code forged into the lower handle.

The overall length is 9.9 inches fully extended, and the finish is nickel plating.

The "2" year code and "Danielson" marking indicate production in 1942.

Fig. 38. J.P. Danielson 10 Inch Waterpump Pliers, with Insets for Marking Detail, 1944.

Fig. 38 shows a slightly later pair of Danielson 10 inch waterpump pliers, stamped "J.P. Danielson Co. Inc." and "Jamestown, N.Y. U.S.A." on the handle.

The back side has forged-in markings "Forged Controlled Steel" with code "T.10.4" on one handle, and "Made in U.S.A." with code "S.10.4" on the other.

The overall length is 9.9 inches fully extended, and the finish is plain steel.

The "4" year code and "Danielson" marking indicate production in 1944.

These two examples of waterpump pliers are the only known instances of tools bearing both the J.P. Danielson company name and the "Controlled Steel" marking (see below.) The use of the "Controlled Steel" mark by Danielson had been established by examination of construction and marking details, and this tool helps to confirm the usage.

A third pair of similar pliers in the collection here is marked with a forged-in code "N.4.4" on one handle and "P.6.4" on the other handle.

The Auto-Kit Brand

The Auto-Kit brand is frequently seen on older open-end and open+box wrenches, two styles that were popular items for automotive tool kits. Although Auto-Kit appears to have been a popular and well-known brand at some point, the name was not registered as a trademark, and no catalog references or advertisements for the brand are known.

This raises some uncertainty as to whether Auto-Kit was a company name, or just a brand name used by an established tool company. Recently however, we have gathered several bits of information that (collectively) make a convincing case that Auto-Kit was a brand used by the J.P. Danielson Company.

The first evidence comes from the observation of the similarity of certain forged-in codes seen on J.P. Danielson and Auto-Kit wrenches. These codes consist of a letter and two numbers, such as "K-7-2" or "H.9.4", and examples can be seen in the figures here. When we first started examining these wrenches the meaning of the codes was not known, but since the codes are present as raised letters in the tools, the forging dies would have been incised with the coding. (Somewhat later we were able to demonstrate that one form of the forged-in codes represents a date code.)

The second piece of evidence is an observation based on the extensive collecting activities associated with this web site, and confirmed by other tool collectors. The observation is that there were only three distinct makes of open+box wrenches of any importance: Auto-Kit, Indestro, and Barcalo.

Of these three, the latter two were well-known manufacturers capable of producing and selling in high volumes, and in fact may have labeled some of their production for other brands. This suggests that the maker of Auto-Kit would also have been a high-volume manufacturer, yet the Auto-Kit brand is known only on open+box and open-end wrenches.

Fig. 39. Illustration from Patent 2,083,131.

The third piece of the puzzle comes from the USPTO patent records, specifically from patent #2,083,131, issued in 1937 with assignment to J.P. Danielson. The patent describes a tapered pin used to hold sets of wrenches, and the patent illustration in Fig. 39 clearly shows a nesting set of open+box wrenches. This patent provides strong evidence that J.P. Danielson was a maker of open+box wrenches, yet no examples are known of such wrenches marked with the Danielson name.

Our last bit of information was gleaned from a review of Western Auto Supply catalogs from the 1930s. Western Auto is known to have sourced some tools from J.P. Danielson, as an illustration clearly shows a "Bet'R-Grip" adjustable wrench. The catalogs show that Western Auto offered nested sets of open+box wrenches beginning in 1933, and the catalog descriptions note the use of vanadium (or chrome-vanadium) steel in the wrenches.

Of the three known brands of open+box wrenches, only the Auto-Kit wrenches are marked as using vanadium steel. (Indestro's "Select Steel" was a carbon-manganese alloy.) This suggests that the wrench sets offered by Western Auto were the Auto-Kit wrenches.

Confirmation from a Catalog

Long after the previous paragraphs were written, we ran across another Western Auto catalog that specifically mentions the Auto-Kit name with a set of nesting wrenches.

Fig. 40. 1935 Catalog Listing for Auto-Kit Wrenches.

The scan in Fig. 40 shows a catalog illustration for an "Auto Kit Wrench Set", as found on page 81 of the 1935 Western Auto Supply (Western edition) catalog.

The text notes the use of vanadium steel, and the individual wrenches in the illustration closely resemble the known Auto-Kit examples.

All of the above clues fit together neatly if J.P. Danielson was the maker of the Auto-Kit brand tools, and that will be our assumption unless further information proves otherwise.

Estimating Production Dates

Since the catalog evidence shows that the Auto-Kit wrenches were being made at least as early as 1933, two years before the patent filing, we would expect that the earliest Auto-Kit wrenches would not bear a patent pending marking. This would then be followed by approximately two years of relatively early production with a patent pending marking. Finally, after the patent was issued the subsequent production should either have a patent marking (none are known) or no marking.

Another relevant factor is the advent of the Danielson date code system. Auto-Kit wrenches have a small forged-in code in two formats, and at some point in the late 1930s Danielson started using the date code format. The earliest observed date code thus far is for 1939.

From these considerations we can summarize the characteristics of the production groups as follows.

• Earliest Group: Early 1930s to 1934. Markings in "Typewriter" font, non-date-code, no patent mark.
• Middle Group: 1935-1937. Markings in "Typewriter" font, non-date-code, patent pending.
• Ambiguous: 1938. Markings in "Typewriter" font, non-date-code OR date-code, no patent mark.
• Later Group: 1939+. Markings in either font, date-code, no patent mark.

Auto-Kit Open+Box Wrenches

In looking over our available examples, we found two wrenches that could qualify as being in the earliest production group, although they also might have been made shortly after the patent issue date.

Wrenches in a similar open+box style were also made by other (known) manufacturers, including Barcalo and Indestro. Examples can be seen in the Indestro "Chicago" Open+Box Wrench and Barcalo Open+Box Wrench.

Auto-Kit Early No. 100 9/16x5/8 Open+Box Wrench

Fig. 41. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Vanadium" 9/16x5/8 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. Early 1930s to 1934.

Fig. 41 shows an Auto-Kit No. 100 9/16x5/8 open+box wrench, marked with "Forged Vanadium Steel" forged into the shank, with "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The fractional sizes are also forged in raised letters, with "5/8" appearing on the face and "9/16" near the box end. The back side shank also has a forged-in code "6A" visible at the left.

The overall length is 5.9 inches, and the finish appears to be a thin nickel plating.

Auto-Kit Early No. 100 5/8x3/4 Open+Box Wrench

Fig. 42. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Vanadium" 5/8x3/4 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. Early 1930s to 1934.

Fig. 42 shows an Auto-Kit No. 100 5/8x3/4 open+box wrench, marked with "Forged Vanadium Steel" forged into the shank, with "AutoKit No. 100" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The fractional sizes are also forged into the face and shank, as is typical for this style. The back side shank also has a forged-in code "6.5U" visible at the left.

The overall length is 6.6 inches, and the finish is nickel plating.

Auto-Kit No. 100 7/16x1/2 Open+Box Wrench

We'll continue now with some examples with patent pending notices, which represent relatively early production from 1935-1937.

Fig. 43. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Vanadium" 7/16x1/2 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. 1935-1937.

Fig. 43 shows an Auto-Kit No. 100 7/16x1/2 open+box wrench, marked with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and "Pat. Pend." forged into the shank, with "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side. The fractional sizes are also forged in raised letters, with "1/2" appearing on the face and "7/16" near the box end. The back side shank is also marked with a forged-in code "4.5F", visible at the left in the inset.

The overall length is 4.5 inches, and the finish is plain steel, but possibly originally cadmium plating.

The patent pending notice and plain finish suggest that this may be an early example of this wrench style. The pending status refers to patent #2,083,131, filed in 1935 by K.A. Tornebohm and issued in 1937, with assignment to J.P. Danielson. The patent document describes a set of open+box wrenches held together by a tapered screw and nut, and the wrenches in the patent illustration closely resemble the present example.

Auto-Kit No. 100 1/2x9/16 Open+Box Wrench

Fig. 44. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Vanadium" 1/2x9/16 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. 1935-1937.

Fig. 44 shows an Auto-Kit No. 100 1/2x9/16 open+box wrench, marked with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and "Pat. Pend." forged into the shank, with "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side. The fractional sizes are also forged in raised letters, with "9/16" appearing on the face and "1/2" near the box end. The back side shank also has a forged-in code "5H" visible at the left.

The overall length is 5.0 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The pending status refers to patent #2,083,131, filed in 1935 by K.A. Tornebohm and issued in 1937.

Auto-Kit No. 100 9/16x5/8 Open+Box Wrenches

Fig. 45. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Vanadium" 9/16x5/8 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. 1935-1937.

Fig. 45 shows an Auto-Kit No. 100 9/16x5/8 open+box wrench, marked with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and "Pat. Pend." forged into the shank, with "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The fractional sizes are also forged in raised letters, with "5/8" appearing on the face and "9/16" near the box end.

The overall length is 6.0 inches, and the finish is plain steel, but possibly originally cadmium plating. A forged-in code "6M" can be seen in the inset at the left.

The pending status refers to patent #2,083,131, filed in 1935 by K.A. Tornebohm and issued in 1937.

Fig. 46. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Vanadium" 9/16x5/8 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. 1942.

Fig. 46 shows another Auto-Kit No. 100 9/16x5/8 open+box wrench, marked "Forged Vanadium Steel" in forged raised letters with "Made in U.S.A." on the back side. The fractional sizes are also forged in raised letters, with "5/8" appearing on the face and "9/16" near the box end. The back side shank also has a forged-in code "C42" visible at the left.

The overall length is 5.9 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The forged-in code "C42" is in the date code format, and together with the "Typewriter" font indicates production in 1942.

Auto-Kit No. 100 3/4x7/8 Open+Box Wrenches

Fig. 47. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Vanadium" 3/4x7/8 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. 1935-1937.

Fig. 47 shows another early Auto-Kit No. 100 3/4x7/8 open+box wrench, marked with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and "Pat. Pend." forged into the shank, with "Made in U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The fractional sizes are also forged into the face and shank, as is typical for this style.

The overall length is 7.4 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating.

A small forged-in code "75K" can be seen at the left end of the inset.

The pending status refers to patent #2,083,131, filed in 1935 by K.A. Tornebohm and issued in 1937.

Fig. 48. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Vanadium" 3/4x7/8 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. 1944.

Fig. 48 shows a later Auto-Kit No. 100 3/4x7/8 open+box wrench, marked "Forged Vanadium Steel" in forged raised letters with "Made in U.S.A." on the back side.

The back side shank also has a forged-in code "H.9.4" visible at the left.

The overall length is 7.4 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

Note that the markings on this example have a different plain font style, instead of the "Typewriter" font used on earlier examples.

The forged-in code "H.9.4" is a date code which together with the plain font and plain finish indicates production in 1944.

Auto-Kit No. 100 Open+Box Wrench Set

The previous figures have shown examples of individual No. 100 open+box wrenches, and the next figure provides a look at a complete wrench set.

Fig. 49. Auto-Kit No. 100 Open+Box Wrench Set, with Inset for Side View, ca. 1935-1937.

Fig. 49 shows an Auto-Kit No. 100 open+box wrench set, consisting of six open+box wrenches held together by a tapered pin and nut.

Each wrench is marked with "Auto-Kit" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into one side, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" and the fractional sizes on the back side.

The wrench sizes (listed box end first) are 5/16x7/16, 7/16x1/2, 1/2x9/16, 9/16x5/8, 5/8x3/4, and 3/4x7/8.

The overall length of the set is 7.4 inches. The individual wrench lengths are 4.0, 4.5, 5.1, 5.9, 6.6, and 7.4 inches. The finish is cadmium plating.

In addition to the markings noted above, each of the wrenches is marked with a forged-in code, and four of the six wrenches also have a "Pat. Pend." patent notation. The individual codes and patent markings are, from smallest to largest, 4X (Pend), 4.5U, 5S (Pend), 6.T, 6.5T (Pend), and 7.5U (Pend).

The patent pending status refers to patent #2,083,131, filed in 1935 by K.A. Tornebohm and issued in 1937. This patent describes a set of nested wrenches held together with a tapered pin, and the patent illustration shows a set of wrenches closely resembling the present example.

It's now time to look more closely at the forged-in codes on the wrenches in this set. The codes listed above are all in the form of a number followed by a letter, the alternate non-date code form noted in the section on manufacturing dates. As it turns out, this particular wrench set was instrumental in forcing a revision of the interpretation of the forged-in codes.

When this set was first acquired, we attempted to interpret the forged-in codes as date codes, but immediately ran into problems. The most obvious discrepancy is that the smallest wrench is marked patent pending, but the "4X" code would indicate production in 1934, well before the patent was filed. The opposite problem arises with the "6.T" wrench, which isn't marked patent pending, but the code would indicate production in 1936, right in the middle of the pending period.

Once these problems had raised doubts about the date codes, a fresh look at the codes revealed an interesting pattern. The numbers in the forged-in codes are all either a whole number or a number plus 0.5, and if the lengths of the wrenches are rounded to the nearest 0.5, the forged-in codes exactly match the wrench lengths! This surprising finding was confirmed by checking the other examples with alternate codes.

Thus, based on the observed examples, the alternate style forged-in codes consist of the nominal length of the wrench, followed by a letter of unknown meaning.

Auto-Kit No. 100 "Controlled Steel" 5/8x3/4 Open+Box Wrench

Later production of Auto-Kit wrenches was marked "Controlled Steel". The next two examples both have date codes, but we don't have enough information to determine the decade.

Fig. 50. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Controlled Steel" 5/8x3/4 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. Late 1940s to 1950s.

Fig. 50 shows a later version of the Auto-Kit open+box style, an Auto-Kit No. 100 5/8x3/4 open+box wrench. The wrench is marked with "Forged Controlled Steel" forged into the shank, with "Mfd. in U.S.A." forged into the back side. As with the earlier wrench, the fractional sizes are also forged into the face and shank.

The overall length is 6.6 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

A small forged-in code "K.9.8" can be seen at the left end of the inset.

The "K.9.8" marking is a date code indicating either 1948 or 1958, but we don't have enough information to determine the decade.

Auto-Kit No. 100 "Controlled Steel" 3/4x7/8 Open+Box Wrench

Fig. 51. Auto-Kit No. 100 "Controlled Steel" 3/4x7/8 Open+Box Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. Late 1940s to 1950s.

Fig. 51 shows another later example, an Auto-Kit No. 100 3/4x7/8 open+box wrench marked "Forged Controlled Steel" in forged raised letters, with "Mfd. in U.S.A." on the back side. As with the earlier wrench, the fractional sizes are also forged into the face and shank.

The overall length is 7.4 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

A small forged-in code "D.5.7." can be seen at the left end of the inset. The "D.5.7" marking is a date code indicating either 1947 or 1957, but we don't have enough information to determine the decade.

Auto-Kit Open-End Wrenches

Auto-Kit No. 200 3/8x7/16 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 52. Auto-Kit No. 200 3/8x7/16 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. 1933-1938.

Fig. 52 shows an Auto-Kit No. 200 3/8x7/16 open-end wrench, marked with "Auto-Kit No. 200" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" on the back side. The shank also has a forged-in code "4.5C" at the left, although difficult to read.

The overall length is 4.5 inches, and the finish is plain steel, with some pitting due to rust.

The fractional sizes are forged into each face, appearing as raised letters within a depressed box.

The markings on this wrench are made using the "Typewriter" font favored by Danielson during the 1930s and early 1940s. The alternate format of the forged-in code suggests a manufacturing date in 1933-1938.

Auto-Kit No. 200 1/2x9/16 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 53. Auto-Kit No. 200 1/2x9/16 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. 1933-1938.

Fig. 53 shows an Auto-Kit No. 200 1/2x9/16 open-end wrench, marked "Auto-Kit No. 200" and "Made in U.S.A." in forged raised letters (see inset), with "Forged Vanadium Steel" on the back side. The fractional sizes are forged into each face, appearing as raised letters within a depressed box.

The overall length is 5.5 inches, and the finish is nickel plating.

A small forged-in code "5.3.A" can be seen at the left end of the inset.

The markings on this wrench are made using the "Typewriter" font favored by Danielson during the 1930s and early 1940s. The alternate format of the forged-in code suggests a manufacturing date in 1933-1938.

Auto-Kit No. 200 5/8x3/4 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 54. Auto-Kit No. 200 5/8x3/4 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, 1940.

Fig. 54 shows an Auto-Kit No. 200 5/8x3/4 open-end wrench, marked "Auto-Kit No. 200" and "Made in U.S.A." in forged raised letters (see inset), with "Forged Vanadium Steel" on the back side.

The fractional sizes are forged into each face, appearing as raised letters within a depressed box.

The overall length is 7.4 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

A small forged-in code "H 12.0" can be seen at the left end of the inset. The "0" year code and Typewriter font markings indicate production in 1940.

Auto-Kit No. 200 15/16x1 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 55. Auto-Kit No. 200 15/16x1 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. 1933-1938.

Fig. 55 shows an Auto-Kit No. 200 15/16x1 open-end wrench, marked with "Auto-Kit No. 200" and "Made in U.S.A." forged into the shank, with "Forged Vanadium Steel" forged into the back side.

The fractional sizes are forged into each face, appearing as raised letters within a depressed box. The shank is also marked with a small forged-in code "9.5A" visible at the left.

The overall length is 9.6 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating.

The alternate format of the forged-in code suggests a manufacturing date in 1933-1938.

Controlled Steel

The Auto-Kit Controlled Steel Wrench shown above provides a link to another informal brand used by J.P. Danielson, the "Controlled Steel" mark. This mark was used primarily on tools made as contract production, but at least one example (the Danielson Waterpump Pliers) is known with the Danielson name marked as well.

Controlled Steel 5/8x3/4 Open-End Wrenches

The next two figures show examples of the Controlled Steel 5/8x3/4 wrench.

Fig. 56. Controlled Steel 5/8x3/4 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. 1933-1938.

Fig. 56 shows a Controlled Steel 5/8x3/4 open-end wrench, marked with "Controlled Steel" and the fractional sizes forged into the shank, with "Drop Forged" and "U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The back side also has a forged-in code "7.5Y" visible at the left in the inset.

The overall length is 7.4 inches, and the finish is nickel plating.

The markings on this wrench are made using the "Typewriter" font favored by Danielson during the 1930s and early 1940s. The alternate format of the forged-in code suggests a manufacturing date in 1933-1938.

Fig. 57. Controlled Steel 5/8x3/4 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, 1941.

Fig. 57 shows a Controlled Steel 5/8x3/4 open-end wrench, with forged-in markings "Drop Forged" and "U.S.A." on the back side.

The back side also has a forged-in code "Y-2-1" visible at the left in the inset.

The overall length is 7.5 inches. The finish is chrome plating, with some pitting due to rust.

The "1" year code and Typewriter font markings indicate production in 1941.

Controlled Steel 25/32x7/8 Open-End Wrenches

The next several figures show examples of the 25/32x7/8 size wrench.

Fig. 58. Controlled Steel 25/32x7/8 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. 1933-1938.

Fig. 58 shows an earlier Controlled Steel 25/32x7/8 open-end wrench, marked with "Controlled Steel" and the fractional sizes forged into the shank, with "Drop Forged" and "U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The back side shank also has a forged-in code "8.5E" visible at the left.

The overall length is 8.5 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The markings on this wrench use the "Typewriter" font favored by Danielson during the 1930s and early 1940s. The alternate format of the forged-in code suggests a manufacturing date in the range 1933-1938.

Fig. 59. Controlled Steel 25/32x7/8 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, 1940.

Fig. 59 shows a somewhat later Controlled Steel 25/32x7/8 open-end wrench, with forged-in markings "Drop Forged" and "U.S.A." on the back side.

The back side shank also has a forged-in code "J.9.0" visible at the left.

The overall length is 8.5 inches.

The markings on this wrench are made using the "Typewriter" font favored by Danielson during the 1930s and early 1940s. The "0" year code and Typewriter font markings indicate production in 1940.

Fig. 60. Controlled Steel 25/32x7/8 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, 1944.

Fig. 60 shows a later Controlled Steel 25/32x7/8 open-end wrench, marked with "Controlled Steel" and the fractional sizes forged into the shank, with "Drop Forged" and "U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The back side shank also has a forged-in code "S.1.4" visible at the left.

The overall length is 8.5 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

A careful look at the markings on this example shows the use of a plain (sans serif) font, rather than the "Typewriter" font used on earlier Danielson tools. Danielson made the switch to the plain font around 1942, implying that the "4" year code on this example would indicate production in 1944.

Controlled Steel 5-Piece Open-End Wrench Set

Fig. 61. Controlled Steel 5-Piece Open-End Wrench Set, with Insets for Side View and Marking Detail, 1939.

Fig. 61 shows a set of five "Controlled Steel" open-end wrenches in a steel holder with a thumbscrew. The wrenches are forged with depressed panels on the shank and are similar to the examples shown in the previous figures. Each wrench is marked with "Controlled Steel" and the fractional sizes forged into one side, with "Drop Forged U.S.A." forged into the back side.

The wrench sizes are 5/16x13/32, 3/8x7/16, 1/2x9/16, 19/32x11/16, and 5/8x3/4. Each wrench is also marked with a forged-in code, from smallest to largest "3.5C", "R6.9", "5.5R", "6.5M", and "7.5M".

The overall lengths range from 3.6 inches to 7.5 inches. The finish is chrome plating.

The lower inset shows the faint marking "Pat. 2083130" on the front of the holder, a reference to the Sundberg 1937 patent #2,083,130. This patent is one of only two known assignments to J.P. Danielson, and provides additional evidence of the association of the "Controlled Steel" mark with Danielson.

The manufacturing date for this set can be estimated based on the forged-in codes on the wrenches. Of the forged-in codes listed above, all except for the second are in an earlier alternate form, giving the nominal lengths of the tools. The second code "R6.9" fits the expected L-N-N pattern for a date code, and the "9" year code likely indicates production in 1939. Since all of the wrenches in the set are of similar style and finish, the presence of four older-style codes and one newer code means that the set was likely built shortly after the transition to the newer codes.