Larson Tool & Stamping Company

Table of Contents

Introduction

Company History

The Larson Tool & Stamping Company was founded in 1920 in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The company's early products included a line of pressed-steel socket sets and stamped metal items such as nameplates for automobiles.

A notice of incorporation for Larson Tool & Stamping can be found on page 1090 [External Link] of the April 8, 1920 issue of the Iron Trade Review. The notice states that the company was founded with $150,000 capital to make metal goods, and the founders are listed as N.G. Larson, Carl G. Larson, and C. Wallace Cederberg.

The "metal goods" noted at the company's incorporation turned out to be pressed-steel socket sets and other automotive tools.

Fig. 1. 1920 Advertisement for Larson Tool & Stamping.

Fig. 1 shows a full-page advertisement for Larson tools and socket sets, as published on page 249 of the November 4, 1920 issue of Motor Age.

The company's address is listed as Olive Street in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and a New York City office is noted as well.

The upper left part of the ad illustrates a sliding Tee handle along with a socket, universal joint, drive plug and extension.

The middle illustration shows one of the company's socket sets, which included a selection of both hex and square sockets, along with a ratchet handle, universal joint, and extension.

The lower right illustration shows a valve lifter for Model T automobile service.

Continuing Operations

The Larson Tool & Stamping Company continues today as a fifth-generation family business, and further information on the company's operations can be found on their web site at www.larsontool.com [External Link].

Patents

Trademarks

References and Resources

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

Catalog Resources

Tool Identification

Larson tools were typically stamped with the company name and a logo with an "L" in a hexagon.

L-Hex Logo

Fig. 2. L-Hex Logo.

Larson tools were frequently stamped with an "L" in a hexagon, referred to as the L-Hex logo in the text.

Fig. 2 shows the L-Hex logo as published in the 1920 ad noted above.

Selected Tools

We have some examples of the company's socket sets and will display them as time permits.

Larson Tool No. 9X 11/16-Drive Ratchet

Fig. 3. Larson No. 9X 11/16-Drive Ratchet, ca. 1920-1922.

Fig. 3 shows a Larson No. 9X 11/16-drive ratchet, stamped "Larson T.&S. Co." and "Attleboro, Mass. U.S.A." on the handle, with the Larson L-Hex logo at the right. The ratchet is also marked with a "Pat. Pend." patent notice.

The overall length is 9.1 inches, and the finish is plain steel, with a light copper coating.

The pending status refers to patent 1,419,391, filed in 1920 by Nils G. Larson and issued in 1922. The patent describes a ratchet mechanism using a pawl carried in the rotating member, with teeth cut in the handle body.

This ratchet is designed to drive standard pressed-steel sockets with an approximate 11/16 opening in the drive gear. The gear is fitted with a detent ball to secure the socket, visible in the photograph on the upper face.