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What hand tools are still made in the USA? Channellock Pliers. Klein Lineman's Pliers. Leatherman Multitools. Vaughn and Bushnell Hammers. Hardcore Hammers. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks Bench Planes. Eklind Tools Hex Keys. Is Milwaukee made in the USA? Only some of Milwaukee's products are made in the USA. According to their website, they also have manufacturing facilities in China and Europe. Are Craftsman hand tools still made in the USA?

The majority of Craftsman tools are not produced in the United States. They use many third party manufacturers to make their various products. Beginning in , many of Craftsman's hand tools manufactured by Apex Tool Group began to be assembled in China in Taiwan. Most Popular. Hot Items. Best Selling Christmas Gifts for !

SK Hand Tools The SK brand has always stood for the exceptional quality, durability and innovation that professionals demand of the tools they make a living with. That connection to you and what your tools mean to you is what is at the heart of SK Tool Corporation. SK tools represent the finest in American know-how. The next figure shows one of the earliest fine-tooth ratchets produced by S-K, marked with the first of a number of their patents on ratchet mechanisms.

Although not marked with the S-K name, the ratchet can be readily identified as S-K production by the patent 1,, , assigned to the Sherman-Klove Company. In addition, the distinctive forged handle is identical to the later S-K Model Ratchet shown below.

The ratchet is extremely well made, with the heavy forged handle hardened to the point that a file will barely touch it. The tooth ratchet mechanism uses a pivoting pawl with three teeth on each side, providing a fine action without sacrificing strength. The inset shows the reverse side with two "T" letters stamped in the handle; these appear to be factory markings, as some chrome appears in the bottom of one, and the handle is too hard to be stamped by casual methods.

This probably indicates that the ratchet was contract production, possibly for Thorsen Tools, who were known to use a "TT" mark. The most notable detail for this particular tool is the patent 1,, , which was issued in as the earliest of a number of ratchet patents developed by S-K.

In fact, this model appears to have been the first fine-tooth reversible ratchet on the market, or at least the first one to reach a wide market. S-K's tool engineer T. Rueb went on to make a number of improvements to this basic design, and eventually received at least seven ratchet-related patents for S-K; clearly the company had made ratchet development a priority during this period! Most of the ratchets of this model and other drive sizes found today will be marked with the later patent 2,, issued in The forged body is hardened everywhere and is unplated, but with a polished head and panel.

The model ratchet was first introduced in the late s and enjoyed a long and successful product life, with production continuing into the S-K Wayne period.

The first ratchets were produced under patent 1,, , while later models used the improved mechanism in patent 2,, This patent was issued in to T. Rueb and assigned to Sherman-Klove. This particular tool presents a bit of a mystery though, as according to the S-K catalogs, the model was available only with a round shank and knurled handle.

The flat forged handle of this tool matches that of the earlier model ratchet shown above, and also resembles their model R reversible ratchet. Although these observations might suggest that this tool was an early prototype, the second-generation patent number wasn't issued until , well after the models with knurled handles were available.

The likely explanation is that S-K continued to produce some quantity of forged-handle ratchets, perhaps as special-order items. As a best guess for the manufacturing date, this tool was probably produced some time during , when wartime shortages of chromium forced manufacturers to forego the chrome plated finishes. The tool is marked with the S-K-Diamond logo and "Pat. The xx series sockets have the distinctive knurled base and tapered upper walls illustrated in previous figures, and all have plain walls in the drive end.

The No. This particular example was built up from a period toolbox based on the catalog description. At the present time we don't have an S-K catalog for the mid s period. The overall length is The finish is chrome plating. For the fourth generation of the knurled-base sockets, S-K made an improvement to retain the sockets more securely on the drive. This was done by the addition of recessed grooves to the socket drive end, in line with the common practice of the industry.

A brief background of the drive end recesses may be helpful here. The earliest sockets were made with smooth walls in the drive end, relying on friction with the detent ball to retain the socket on the drive stud. Socket manufacturers had known from early on that adding a small recess to the drive walls would hold the sockets more securely, but adding such recesses would have required an awkward and time-consuming machining operation.

Readers interested in more background on the subject of socket drive recesses may want to read the patent 6,, document, as it offers an excellent review of the prior art. However, as manufacturing processes were improved, various makers started adding drive-end recesses. Deep sockets made by Williams in the s e. See our article Duro and Indestro Tool Identification for more information.

Snap-on introduced the drive-end recesses around , replacing their older practice of drilling a hole in one drive wall. At some point S-K began adding the drive end recesses as well, and although the exact date is unknown, it's probably reasonable to assume that the drive recesses were available by around All of these are point sockets.

All four of the drive walls have such a recess. One other minor change to the socket specifications occurred around this same time. The model numbers weren't updated for this change, so for example a socket could have either point or 6-point broaching, depending on when it was made.

The set model number is given by a faded sticker on the side see inset , and the S-K catalog lists a very similar No. The sockets all have a cross-bar hole for use with the Ell handle included in the set. At the time, deep sockets were intended primarily for spark-plug removal and were usually provided with a hole for use with a cross-bar.

Although the relative timing of these changes is not known, the catalog shows that the cross-bar holes had disappeared by that time. The socket is stamped "S-K" with the model number and fractional size, with a "Not Guaranteed" warning just above the knurled band. The last generation of the knurled-base socket series was introduced in with the change to the S-K Wayne brand. The knurled-base sockets were discontinued shortly after this, and were replaced by a new design with hot-broached construction and a fully polished finish.

The S-K Wayne marking on the tools was relatively short-lived, as a catalog issued by Dresser shows the use of the mark "S-K Tools". This allows us to estimate the manufacturing date for the S-K Wayne mark as The fine-tooth ratchet mechanisms were also available in other drive sizes, as our next example illustrates.

The finish is polished chrome. The model was a popular and familiar tool, and this particular tool uses the early patent 1,, mechanism, with a tooth ratchet gear. Even after 70 years the ratchet mechanism operates smoothly and shifts easily, a testament to the high quality production that went into these early S-K tools.

These tools were selected by Sears Roebuck as their heavy-duty socket line. The ratchet was disassembled for cleaning and to check the mechanism, which is the improved design covered by S-K's patent 2,, The finish is cadmium plating, which together with the patent pending status suggests a manufacturing date in or The relatively large diameter of the head allows space for 70 teeth in the ratchet gear, which is complemented by a pawl having four teeth on each side.

This combination gives the ratchet both great strength and an extremely fine action, especially for such a heavy-duty tool. These ratchets must have been a cause of great excitement when they were introduced in the mid s, as other heavy-duty ratchets of the time had only very coarse actions.

Sherman-Klove was known primarily as a maker of screw-machine products and probably had only limited if any drop-forging capabilities. Tools such as wrenches were normally produced by drop-forging, so it's not surprising that S-K initially offered only a limited selection of wrenches.

The S-K catalog offered two series of wrench models, both of the offset double-box style. The catalog description for these wrenches notes the use of chrome vanadium steel, and the finish was chrome plating with polished ends and faces.

A second series of wrenches was available in cadmium plating at slightly lower prices, with model numbers in a parallel 43xxx series. The overall length is 7. The overall length is 9. The original finish was chrome plating, but on this example most has been lost due to wear. The next two figures show examples of the short offset box wrench, with differences in the offset design.

The shank also has a forged-in code "3" to the right of the panel. Restrictions may apply or the cart may not contain the correct items to use this discount.

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