The Husky Brand

Sometime after mid 1933 New Britain made a major acquisition with the purchase of the Husky Corporation of Kenosha, Wisconsin, a maker of automotive and specialty tools. (See our article on the Husky Wrench Company for more information.) Although we haven't been able to track down the details of this business transaction, it appears that New Britain acquired both the trademarks and production equipment of Husky.

After the acquisition, Husky operated as a division of New Britain, and its "Husky" logo trademark became one of the best known names in automotive tools.

New Britain is believed to have started offering a line of Husky-branded chrome alloy socket tools shortly after the acquisition of the company. Based on collected examples, we know that Husky tools of the same design as the None Better socket tools were being produced during the mid 1930s to mid 1940s. However, due to a lack of catalogs or advertisements for this period, we are unable to fully document the Husky tools of this era.

Fig. 99A. 1947 Ad for Husky 1/2-Drive Socket Set.

The scan in Fig. 99A shows an ad for a Husky 1/2 drive socket set, as published on page 317 of the December, 1947 issue of Popular Mechanics.

The ad was actually placed by the W.T. Grant Company, the operator of a chain of retail stores.

We have very little information on the Grant company, but if it turns out that Husky tools were being sold in the Grant stores from the mid 1930s onward, that would help explain the observed examples.

Rather surprisingly, this is the earliest known ad for Husky tools in the New Britain era. We hope to find additional earlier advertisements, or even better a Husky catalog.

Husky Tools in Chain Stores

The discovery of Husky tools being sold by W.T. Grant suggests that retail store chains may have accounted for the apparent extensive sales of the brand, even in the absence of catalogs and with few advertisements.

We were able to confirm this by the discovery of a court case in the Seventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals, in which an officer of New Britain Machine provided expert testimony for the plaintiff. The figure below provides a brief excerpt of testimony confirming that the Husky product line was sold through chain stores.

Fig. 99B. 1957 Excerpt from Court Transcript. [External Link]

Fig. 99B shows an excerpt from testimony by George G. Wilcox, a Vice-President of New Britain Machine, as published in the transcript from a 1957 court case Snap-On Tools Corporation V. Winkenweder & Ladd, Inc.

The text notes that New Britain's Husky brand was sold through chain stores, while the None Better brand was sold through hardware and automotive stores.

The 1957 Husky Catalog

In 1957 Husky published catalog No. 101A, the first known catalog for the product line. The timing of this catalog appears to be related to a decision to discontinue the None Better line in favor of Husky.

The evidence for this is that ads for None Better can be found in the trade press (in particular Hardware Age) up through 1957, but not after that time. In 1957 New Britain Machine had just recently acquired the Blackhawk brand and found itself with four brands of automotive service tools, all with significantly overlapping functionality. Since the Husky and None Better brands were fairly similar, the company apparently decided to go forward with just Husky.

Examples of Husky Tools

In this remainder of this section we'll look at examples of Husky brand tools produced while it operated as part of New Britain, with the exception of chrome alloy socket tools. Examples of Husky tools in the early chrome alloy line can be found in the section on Chrome Alloy Socket Tools, and examples from the mid 1940s onward are shown in the section on Later Socket Tools.

Not surprisingly, many of the Husky tools from this period were very similar (except for markings) with the corresponding models from other New Britain brands. But other tools, notably wrenches, sometimes exhibited brand-specific designs.

Carbon-Steel Socket Tools

New Britain had long offered carbon steel socket tools under the None Better brand, and with the acquisition of Husky in the mid 1930s also offered these tools under the Husky brand.

Husky 1/4-Hex Drive Socket Set

Fig. 100. Husky 1/4-Hex Drive Socket Set, with Insets for Top View and Marking Detail, ca. 1930s.

Fig. 100 shows a Husky 1/4-hex drive socket set, consisting of a metal case with seven sockets and a 1/4-hex Ell handle.

The case has a decal at the end with a partially legible "Husky Tools" and "Made in U.S.A." marking. The bottom of the case is stamped "Patented Dec. 12, 1922" (not shown), and the Ell handle is stamped "Made in U.S.A." (see top inset).

The sockets are, from right to left, 1/4, 5/16, Special Knurl, 11/32, 3/8, 7/16, and 1/2, and all have hex broachings except for the special knurled broach (third from the right). (This type of socket was needed to remove the knurled nuts used on some radios of the time.) The sockets are stamped "Made in U.S.A." with the fractional size, and have band of cross-hatched knurling around the center. The finish is cadmium plating.

The patent date on the bottom of the case refers to patent #1,438,900, filed by H.H. Chase in 1921 and later acquired by New Britain Machine.

Husky Wrenches

Although the Husky brand was better known for its socket tools, New Britain also offered Husky wrenches. Our earliest reference for these tools is catalog No. 101A from 1957, which offered open-end, tappet, box-end, and combination wrenches. The illustrations in the 1957 catalog show wrenches with flat shanks.

The model numbers for the wrenches at this time consisted of an "H" prefix followed by a quasi-standard number matching the numbering system used by J.H. Williams and other major tool makers. In particular, open-end wrenches had H-1xxx ISN numbers, combination wrenches had H-11xx numbers, and tappet wrenches had H-109x model numbers.

Box wrenches were available in four styles, short angled, angled, offset, and short offset, with ISN model series H-6xxx, H-7xxx, H-8xxx, and H-9xxx, respectively.

By 1962 Husky catalog No. 103 was offering wrenches in a new style with raised parallelogram panels, and with new model numbers as well. The model numbers consisted of an alphabetic prefix designating the tool type, followed by numbers encoding the opening size(s) in 32nds. For example, the open-end wrenches were offered in a CE-xxyy series, and combination wrenches were offered in a CC-xx series. (Tappet wrenches were still available in 1962, but remained in the old flat style with H-109x model numbers.)

Surprisingly though, Husky catalog No. 880 of 1970 shows that the wrenches had reverted back to their flat-shank style with the older H-series numbers! Also by this time tappet wrenches were no longer offered.

And for one final twist, Husky catalog No. 529A from around 1974 shows that wrenches had flipped back to raised parallelogram panels and C-series model numbers!

What can we make of these wild gyrations in wrench styles and model numbers? It seems obvious that New Britain must have been sourcing the wrenches from different factories or contract producers, perhaps choosing based on price or production constraints. But it's also obvious that this was poor brand management, as the changes in styles and models would have been confusing for the company's resellers and customers.

Manufacturing Dates

Since our earliest reference to Husky wrenches is from 1957, we don't have any information on possible production prior to this time. However, it seems reasonable that Husky branded wrenches may have been produced in the 1940s or even before, as the None Better brand was also offering wrenches during this period.

Husky tools had long been marked with an underlined Husky logo, and the underlined form is known to have been marked on both the H-series and C-series wrenches. But at some point New Britain switched to marking the wrenches with Husky in block letters, and the block letter form can also be found on both H-series and C-series wrenches. New Britain registered trademark #882,793 for "Husky" in block letters in late 1969, so it's reasonable to assume that the change from the underlined logo to the block letter form would have occurred around this time.

We can combine the usage dates for the marking styles with the documented vacillations in model numbers to create guidelines for estimating manufacturing dates, as noted in the list below.

• Underline logo, H-series model numbers: 1940s to Early 1960s.
• Underline logo, C-series model numbers: 1962 to Late 1960s.
• Block logo, H-series model numbers: 1970-1973.
• Block logo, C-series model numbers: 1973 Onward.

Note that these guidelines are based on the catalogs available at the time of writing (2023) and may need to be adjusted if additional catalogs are discovered. (The Husky catalogs document the changes in model numbers, but do not directly indicate the marking style being used.)

Husky H1090-D 1/2x9/16 Tappet Wrench

Fig. 101A. Husky H1090-D 1/2x9/16 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. 1940s to 1960s.

Fig. 101A shows a Husky H1090-D 1/2x9/16 tappet wrench, stamped with the Husky underline logo and model number on the front, with "Made in U.S.A" on the back side.

The overall length is 10.0 inches. The finish is plain steel with polished faces.

Husky tappet wrenches were still being offered in the early 1960s, but had been discontinued by 1970.

Husky H1161 7/16 Combination Wrench

Fig. 101B. Husky H1161 7/16 Combination Wrench, with Inset for Back Side, ca. 1940s to 1960s.

Fig. 101B shows a Husky H1161 7/16 combination wrench, stamped with the Husky underline logo and model number on the front, with "Alloy Steel" and "Forged in U.S.A" on the back side.

The overall length is 5.8 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with polished faces.

Husky CE-1922 19/32x11/16 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 102. Husky CE-1922 19/32x11/16 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. 1973+.

Fig. 102 shows a Husky 19/32x11/16 open-end wrench with raised panels, marked "Alloy Steel Forged in U.S.A" on the back side.

The overall length is 7.8 inches, and the finish is plain steel with finely polished faces and panels.

The raised panel construction and block letter Husky name suggest production from 1973 onwards.

Other Husky Tools

Husky P65-10 10 Inch Combination Pliers

Fig. 104. Husky P65-10 10 Inch Combination Pliers, with Inset for Side View.

Fig. 104 shows a pair of Husky P65-10 10 inch combination pliers, stamped "Husky" and "Made in U.S.A." with the model number near the pivot. The handles are also marked with a forged-in code "H21078", partially visible on the lower handle in the photograph.

The overall length is 9.9 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating, with minor losses due to rust.

The top inset shows a side view of the pliers, illustrating the "Checkerdot" gripping pattern on the handles. This pattern has been used by Crescent since around 1915 and identifies Crescent as the manufacturer of these pliers.

The Crescent version of these pliers is the CeeTeeCo model H210, a model in production since the 1920s or before. From this model number, we can see that the first part of the forged-in code on the handles identifies the model. It would be interesting if it turned out that the last two digits ("78" for this example) were a date code.

Later Socket Tools

In the late 1940s New Britain switched to a different design for its ratchets, replacing the older dual-pawl mechanism with a simpler oscillating pawl. The new design appeared first with the New Britain brand, but later was used for Husky and possibly other brands.

Around this same time the handle styles of the drive tools were updated, and the sockets were redesigned to a style with dual knurled bands.

Kilness Patent Ratchets

In the early 1950s New Britain licensed a patent for a new ratchet design that promised great strength in a very small head. The ratchet design and a later improvement were developed by Luther Kilness, and the patents were issued as #2,554,990 in 1951 and #2,981,389 in 1961. These are basically second-generation improvements on the original round-head fine-tooth patent #1,981,526 developed by S-K's Theodore Rueb in 1934.

The Kilness-design ratchets were highly successful products for New Britain, and probably should be considered as one of the company's most important contributions to tool development.

Kilness patent ratchets were offered under the New Britain and Husky brands, but have not been observed for the None Better brand. The Husky product line in particular included a number of models based on these patents, as the following figures will show.

Kilness patent ratchets were also available in the Blackhawk line under the "Powergrip" moniker.

1/2-Drive Socket Tools

Husky CS41 1/2-Drive Reversible Ratchet

Fig. 105. Husky 1/2-Drive CS41 Reversible Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1950s.

Fig. 105 shows a 1/2-drive Husky CS41 reversible ratchet with a forged handle, stamped "Made in U.S.A." and "126" on the back side shank.

The overall length is 9.9 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with a polished head.

Although not marked with a patent notice, this ratchet is covered by patent #2,542,241, filed by J.A. Fors in 1946 and issued in 1951.

The meaning of the "126" code is not known at this time.

Husky CS42 Kilness Patent 1/2-Drive Ratchet

Fig. 106. Husky 1/2-Drive CS42 Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1957-1961.

Fig. 106 shows a 1/2-drive Husky CS42 ratchet with a forged handle, stamped "Made in U.S.A." and "18" on the shank, with a "Pat. 2554990 & Pat. Pend." patent notice on the back side.

The overall length is 10.0 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with a polished head.

The patent notice refers to both the 1951 Kilness patent #2,554,990 and the pending patent #2,981,389, filed by Luther Kilness in 1957 and issued in 1961.

The meaning of the stamped "18" code is not known at this time.

NBM (New Britain) 45 Kilness Patent 1/2-Drive Ratchet

In later years New Britain sold tools under the "NBM" brand, with no further markings to indicate the company. This next figure shows an example.

Fig. 107. NBM 45 1/2-Drive Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1961+.

Fig. 107 shows a 1/2-drive NBM 45 ratchet of the Kilness design, stamped "USA" with "Pat. 2981389" on the back side.

The overall length is 10.0 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

The patent notice refers to patent #2,981,389, filed by Luther Kilness in 1957 and issued in 1961.

Husky CS-45 Kilness Patent 1/2-Drive Ratchet

Fig. 108. Husky 1/2-Drive CS-45 Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1961+.

Fig. 108 shows a later 1/2-drive Husky CS-45 ratchet with a knurled handle, stamped "U.S.A." on the shank with "Pat. 2981389" on the back side.

The overall length is 10.0 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with a polished head and shank.

The patent notice refers to patent #2,981,389, filed by Luther Kilness in 1957 and issued in 1961.

New Britain NS56 1/2-Drive 18 Inch Flex Handle

Fig. 109. New Britain NS56 1/2-Drive 18 Inch Flex Handle, with Insets for Side View and Marking Detail, ca. Late 1940s.

Fig. 109 shows a 1/2-drive New Britain NS56 18 inch flex-head handle, marked "New Britain NS56" on a panel forged into the handle, with "Made in U.S.A" on the back side.

The overall length is 18.0 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

New Britain NS91 1/2-Drive 3/4 Drag Link Driver

Fig. 110. New Britain 1/2-Drive NS91 3/4 Drag Link Driver, with Inset for Top View, ca. Late 1940s to 1950s.

Fig. 110 shows a 1/2-drive New Britain NS91 3/4 drag link driver, stamped "Made in U.S.A." with the New Britain name in script.

The overall height is 1.3 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

The base of this driver shows the dual bands of simple knurling that defined New Britain's new style for sockets and tools. Introduced in the late 1940s, this style replaced the single cross-hatched knurled band in use since the early or mid 1930s.

3/8-Drive Socket Tools

New Britain NB42 3/8-Drive Ratchet

Fig. 111. New Britain 3/8-Drive NB42 Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1950s.

Fig. 111 shows a 3/8-drive New Britain NB42 ratchet with a forged handle, stamped "Made in U.S.A." on the back side.

The overall length is 6.9 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

This ratchet has a dual-pawl mechanism of a distinctive design.

Husky CB-43 Kilness Patent 3/8-Drive Ratchet

Fig. 112. Husky 3/8-Drive CB-43 Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1961+.

Fig. 112 shows a 3/8-drive Husky CB-43 ratchet with a knurled handle, stamped "U.S.A." and "45" on the shank, with "Pat. 2554990 & 2981389" on the back side.

The overall length is 7.5 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with a polished head and shank.

The patent notice refers to Kilness patents #2,554,990 and #2,981,389, issued in 1951 and 1961, respectively.

New Britain NB45 Kilness Patent 3/8-Drive Ratchet

Fig. 113. New Britain 3/8-Drive NB45 Ratchet, with Inset for Side View.

Fig. 113 shows a later example of the Kilness ratchet design in a 3/8-drive New Britain NB45 ratchet, stamped with the New Britain name in script and "USA" on the shank.

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

The knurled handle with decorative grooves shows an example of design elements borrowed from the Blackhawk product line, acquired by New Britain in 1955.

Husky CB-45 Kilness Patent 3/8-Drive Ratchet

Fig. 114. Husky 3/8-Drive CB-45 Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1961+.

Fig. 114 shows a very similar 3/8-drive Husky CB-45 ratchet with a knurled handle, stamped "U.S.A." and "11" on the shank, with "Pat. 2554990 & 2981389" on the back side.

The overall length is 7.4 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with a polished head and shank.

The patent notice refers to Kilness patents #2,554,990 and #2,981,389, issued in 1951 and 1961, respectively.

Husky CB-54 Kilness Patent 3/8-Drive Flex-Head Ratchet

Fig. 115. Husky 3/8-Drive CB-54 Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1961+.

Fig. 115 shows a 3/8-drive Husky CB-54 flex-head ratchet with a knurled handle, stamped "USA" on the shank with "Pat. 2981389" on the back side.

The overall length is 10.9 inches, and the finish is chrome plating with a polished head and shank.

The patent notice refers to the later Kilness 1961 patent #2,981,389.

New Britain NB51 3/8-Drive 10 Inch Flex-Head Handle

Fig. 116. New Britain 3/8-Drive NB51 10 Inch Flex-Head Handle, with Inset for Marking Detail, ca. 1950s.

Fig. 116 shows a 3/8-drive New Britain NB51 10 inch flex-head handle, stamped with the New Britain name in script, with "Made in U.S.A." on the back side.

The overall length is 10.0 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

Husky CB51 3/8-Drive 8.5 Inch Flex-Head Handle

Fig. 117. Husky 3/8-Drive CB51 8.5 Inch Flex-Head Handle, with Inset for Marking Detail, ca. 1950s.

Fig. 117 shows a 3/8-drive Husky CB51 8.5 inch flex-head handle, stamped with the Husky logo and "Made in U.S.A." at the end of the handle.

The overall length is 8.5 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

3/4-Drive Socket Tools

New Britain NH44 Kilness Patent 3/4-Drive Ratchet

The Kilness design scales nicely to larger drive sizes as well, as the next figure illustrates.

Fig. 118. New Britain NH44 3/4-Drive Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Marking Detail, ca. 1960s.

Fig. 118 shows a 3/4-drive New Britain NH44 ratchet of the Kilness design, stamped "U.S.A." and "29" with "Pat. 2554990 & 2981389" on the back side. (The patent notice is very worn and difficult to read.)

The overall length is 19.4 inches. The finish is chrome plating, but with extensive losses due to wear and rust.

The patent notice refers to Kilness patents #2,554,990 and #2,981,389, issued in 1951 and 1961, respectively.

The ratchet mechanism uses a 60-tooth drive gear with a compact head diameter of only 2.4 inches, very respectable for a 3/4-drive design.

New Britain NH1228 3/4-Drive 7/8 Socket

Fig. 119. New Britain NH1228 3/4-Drive Socket, with Inset for Broaching, ca. Late 1940s.

Fig. 119 shows a 3/4-drive New Britain NH1228 7/8 socket, marked "Made in U.S.A." with the "New Britain" name in script.

The finish is chrome plating with polished walls on the base.

This socket shows the dual bands of simple knurling that defined the new style of sockets introduced in the late 1940s. This style replaced the single cross-hatched knurled band used since the early or mid 1930s.

Specialty Tools

Husky H4527 21/32 Connecting Rod Socket Wrench

Fig. 120A. Husky H4527 21/32 Connecting Rod Socket Wrench, with Inset for Broaching, ca. Mid 1930s.

Fig. 120A shows a Husky H4527 21/32 fixed socket wrench, marked "Made in U.S.A." with the Husky underline logo.

The overall length is 9.1 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The upper inset shows the 12-point broaching of the socket. The 21/32 socket size was required for Ford Model A connecting rod service.

Currently we have no catalog references for this tool, but would estimate a mid 1930s manufacturing date.

The None Better brand offered a similar wrench as the None Better 9/16 Connecting Rod Wrench.

Similar wrenches for connecting-rod service were made by a number of other manufacturers. Examples include the Duro 615 Socket Wrench and Blackhawk 4021 Socket Wrench.

None Better 9/16 Connecting Rod Socket Wrench

Fig. 120B. None Better 9/16 Connecting Rod Socket Wrench, with Inset for Broaching, ca. Mid 1930s.

Fig. 120B shows a None Better 9/16 fixed socket wrench, marked "Chrome" and "Made in U.S.A." with the NB-Circle logo.

The overall length is 9.0 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

The upper inset shows the 12-point broaching of the socket.

Currently we do not have a catalog reference for this tool, but would estimate a mid 1930s manufacturing date.

The Husky brand offered a similar wrench as the Husky H4527 Connecting Rod Wrench.

Similar wrenches for connecting-rod service were made by a number of other manufacturers. Examples include the Duro 617 Socket Wrench and Blackhawk 4021 Socket Wrench.

New Britain M-200 Chevrolet Valve Adjusting Tool

Fig. 121. New Britain M-200 Valve Adjusting Tool, with Inset for Side View, ca. 1930s-1940s.

Fig. 121 shows a New Britain valve adjusting tool, consisting of a stamped-steel wrench with a retractable screwdriver bit mounted on a swinging arm. The tool is stamped "Made in U.S.A." and "Pat. Pend" on the swinging arm.

The overall length is 8.0 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating.

The patent corresponding to the pending status is not yet known.

This tool is listed as a model M-200 "Chevrolet Tappet Adjusting Tool" in the 1947 New Britain catalog 57M. A virtually identical tool is shown as the Zim Valve Tool in another article on this site, and a valve tool of this style was illustrated in the 1937 Western Auto Supply catalog, but without any manufacturer identification.

New Britain HF8 Angle-Head Brake Wrench

Fig. 122. New Britain HF8 9/16x9/16 Angle-Head Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail.

Fig. 122 shows a New Britain HF8 9/16x9/16 angle-head wrench, intended for brake service applications. The shank is stamped with New Britain in script, with "10" and "Made in U.S.A." on the back side.

The overall length is 5.7 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

The HF series of brake wrenches were offered by New Britain as early as 1940, as they are listed in catalog 56-M from that year.

Readers familiar with the Cornwell angle-head wrench series will immediately recognize close resemblance of this wrench to the Cornwell models, suggesting that these wrenches were likely made by Cornwell for New Britain. See for example the Cornwell AW8 Angle-Head Wrench.

New Britain 375 Offset Screwdriver

Fig. 123. New Britain 375 Screwdriver.

Fig. 123 shows a New Britain 375 offset screwdriver, stamped "USA" with the New Britain name in script.

The overall length is 4.7 inches, and the finish is black paint.

New Britain SS-5 Screw Starter

Fig. 124. New Britain SS-5 Screw Starter, with Insets for Construction and Marking Detail, ca. 1940s to 1950s.

Fig. 124 shows a New Britain SS-5 screw starter, a tool designed to hold and turn a slotted screw. The shank is stamped with the New Britain name in script, followed by "Made in U.S.A." and "Licensed Under Patent No. 2150184".

The overall length is 5.1 inches.

The patent notice refers to patent #2,150,184, issued to G.F. Pearson in 1939.

To operate the tool, the black barrel is first turned against the torsional spring until it locks with the pin in the detent. The blades on the end are then placed in the screw slot and the barrel released, after which the screw is firmly held by the center tab. The screw can then be inserted in its threaded hole and turned by hand using the knurled grip.

New Britain R-50 Drain Plug Multi-Wrench

Fig. 125. New Britain R-50 Drain Plug Multi-Wrench, with Inset for Marking Detail.

Fig. 125 shows a New Britain R-50 drain plug multi-wrench, stamped "Made in U.S.A." with the New Britain name in script.

The overall length is 11.3 inches, and the finish is chrome plating.

The wrench provides a total of eight openings, with seven hex and one 9/16 double-square at the right. The hex opening sizes are, from the left, 11/16, 1-1/8, 15/16, 3/4, 7/8, 1 inch, and 2 inches.

Mustang Economy Tools

In the early 1950s New Britain began using the "Mustang" brand for a line of economy tools.

Mustang MS41 1/2-Drive Ratchet

Fig. 127. Mustang 1/2-Drive MS41 Ratchet, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. 1950s.

Fig. 127 shows a 1/2-drive Mustang MS41 ratchet with a forged handle, stamped "Made in U.S.A." and "98" on the back side shank.

The overall length is 9.9 inches, and the finish is cadmium plating.

As with the previous example, this ratchet is covered by patent #2,542,241, filed by J.A. Fors in 1946 and issued in 1951.

The Blackhawk Brand

In 1955 New Britain made another major acquisition with its purchase of the tool operations of Blackhawk Manufacturing, an important early maker of socket tools and other automotive tools. The Blackhawk brand continued in production under New Britain for a number of years, and a number of design features from the Blackhawk line showed up in the New Britain branded tools as well.

After the acquisition, New Britain moved Blackhawk's machinery and tooling to Connecticut and initially continued producing the same line of tools. Over time some changes were made to the Blackhawk line, most notably to discontinue the oddball 7/16-drive tools and to restrict the "Lock-On" feature to the larger 3/4 and 1 inch drive sizes.

In addition, New Britain began offering its superb Kilness patent ratchets in the Blackhawk line under the name "Powergrip".

Our intention for this section is to show examples of the Blackhawk brand produced under New Britain management. However, selecting the relevant tools is not straightforward, as most Blackhawk tools produced after the acquisition were made to the same specifications as before, and Blackhawk tools of this era were not marked with a date code.

Our selection criteria can be met by tools in the following categories:

• Tools in 1/2-drive without the "Lock-On" feature;
• Ratchets with the Kilness patent design;
• Other Blackhawk tools not known to have been made before 1955.