History of Craftool markings by: Ron Eaton.......
Craftools with no
number or info stamped on them are rare and made from circa 1949 and
earlier
Craftools markered "Craftool Co" with a numeric
numer ONLY are made from
1949 to pprox 1963
ie:
"CRAFTOOL 821"
Craftools marked "Craftool Co" with Numeric number
AND and Alpha Prefix were made from 1963 to approx 1968
ie:
"Craftool B 201"
Craftools marked "Craftool Co USA" are made
after 1969
ie:
"Craftool Co USA B 200"
Craftools marked "Craftool USA are made from the
1970's thru more recent years. The plant was closed in 1999 and no more tools
were made in the USA.
ie:
"Craftool USA V 730"
New Craftools are marked "CRAFTOOL" and the
newer ones are just black printed lettering and not stamped into the tool per
se. This was the beginning of the "IMPORTED CRAFTOOL" Some have the
number and some do not. These are all imported and much lower quality and not
made to use with leather mauls, etc.
ie:
"CRAFTOOL"
There are also some tools made for Tandys (mostly sold in
KITS) that have a "Z" Prefix and a number but not stamped Craftool.
These are even lower quality. Bare in mind these are tools with ONLY a number
and NO Craftool designation. In the past some were nickel plated and somee were
Gilt plated. These are the cheapest tools ever offered by Tandys.
ie: "Z
V707"
NOTE: note NOT all "Z" tools are the lower
quality.....if preceeded by "Craftool Co USA" then they may be a
special or limited run. These are the same quality as the other tools with a
similar Craftool stamp but were a spcial or limited edition.
ie.
"Craftool Co USA Z998"
The are also a few tools that are stamped with the Letter
"S" After the numeric prefix. These were special HEAVY made tools
most with a 3/8 inch or larger shaft and designed for Saddle Makers and extra
heavy to hold up to heavy maul use. These are very limited and some consider
rare.
ie:
"Craftool Co USA P 361
S"
There are also some tools marked "Craftool
Tiawan"
Also do not confuse tools marked "Craft Japan"
or +Craftool Japan" with Craftool Tools.
Although not all of these are the same quality I have
found some of these tools that were made in Japan to be the highest quality of
any of the imported tools and normally much better than tools made in Tiawan,
etc
Although I am not an expert I have been doing leather
work and collecting leather tools fo well over 40 years. This is based on my
personal experience and what otyher very knowledgable people in the leather trade
have shared with me. Through the years the earliest names and dates I have
heard assoiciated with Craftool would be Mr. Dick McGahen who began to make
tools for leather carvers in California in the 1940’s. According to Ellis
Barnes (deceased), he had several other tool makers that helped him created
tools including Ellis Barnes, Ken Griffin and some others. The tools that were made by them probably had
no numbers on them and may or may not have been stamped with the Craftool
name. When you see this type of tool, it
was likely made around 1949 or earlier.
Once the numbering of tools began, they were marked with
“Craftool Co” and just a number. This type of marking was consistent up through
1962 or 1963.
In 1963, they started adding a letter prefix to the
number. From 1963 until around 1969 they
were marked with “Craftool Co.” and a number with a letter before it to
identify the type of tool it was.
Around 1969, they began marking the tools with “Craftool
Co. USA” plus the number and the letter prefix. This continued until the later
years of the company. They eventually
changed to marking them with “Craftool USA” and the number with the letter
prefix. This continued to be the practice until they closed their manufacturing
plant in 1999. This was the last time Craftools were made in the USA.
Afetr this point most Craftools were and are still made
in Tiawan or ogther overseas locations.
Do not confuse genuine Craftools with tools made by Craft
Co. of Japan "Craft Japan" or "Craftool Japan". The tools
made by Craft Japan are nice enough tools, but they have no relation to the
original Craftool Company.>
By, Ron W. Eaton
sources:
Craftool Co.
Tandy Catelogs and publications
Vintage Leather Tools
