15N1260 - 1867 Patent Awl
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Patented on March 19, 1867, Nathan Clement’s design for a tool handle was first made in wood by the Stanley Rule and Level Co. from 1867 to 1902. It had 20 interchangeable tool tips, including awls, screwdrivers, a gouge, chisels and a saw. The cast-iron version (upon which our reproduction is based) was introduced in 1877 and offered alongside the boxwood version until 1922. It had either 12 or 20 bits, depending on the version produced.
What made this design so elegant is that there were only three parts to the tool: the cast body, which had space to store the bits and a tapered socket at the business end; the drawbar-shaft, which had an integral collet; and the cap, which engaged the drawbar to compress the collet as it was pulled into the tapered socket.
Our reproduction has been cast in steel (not iron) and is supplied with four hardened tips. There is a pointed awl and small slot, Phillips and square-recess tips – the latter two of which would have been unfamiliar to Mr. Clement. Truthfully, though, it is best used as an awl; we made the other tips pretty much just to have something to store in the handle.
An irresistible indulgence in a practical and attractive design, first conceived in the year of Canadian Confederation.
Note: While this is a legitimate tool, it is also exactly the kind of tool that fascinates kids. It is heavy and mechanical, and has interchangeable parts. Hide the awl tip so they don’t lose it, and they’ll soon be taking apart all their broken electronic toys that are put together with those tiny screws.
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1867 Patent Awl
Patented on March 19, 1867, Nathan Clement’s design for a tool handle was first made in wood by the Stanley Rule and Level Co. from 1867 to 1902. It had 20 interchangeable tool tips, including awls, screwdrivers, a gouge, chisels and a saw. The cast-iron version (upon which our reproduction is based) was introduced in 1877 and offered alongside the boxwood version until 1922. It had either 12 or 20 bits, depending on the version produced.
What made this design so elegant is that there were only three parts to the tool: the cast body, which had space to store the bits and a tapered socket at the business end; the drawbar-shaft, which had an integral collet; and the cap, which engaged the drawbar to compress the collet as it was pulled into the tapered socket.
Our reproduction has been cast in steel (not iron) and is supplied with four hardened tips. There is a pointed awl and small slot, Phillips and square-recess tips – the latter two of which would have been unfamiliar to Mr. Clement. Truthfully, though, it is best used as an awl; we made the other tips pretty much just to have something to store in the handle.
An irresistible indulgence in a practical and attractive design, first conceived in the year of Canadian Confederation.
Note: While this is a legitimate tool, it is also exactly the kind of tool that fascinates kids. It is heavy and mechanical, and has interchangeable parts. Hide the awl tip so they don’t lose it, and they’ll soon be taking apart all their broken electronic toys that are put together with those tiny screws.
