About two months ago I added a post in this forum regarding Sears Craftsman Whitworth tools. I mentioned that I had been using the 1960 Craftsman hand tool catalog as my guide in terms of determining what tools were in the set and when the tools were offered by Sears. If one were to revisit the thread, I wrote that Sears offered Craftsman branded Whitworth tools between 1960 and 1962. Well, right around that same time, Sears first offered Craftsman branded metric sized tools. Essentially, there were six metric DOE wrenches, six metric DBE wrenches and seven metric sockets. The set also included several 1/2" drive tools (ratchet, extensions, etc.) that were identical to those found in the Whitworth set. Just like the Whitworth tools, the metric tools could be purchased individually, one at a time, or in smaller tool specific sets. The tool specific metric wrench sets were sold in black colored plastic tool rolls. (Recall that the Whitworth wrench sets were sold in green colored plastic tool rolls.) Anyway, as I was collecting the Whitworth tools, I also started on the metric set as well.
For whatever reason, perhaps only because metric tools went on to be widely manufactured and purchased in the USA and all over the world, I guess that translated to me thinking this early set of Craftsman branded metric tools would be easy to collect. I can say for sure that it was equally as difficult to collect as was the Whitworth set. Putting aside the tool box, the ratchet, and the T-handle for the breaker bar, all of which I knew would be hard to find, those early metric tools were also tough. Again, I was looking for those with a pointed letter "A" in the word CR"A"FTSM"A"N and a =V= manufacturer's code. Much like the Whitworth tools, it was my experience that the DBE wrenches were more difficult to find than were the DOE wrenches and the seven sockets were scarce as well. It took me a long time to finally find the 22mm socket. It was a challenging set to complete, just like the Whitworth set.
Jim C.