If you’re familiar with the Craftsman Teardrop Ratchet Type Study, found only here on the Tool Talk forum, or if you’re Cman collector, then this post will be of some interest to you. About three years ago, I wrote the third version of the referenced type study. With the help of a few individuals, the type study’s accuracy was tightened up and the best information available at the time was presented. Upon its completion, there were still some questions about various types, specifically regarding all three drive sizes (1/2”, 3/8”, 1/4”). While it made sense that each type within the study would have had all three drive sizes, at the time I completed the third version of the Type Study, I still hadn’t seen a few, so it’s speculation (from my perspective) that they exist. In my opinion it’s nice to have the artifact in your hand before declaring its existence. To date, I’m still looking for a Type 5, 1/4” drive, and a Type 3, 3/8” drive and 1/4” drive with the flat top “A”. And of course there’s the Type 4 ratchets.
The Type 4 ratchets were produced for a very short period of time, about four months, in 1965. They’re scarce to say the least. To date, I’ve seen or know of a half dozen Type 4, 1/2” drive ratchets. Until a couple weeks ago, I had never seen a Type 4, 3/8” drive or a 1/4” drive. Those were beyond scarce. Well, that changed.
One of my morning routines is to get up, make some coffee, and check eBay for Craftsman ratchets. I do that every day, looking for any examples of ratchets that may be pertinent to the Type Study, but I do not have in my collection. Anyway, I turned on my laptop, clicked on eBay, clicked on Craftsman ratchets and unbelievably the very first ratchet listed was a Type 4, 3/8” drive. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I looked at that ratchet for ten minutes. It was the real deal. I went back to the main listing and hoped there would be a “Buy It Now” option. No such luck. The ratchet was going to be sold after a week long auction. I knew there would be competition for it. Sure enough, about three hours later, there were two bids submitted from the same bidder. I had more than a hunch that the bidder was very likely Todd F. If it was Todd, I knew he’d put in a serious bid. I had a ridiculous amount in mind that I was willing to bid as well. I thought about it for a while and decided to contact Todd. There was no reason to bid this ratchet up into the stratosphere particularly if we were the only bidders. We traded a couple of emails back and forth and reached an agreement. Obviously our plan was successful as evidenced by the photos below. The photos depict the ratchet in its “as found” condition. After the photos were taken, I disassembled it, gave it a thorough cleaning and lubricated it. Check out the Type Study for updated photos.
One more thing, when I was working on the Type Study a few years ago, I was in contact with DadsTools. He was more than helpful in adding to the study’s accuracy. At the time, I had only seen two Type 4 ratchets and both were 1/2” drives. DadsTools theorized that there had to be Type 4, 3/8” and 1/4” drives as well, just based on the number of ratchets Sears was selling. I also checked with another very knowledgeable Cman collector, needmorewrenches, who confirmed the existence of the Type 4, 1/2” drive AND the 3/8” drive. Gentleman, you were both correct.
Jim C.
