Nut splitter ?

[jimwrench]

 Got this in box of tools last night. Not all there as it needs a piece on the end with the threaded pin. I'm guessing nut splitter but thats strictly a guess. It may be bent as it has a big offset but if it is I don't want to wrestle whoever bent it. Absolutely no marking but does have a flat where a label could have been. weighs 1 1/4 lb and is nicely made and finished. Note knurling and detent on chisel end.
 Can anyone help me with maker and or what missing part or parts are ? Is it bent or made that way?

[krusty the clown]

YEP, nut splitter.  maybe a K-D?

[superzstuff]

Yeah, nut splitter and it is made offset or bent to give clearance. I bought a 1954 Anglia years ago and one of these saved a lot of hacksawing and torching to get it apart!

[Bill Houghton]

Yeah, nut splitter and it is made offset or bent to give clearance. I bought a 1954 Anglia years ago and one of these saved a lot of hacksawing and torching to get it apart!

Concur, although not for Anglias - I have yet to have that joy (though, if I iive forever, I wouldn't mind owning one, but after I've owned a Studebaker Loewy Coupe and/or Gran Turismo Hawk, Citroen 2CV, and Lloyd Alexander).  It's one of those tools you need just sometimes, but REALLY need when you do.  The sound of the nut splitting is very satisfying.

This open-side design is superior to the "wrap-around" design, for obvious reasons.  The offset can be nice, or frustrating, depending on how you can reach the nut.  If it is a K-D, they seem to run about $36 online, and the plunger is available (part No. 715-75 - no idea of price).

[jimwrench]

Thanks for the info. I now believe this is a KD 715 splitter although they seem to have model No. on the flat and some info in indentation. This one seems to be missing 715-75 plunger and 715-73 ball. Source I found lists these as servicable parts but doesn't give price or way of ordering.

[Bill Houghton]

A lot of auto parts stores sell K-D; call around and see if you can find one that'll order the parts.  It's a catalog item, so it should be easy enough.

[bgarrett]

I saw one in the JC Whitney catalog in the 1960s and wanted one  ever since. Then Horrible Freight came along and $6!!  Bought it, took it home, found out the splitter tip was softer than any nut I have.  A lifelong desire gone. Anyway I have lots of  better tools to do  that job now.

[rusty]

>the splitter tip was softer than any nut I have.

Oxymoron of the week: "chinese tool steel"

You were only supposed to use it on Harbour Freight nuts ;P

I had to go buy a real one also, has paid for itself several times over...

[Bill Houghton]

I don't use the nut splitter often, especially now that we own cars that were not completely clapped out before we bought them; but when I need it, boy do I ever need it!  Another item I wish I'd owned long before I found it at a yard sale.

The list of items I wish I'd owned long before etc. is a long one.  I guess my lack of these tools earlier just contributed to my ingenuity, though.