Author Topic: It's not a Plomb screwdriver!  (Read 1549 times)

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Offline Northwoods

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It's not a Plomb screwdriver!
« on: August 26, 2018, 07:28:23 PM »
Was at an estate sale this afternoon and snapped up what I initially believed to be a Plomb wooden handled screwdriver.
It is 23 1/2" long with a flat tip, a square shank, the familiar 8-sided grip, and the steel end cap. 

The lettering was too cruddy to read. I should have been put off by the slight barrel shape of the handle (which accounts for a full 9" of its length) and the fact that it has 3 grooves instead of the single one found on Plomb screwdrivers.

Cleaned it up and found it to be MASTER-GRIP   WILDE K.C.M.O.

I am familiar with Wilde tools, especially their channel pliers.  But can find no info on the web about a Wilde screwdriver.  I have contacted the manufacturer, which has moved to Hiawatha, Kansas, here in Northwoods country. 
I hope that one of you folks can get me the info before Wilde does.
I see no reson to believe it is connected with the imported Master Grip screwdrivers currently available.
Any thoughts?
« Last Edit: August 27, 2018, 07:16:19 AM by Northwoods »
The ORIGINAL Northwoods.

Offline p_toad

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Re: It's not a Plomb screwdriver!
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2018, 08:52:11 PM »

Offline Northwoods

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Re: It's not a Plomb screwdriver!
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2018, 10:20:10 PM »
This is their current selection...

https://www.wildetool.com/product-category/screwdrivers/
Yeah, this driver was obviously made before the company left KCMO in 1955. 
AA mentions that:   during the 1930s and 1940s the company offered a full line of service tools, including wrenches, sockets and drive tools, chisels and punches, automotive specialty tools, and even auto body tools. The company moved to its present location in Hiawatha, Kansas and changed its name to Wilde Tool, Incorporated.  (Pardon my sloppy copy and paste.)
Nothing about screwdrivers--but it is a short hop from chisels and punches to screwdrivers.
The ORIGINAL Northwoods.