Craftsman 41294 N ?

[kxxr]

I know that a Craftsman 41294 is supposed to be a #1 Phillips with a 3 inch blade. This thing has a 3 inch shaft and says "#1 Made in USA" as well as "Craftsman" and "41294   N  WF"
Anyone know what this is? I suppose it could be an unfinished Phillips, but I don't think so. I also thought maybe the wrong end got inserted into the handle but other Craftsman screwdrivers of this vintage do not have the little 'wings' like you see here on the tip. It is difficult to photograph but the shape stamped into the tip caused the wings to sit just a fraction higher than the plane of the shaft. Does the "N" mean something? Is this an error or does it have a purpose?



P.S. No diamond tip this time : )

[rusty]

It is a 'Type A' clutchhead driver, Yours is the first I have ever seen.
The ones you generally see, that are sort of hourglass shaped, are  'Type G'

Why that gets it an N in the part number I have no clue.....

[fflintstone]

cool! i have no use for it but i want it.

[Lewill2]

Almost looks like the screw driver shaft was inserted into the handle backwards. Is the Phillps tip inside the handle?

[lbgradwell]

I think rusty is quite right - it's a "Type A" clutch head driver - but that still doesn't explain the 41294 number or the "N"...

I went through some old Craftsman catalogues and Sears seems to have sold the Type A drivers from 1959 through 1966. The Type G drivers continued to be offered until at least 1970, but those too were gone by 1972-3.

But depending on the size of your driver kxxr, the model number should have been 41351, 41352 or 41353. 41294 denoted a No.1 Phillips.

A bit of a mystery...

[kxxr]

Almost looks like the screw driver shaft was inserted into the handle backwards. Is the Phillps tip inside the handle?

I wondered that myself but the handle end looks just like others of that vintage. There are no 'fins' on the handle end. It looks like all the others of that style I have.

[lauver]

I think rusty is quite right - it's a "Type A" clutch head driver - but that still doesn't explain the 41294 number or the "N"...

I went through some old Craftsman catalogues and Sears seems to have sold the Type A drivers from 1959 through 1966. The Type G drivers continued to be offered until at least 1970, but those too were gone by 1972-3.

But depending on the size of your driver kxxr, the model number should have been 41351, 41352 or 41353. 41294 denoted a No.1 Phillips.

A bit of a mystery...

LG & kxxr,

I agree with LG, the model number indicate #1 phillips head screwdriver, not clutch head.  The "N WF" is an OEM code used by Western Forge, date range unknown (but could be late 1980s thru 1990s).

It's possible the handle was reshanked by the PO.  I do it all the time (please don't report me to the screwdriver police).

[lbgradwell]

It's possible the handle was reshanked by the PO.

It's probably just this simple an explanation...

[kxxr]

Apologies to all. It looks like I sent you on a snipe hunt so to speak. Upon closer inspection and with a brighter light, it does appear that the shaft was inserted backwards. The hole in the handle is shaped like all my others but when you look closely, you can see that the shaft only fills the hole about half way. I tried like hell to get a good photo but this is the best I could do. You can just make out the v shape of the phillips end inside the handle. Mystery solved, backwards insertion.
I was comparing the shaft inside the handle to the 41028 scratch awl and it does not have the little 'wings' on the shaft inside the handle, I swear! But, now that I think about it, a scratch awl would not need wings to keep it from turning inside the handle ... so, a faulty comparison. Live and Learn. Forgive me for the goose chase :)

awl handle

[rusty]

Ha!

[johnsironsanctuary]

kxxr, you may be a while living this one down. Hehe!

[kxxr]

Well, I have a lot of bassackwards experience, so I should survive ok :)

[Tool Pants]

Adam has a screwdriver with 2 blades in the handle.

[rusty]

A siamese screwdriver!

[lbgradwell]

They couldn't have sold many of those...