TUFFY SCREWDRIVERS

[dimwittedmoose51]

As part of the stash of stuff  I scammed for $40 on Saturday while Tag A Long was dumping anything and everything tool related, I unearthed three Tuffy Screwdrivers that are really unique in their design.  Solid billet aluminum handles and a "wing" that folds out for added leverage.  Found a blogspot on these  tools as they were made by the Swallow Airplane Co. in Wichita KS.  Further history is available at  http://sabertoothowl.blogspot.com/.  are these babies part of your collection??  Thinking I'll keep mine since I have 3 of the 4 flat blades.  The phillips Tuffies are much harder to come by according to the blogger.  They're not in pristine condition, but they are the first ones in my stash.  If nothing else, they'll make great screwdrivers for working on hot electrical boxes......lol

DM&FS

[kxxr]

I got one of these new off the shelf for $6.95 from the same store that had the new Blackhawk drivers i bought last week. I don't know where he finds the stuff but it trickles in at a fairly regular rate so i have to check back often. Since it was new, i thought they must still be making them. Do you know if that is true? If you search "Tuffy screwdriver", you can see a picture of mine. I'm using my phone; not convenient for cutting and pasting links.

[dimwittedmoose51]

I believe according to the blog guy, that a couple of manufacturers have come out with them over the years, they just don't say"Swallow Airplane " as the maker. The Swallow units were the ones made back in the late 40's and early 50's.  I believe he also said Charles Lindbergh flew a Swallow plane as mail transporting prior to doing his trans-oceanic flight.  Very interesting read.

DM&FS

[kxxr]

Thanks. I'll check it out. I'll have to see if mine says anything inside the handle.

[mikeswrenches]

I have one that like yours, is marked with the Swallow Airplane Co.as the maker.  Unfortunately mine is missing the detent ball and spring that hold the handle extension in the closed position.  It looks like they may be a little more common than I thought.

Mike

[dimwittedmoose51]

Oh, and there's "lots" of Perfect Handle bits out there too, but my stash is very slim......


DM&FS

[mikeswrenches]

Here are a couple of pictures of a similar type screwdriver.  This one is unmarked.  But it has an aluminum handle similar to the the Tuffy.
During WW2 mostly women worked in the aircraft factories and these handle extensions made it easier for them get enough leverage to get the screws tight.

Mike

[EVILDR235]

Someone should start making them again with a tip to accept different bits and sockets and a hollow handle to store extra bits. 

EvilDr235

[dimwittedmoose51]

I think I have one of those too somewhere in the mess...

DM&FS

[geneg]

I got one of the Tuffys in the fender mount tool box on my Grandfathers WD45- another of the invaluable tools that I need to tag for my Sons

[johnsironsanctuary]

Here is a link to the Swallow Airplane Co.

For some unknown reason, I can't paste the link into this reply.  It is to wikipedia and Swallow Airplane Company. Shows the company history and the models.

[Branson]

Wikipedia's Swallow Airplane Co. article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallow_Airplane_Company

[Tool Pants]

I found a Tuffy this morning at the flea market in a pile.  I was not even going to pick it up out of the pile because I thought it was Asian.  I looked all over and could not find any name other than TUFFY, until I flipped open the handle.  Fortunately the spring loaded detent is still present.

Swallow Airplane Co., Wichita, Kansas.  Patents Pending.

Did a google search and here I am.  Also found this article previously mentioned above, about the history.

http://sabertoothowl.blogspot.com/2007/01/swallow-airplane-co.html

Design patent was issued in 1945, and good for 14 years.  Swallow was gone by 1956 according to the article.  Production of the screwdriver was picked up by the Tuffy Tool Corp. in Quinter, Kansas.

I assumed this was an early version due to the "Patents Pending", but according to the author of the article he has never seen one with the patent number stamped on it.

[Bill Houghton]

Interesting how many variations of this concept have been offered over the years.  My sole example of the concept is one Crescent K-24 screwdriver, found at a yard sale (photo below is from Alloy Artifacts, at http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/crescent-tool.html#later-adj-10):



Crescent only ever made these in flat blades, in three sizes.  Maybe if I'm good, the yard sale gods will allow me to find the other sizes.

[mrchuck]

I have one, and love how the handle "snaps" back with authority.
I believe they are pretty rare to find them these days.