Craftsman stamps

CedarEater said:
The hatchet head arrived today. At this point I do believe this is the earliest of the Craftsman stamps.

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I noticed this stamp on the bottom of the head and I don't know what it means. Looks to me like it was double stamped E5 or F5.

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I hope my son will appreciate and enjoy his 10th birthday present.
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i've got a small boyscout sized hatchet, single oval,straight craftman with F9 on the bottom
 
those numbers under the poll are usually the heat treat/temperers code, so they can identify who is putting out poor product, and "give him the ax"
 
CedarEater said:
The hatchet head arrived today. At this point I do believe this is the earliest of the Craftsman stamps.

IMG_4552_zps9fad8807.jpg
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It is the earliest Craftsman stamp that I could find in a library of old Sears catalogs today.

I looked at a lot of old catalogs - maybe 20 or so. Their stamp chronology is not as well defined as I had hoped it would be. There were a few surprises. I'll post more once I've had a chance to process some of the pics.

I had read before that Sears Roebuck purchased the Craftsman name in 1927. In keeping, the first time the Craftsman name appears in their axe line is in the Spring of 1928 - it's not in the Fall 1927 catalog.
 
I've got one that hasn't come up yet- double bit, hairline stamped CRAFTSMAN, rounded oversize capital C, no other markings.
 
Ended up (on further inspection) being the 40's/50's faceted oversized C. The pitting has all but effaced the "Patent Office" lower line.
 
From an interesting site about Craftsman and Sears:


"Craftsman tools first appear in Sears Hardware and Cutlery catalog, forerunner of the Power and Hand Tools catalog."

"Sears acquires the Craftsman trademark in October for $500 and first applies its new brand name to a line of hand tools that is touted as superior to Sears' existing Fulton and Trojan brands."

From Sears' Hardware and Cutlery catalog advertisement, 1927

1927AD~1_96.jpg


linked from http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/detail/craftsman/craftsman1927.htm

from Craftsman Chronology:
http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/detail/craftsman/1920s.htm

at the Sears Archives:
http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/craftsman.htm
 
I found that Craftsman ad first appearing in the Spring/Summer edition of the 1928 full Sears catalog. It was not seen in the Fall/Winter 1927 catalog. I was unaware that it had appeared earlier in their cutlery catalog. Thanks, Steve.

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FWIW, I only saw that 'wave' Craftsman logo in the first years (1928) catalog. They seemed to go right to the double oval stamp after that. Makes me wonder if some of the 'wave' Craftsman tools out there were made prior to Sears acquiring and changing the Craftsman brand.
 
Good to know about the Trojan. I had one that I bought online sight unseen, the stamp was clear it everything else about the head was destroyed. Went to scrap.
 
I haven't seen this configuration but would like to be able to date it. I thought it might be a transition period Craftsman from around 44 - 47 ( minus double lines ) but that was a SWAG so could be newer or older.

Axe Craftsman Jersey 01.jpg
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Here's another Craftsman stamp I don't thing has been in the thread yet.

It's on a boy's axe that was my grandfather's. I don't have any idea how old it is, but Granddad was born in 1894 and most of the tools he had were '30s and '40s vintage, some older.

It's a nice little axe and takes a good edge.

Cman%20Boys%20Axe%20Logo_zpshmblw41r.jpg
 
Square_peg said:
This hatchet has a similar configuration but now the bars are either side of the trademark line. I'm guessing this may have something to do with how much space there is to print on the little hatchet. I've seen Vaughan hatchets that look just like this one.

Bars - hatchet.jpg



So what do you guys have to add? Have any Craftsman axes? Do you know any dates for any of these stamps?
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This one is like yours. As discussed in another thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1235474-USA-Craftsman-hatchets these were almost certainly made by Vaughan.




The stamp is very similar, but adds the "4810 MADE IN U.S.A." line, and the typeface is different (note the "backwards Z" for the S and the flat-topped A). This was bought at a Sears in Canada sometime between 1971 and 1977.
 
iSaur said:
This one is like yours.
. . .
The stamp is very similar, but adds the "4810 MADE IN U.S.A." line, and the typeface is different (note the "backwards Z" for the S and the flat-topped A). This was bought at a Sears in Canada sometime between 1971 and 1977.
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I have a double bit I bought new at Sears in the U. S. in the mid 1970s. The stamp is identical to Operator1975's DB. Different stamp for different countries?

Bob
 
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