The consensus on Garage Journal is that Artisan tools were made by SK and sold as a Minnesota-based Gambles auto parts house brand (I've never heard of Gambles). In Canada they would have been sold by Macleods Hardware and Stedmans stores.
Gambles/Skogmo was a common hardware chain in Minnesota until the late 70's, had one in my town. My grandpa lost a whole bunch of money on Gambles stock when they went down the tube so I listened to a lot of rants with "Gambles" mentioned. Anyway, recognize the Artisan brand.
Thanks for that! I didn't know McLeods hardware. I believe SK tools were considered to be good quality. The smelly handles, takes me back to my childhood- My fathers screwdrivers handles smelled awful but- they were serious tools so I somehow associate the smell with quality. Weird, I know...
I spent 40+ years selling industrial and construction tools. I remember we sold a line of screwdrivers nut drivers by a company named Upson, back in the late seventies and early eighties. They had clear yellow plastic handles. The plastic had a peculiar smell that could be considered to smell like, ahem, vomit, for lack of a better description. I can remember when we would receive a shipment in the back of the warehouse from them the odor would permeate the building and we could smell it up at the sales counter. They stank, but they were great tools.
It came up on a search because I have a great set of 70s-vintage oversize Proto screwdrivers that have gorgeous clear yellow plastic handles with an odor that will literally knock over a cow and I'm wondering if Upson might have made them for Proto.
One of these days I'm gonna try the solvent-based polyurethane coating trick to encapsulate the odor before we can't get solvent-based coatings anymore.
Macleod's Hardware was pretty well-known in western Canada (as was Marshall-Wells). "Artisan" was definitely their house brand, as described here: https://museum.axeandtool.com/canada/macleods-artisan/
The consensus on Garage Journal is that Artisan tools were made by SK and sold as a Minnesota-based Gambles auto parts house brand (I've never heard of Gambles). In Canada they would have been sold by Macleods Hardware and Stedmans stores.
ReplyDeleteDon't you just hate the smell of those handles?
Gambles/Skogmo was a common hardware chain in Minnesota until the late 70's, had one in my town. My grandpa lost a whole bunch of money on Gambles stock when they went down the tube so I listened to a lot of rants with "Gambles" mentioned. Anyway, recognize the Artisan brand.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bad gamble
ReplyDeleteThanks for that! I didn't know McLeods hardware. I believe SK tools were considered to be good quality. The smelly handles, takes me back to my childhood- My fathers screwdrivers handles smelled awful but- they were serious tools so I somehow associate the smell with quality. Weird, I know...
ReplyDeleteI spent 40+ years selling industrial and construction tools. I remember we sold a line of screwdrivers nut drivers by a company named Upson, back in the late seventies and early eighties. They had clear yellow plastic handles. The plastic had a peculiar smell that could be considered to smell like, ahem, vomit, for lack of a better description. I can remember when we would receive a shipment in the back of the warehouse from them the odor would permeate the building and we could smell it up at the sales counter. They stank, but they were great tools.
ReplyDeleteMr. G has a great post on Upson here:
ReplyDeletehttp://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2012/11/vanished-tool-makers-upson-bros-inc.html
It came up on a search because I have a great set of 70s-vintage oversize Proto screwdrivers that have gorgeous clear yellow plastic handles with an odor that will literally knock over a cow and I'm wondering if Upson might have made them for Proto.
One of these days I'm gonna try the solvent-based polyurethane coating trick to encapsulate the odor before we can't get solvent-based coatings anymore.
Macleod's Hardware was pretty well-known in western Canada (as was Marshall-Wells).
ReplyDelete"Artisan" was definitely their house brand, as described here:
https://museum.axeandtool.com/canada/macleods-artisan/
Thanks for the McLeod info!
ReplyDelete