Thursday, February 27, 2014

Vanished Tool Brands: Upland Forge, Upland, Pennsylvania



Above, a socket and a wrench.  Although they both are stamped "Upland", I don't know if they came from the same manufacturer.  Both are stamped U.S.A.  The wrench is old, though, as it's been a long time since 19/32" was a common size.  So, if it is the same company, they were around for a while. The logo is oddly done, looks like Upland was stamped in as an afterthought.




According to an unconfirmed source on the web, Upland Forge was a brand of Upland Industries in Upland, Pennsylvania.  Their name is most often seen on wrenches and pliers. The company changed ownership in 1967, when the family sold the firm to a larger corporation.  At this point, Upland Industries became the Upland Corporation.  They were primarily makers of mechanics hand tools, and their primary customer was the US government (GSA contracts).  They were allegedly bought by Emerson Electric in 1979.

Below, from ebay:



Today, Upland Forge lives on in a small way as Hexcraft, which was also a founder of  Chesco Products (which is now owned by Irwin).  Both Hexcraft and Chesco are brands of Allen keys.

14 comments:

Vintage said...

In the 1970s, J.C. Whitney sold a red metal tool box that came with, among other things, the hex key set in the photo above plus a plastic tool satchel with the "Upland Forge 6 Piece Combination Metric Flex Socket Wrench Set, No. 6 CFM, Triple Chrome Plated, Chrome Alloy Steel Hardened and Tempered," with 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, & 17 mm. There was a regular wrench at one end and a swivel socket at the other end of each wrench. My #10 and #15 were stolen out of my 1970 VW Squareback, and I am still looking for replacements. The handles were longer than usual, which made them very useful in some applications, such as the VW distributor cinch nut.

Edward Tagg said...

I recently got a lovely 9/16 upland wrench from a deceased free give away.

yoreader said...

As far as I know the wrenches were made in Taiwan at the foundry located outside of TaJia owned and operated by Upland Industries up to 1974.

Unknown said...

Lol, I just made a ring out of a 1/4" upland forge box wrench. Pretty hard steel, tbh.

Anonymous said...

I have a complete set of upland forge wrenches from 5/16 to 11/2 inches. How much are these wrenches worth. I got them handed down from my great grandpa.

Mister G said...

I have nothing left from my great grandfather... To me the history is worth far more than whatever used tools fetch on the open market (not a lot).

Anonymous said...

I inherited a set of upland industries socket head spline wrenches several year ago. I was looking for some history. They are all present in the kit plus extras. No idea what they were used on. It is a 5120 529 2553 set, looks like a military number.

Unknown said...

Yes this item 5120 529 2553 is from a Wrench Set that Upland supplied to the US Government.

Hex Wrenches were always USA Made and produced in their factory in Upland, PA USA. Saws, Pliers and Box and Open Wrenches were produced in Upland Pa for a time but eventually all products with the exception of Hex Keys were produced either in their factory or a sub contractor factory in Taiwan from about 1964 - 1978. 4 Way Auto Rim Wrenches were produced in Agua Prieta Mexico from about 1970 - 1978.

My father and his brother were the founders and operators of The Upland Corporation until it was sold to the Emerson Electric Company in 1976.

Mister G said...

Thanks for the additional information! Much appreciated.

4Given said...

I have a complete set of Upland hex key set in a red metal box. How much is it worth. I'm looking to sell. The box is in good shape and you can read all numbers on it. No dents, little rust

Mister G said...

I see a set on ebay for $20, a place to start?

David Newell said...

At 76, I ain't no spring chicken:. But I still appreciate the tools my dad handed down to me, for their age and quality .
I hope that I am incorrect in the statement I'm about to make, --------which is that it's unlikely that today's children will have such pleasant memories arising from consideration of their childhood gadgets.
On the other hand, when I was a child I could not have anticipated a Time such as today, when, ( out of curiosity), I can search for information on an obscure tool that I remember fondly, and come up with a resource such as THIS SITE to show that I have an "Upland Forge USA" 9/16 & 17/32 open end wrench.

Life in this moment,
Is good,
And I hope the same for you!

Thank you!
,

Mister G said...

Much appreciated!

Anonymous said...

I got a 15/16 with a manufacturer error of printed size