Sunday, January 31, 2016

Ratch-O-Matic screwdriver




An interesting idea.  The handle is spring-loaded and, as you shove it in against the portion holding the blade, annular teeth on both parts engage to permit you to spin the fastener.

The only information I can find is that the "Ratch-O-Matic" Canadian trademark was filed by the Harlaken Specialty Company, Ltd. of Ingersoll, Ontario in 1974.  The company was founded by Harley Wilmur Douglas and Gordon Edward.  The trademark was inactivated in 1990.

Harlaken also registered "Tract-o-Lite" in the mid-1970's, although that name had been used previously in the U.S. for much longer for lamps on early Ford tractors, particularly those made by the C.H. Hall Lamp Company of Detroit. 

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