Vintage 1920 Screwdriver Restoration - Lenox Perfect Handle

People often describe vintage tools with a beautiful wooden handle as having the perfect handle. Beautiful, tough, and functional. But in reality there was only one line of tools that could truly be said to have the true perfect handle! The vintage Perfect Handle line of tools manufactured by H. D. Smith & Co.

In 1850 Mr. Henry D. Smith founded D. H. Smith & Co. in Plainview, Connecticut.
H. D. Smith & Co was the original inventor and producer of the original "Perfect Handle" tool line, between 1900 and 1910. Unfortunately H.D. Smith & Co went out of business during the Great Depression in 1930. Trimont Mfg. Co. took over the company and the Perfect Handle line and continued to produce these tools for a while, but unfortunately they too eventually stopped producing them. Many other tool manufactures have copied this popular style both before and since. You can still find them made new today, screwdrivers and other tools manufactured to look just like those from H. D Smith & Co.’s Perfect Handle tools. You may see some with the “Irwin” name stamped on the shank. You might also find another modern variation slightly different in shape marked “Made in Germany”. Today I am restoring a wonderful example I found of a 5 inch Perfect Handle style flathead screwdriver made by competitor Lenox back in 1920.

In the course of this restoration project I ran into 3 difficult problems having never done a project quite like this. The most difficult part of the restoration was the wooden handle. I made the handles by hand, and had to keep the wood handle and the iron handle inlaid grooves completely in line and the edges fitting together perfectly with no gaps. This wasn't easy and took most of my time, and a lot of fine sanding! Another difficulty was polishing everything. Should I polish the screwdriver's iron handle first, then the wood, or both at the same time after putting the two together? The final problem involved drilling the holes in the replacement wood handles, and making sure they were located and aligned correctly. I decided to drill the holes after completing the handles. Also, they're naturally curved making it very easy to drill the holes crooked. I probably should have drilled them first? Fortunately, it all worked out and the restoration went great giving me a beautiful like new vintage Perfect Handle screwdriver! Almost too nice to use!

I hope you enjoyed the video and thanks again so much for watching! You can tell me what you think in the comments below, and also feel free to let me know if there is something you'd like to see me restore.

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Видео Vintage 1920 Screwdriver Restoration - Lenox Perfect Handle канала AR Restoration