Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' title='Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' />SK Hand Tools Wikipedia. S K Hand Tools is an American tool company located in Sycamore, Illinois. Major products include sockets and drive tools, wrenches, air tools, and other mechanics tools. The company has a tool line of over 3,5. It has manufacturing facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Sycamore, Illinois. Outlets for their products include independent tool truck dealers, auto parts stores, and major internet vendors such as Sears and Amazon. SK Hand Tools is an American tool company located in Sycamore, Illinois. Major products include sockets and drive tools, wrenches, air tools, and other mechanics tools. This is tangentially related I lost all my tools in superstorm Sandy. I had been using some older Craftsman screwdrivers that held up well. If you buy something through our links, ToolGuyd might earn an affiliate commission. Its official, SK Hand Tools has declared bankruptcy. Rumor of the bankruptcy. Jay Leno described SK as an iconic American brand for decades,2 and the company is known for inventing the round head ratchet wrench. HistoryeditSK was founded as the Sherman Klove Company, specializing in screw machine products, by Mason H. Sherman and Noah Grover Klove. Adv Duplicator Tool here. YrTln3nL.jpg' alt='Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' title='Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' />The company was founded in the early 2. World War I, and made mortar housings in a screw machine plant on Harrison Street in Chicago. During the 1. 92. SK operated primarily as a contract company, making tools for other brands including Craftsman. Business thrived, they made specialty screw machine products that did well until the depression. Buffalo-Tools-29-piece-Titanium-Drill-Bit-Set-81cc02b3-f1d0-4b11-ba2c-e091a82b1d21_600.jpeg' alt='Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' title='Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' />William S. Sherman W. S., Masons son, came to SK after graduating college in 1. One of the products the company made was socket wrenches for Hinsdale Socket and Wrench Company. PrattRead is an American manufacturing company based in Sycamore, Illinois, that produces screwdrivers. It is a subsidiary of Ideal Industries. It is one of the. USAAF Serial Numbers 4250027 to 4257212 Last revised November 12, 2017. The Hinsdale Company went out of business during the great depression leaving Sherman Klove with a large inventory of this product, they then redesigned the product and changed the company name to S K Tools. Theodore Rueb, an engineer for the Sherman Klove Company, went on to develop a new mechanism for a very successful line of ratchets, scaled from 14 drive up to 34 drive. The round head ratchet has remained one of the most popular ratchet styles in the seven decades since S Ks first development, and many modern ratchets are little changed from the earliest design. SK invented the round head ratchet wrench in 1. Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' title='Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' />In 1. SK, along with manufacturing partner Lectrolite Corp., of Defiance, Ohio, was bought out by Symington Wayne and became SK Wayne. In 1. 96. 8 S K Wayne was purchased by Dresser Industries as part of the merger between Wayne Oil and Tank Company and Dresser Industries. Dresser Industries made many changes to S Ks tools including dropping the cross hatch pattern from their sockets in order to modernize them. In 1. 98. 5, SK became part of the French company Facom Tools. In 2. 00. 5 it was purchased by its management and again operated independently as the S K Hand Tools Corporation. On June 2. On August 2. Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' title='Pratt-Read Tools Bankruptcy' />August 2. Ideal Industries would acquire SK. GalleryeditReferenceseditMade in the U. S. A. SK Tools. Retrieved 7 August 2. Leno, Jay 1. 3 October 2. Jay Leno on the Rebirth of Classic American Auto Parts Brands. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 1. 6 January 2. Sherman Klove and S K Tools. Alloy Artifacts. 1. June 2. 01. 1. Archived from the original on 1. Feb 2. 01. 5.  US patent 1. Rueb, Theodore O., Ratchet Wrench, published 1. Sherman Klove Company Deutsch, Stuart 2. SK Hand Tools Declares Bankruptcy. Tool. Guyd. Retrieved 2. Yue, Lorene 2. 01. SK Hand Tool assets sold to Ideal Industries. Chicago Business. Retrieved 2. 01. 0 1. IDEAL Acquires Premier Tool Manufacturer SK Hand Tools Press release. Ideal Industries. Retrieved 2. 01. 0 1. SK Hand Tools Declares Bankruptcy Its official, SK Hand Tools has declared bankruptcy. Rumor of the bankruptcy was relayed by a Garage. Journal forum member, and then confirmed by another after receiving an email from an SK distributor. It is also rumored that Ideal Industrials, who recently acquired Pratt Read and Western Forge, is interested in buying up the company. We have our fingers crossed. If Ideal does purchase SK Hand Tools, we are hoping that they keep the companys USA made tradition alive as theyve done with their other acquisitions. Sources Jori and mepilotunot from GJ, and the bankruptcy filing has also been noted elsewhere. Advertisement. SK has been through quite a few rough patches for some time now, including a 2 month labor strike last fall. There has been speculation of an inevitable banruptcy here and there, but its a shame to see this finally realized. Hopefully the company will be purchased and everyone gets to keep their jobs. SK Hand Tools. Sections Made in USA, News. Tags Ideal Industries, Pratt Read, SK Hand Tools, SK Ideal Purchase, Western Forge. More from Ideal Industries, Pratt Read, SK Hand Tools, Western Forge.