Handy Man Jack

[rusty_tlc]

Found this at a Garage sale for $5 Saturday.



It's a Handy Man Jack, looks a lot like another jack with a different name.

Anybody know anything about this one?

[rusty_tlc]

The cam dealys at the top and bottom are set up to bind when you have a wire in them. Probably intended for stretching barb wire fencing.

[Lynn]

The cam dealys at the top and bottom are set up to bind when you have a wire in them. Probably intended for stretching barb wire fencing.

I've seen Hi Lift jacks with similar cams (maybe as an option). Tried it once, but the jack is way to heavy to serve well as a fence stretcher.

When I was growing up on the farm (70's) in Colorado, all jacks of the Hi Lift ilk were refered to as "handyman jacks." Maybe this brand was like the 'Crescent wrench': so popular that it's manufacturer name became household name for the type.

[Lynn]

this YouTube video on the history of the hilift jack says that the predecessor was often known as the handyman or the sheepherder jack. It also shows a lineup of jacks, and some look like yours with the looping top brace and the wooden handle.

Cool find. Is it in as good of condition as it appears?

[madizell]

These jacks have been in general use for so long they should be an historical artifact. Cars used to come with them, in my lifetime. I remember more than one of my Dad's Chevy's with the same design jack mounted next to the spare tire.

Most every farm in America has one or more. They can be used to stretch fence, although these days there are lighter and more efficient ways to do it, but if you had one in your truck or on the tractor to start with, why carry a second tool just to hang some fence wire? If a small multi-tool didn't provide enough traction to tension a wire, the jack certainly would.

[rusty_tlc]

I did a little more research. The casting has Handyman and Harrah Mfg, Bloomfield IN on it.
Eric Harrah patented the design in 1905 from the Hi-Lift web site:

The Hi-Lift's predecessor was invented in 1905 and sold as the Automatic Combination Tool. The original jack was commonly known as the Handyman or Sheepherder's Jack, and years later it was renamed the Hi-Lift Jack. Our current product line includes the Handle-All multi-functional tool with telescoping handle and 4 full-sized implements; Slide-N-Lock Tie-Down System - an extruded aluminum rail and locking pin system for tying down cargo in pick-up trucks; the Post-Popper post puller; and the Kant-Slam Hydraulic Gate and Door Closer. But the Hi-Lift Jack remains our best-selling, most popular item.

[cruiseroutfit]

Great links, I was just thinking... it would be neat to rear an article on the development and heritage of the handy-man

[Mc Taco]

5 bucks?! Worth twice that if it didn't work and was only good for a wall decoration. I always love hearing about sweet deals that people find. Gives one hope.

[MoGas]

That would go perfect on this rig....

[rusty_tlc]

That would go perfect on this rig....

It matches this rig


It may be a little to short for it though.