Record has a long history as a maker of hand tools and vises (vises, but not hand tools, are within the scope of this site). Record Power made wood lathes of dual-round-bar construction, and these lathes were imported and sold in the USA and Canada, in modest quantities. Their current products are all, as far as we can tell, sourced offshore which makes them ineligible for this site, which is currently restricted to machines made in North America, UK and Sweden.
Record has a long and messy history. Here is a very brief summary.
- 1898—Founding of C. & J. Hampton Ltd. of Record Works, Attercliffe, Sheffield. By 1937 they were making "Record" vises and tools.
- 1909—The "Record" name is trademarked in the U.K. That trademark is now owned by Black & Decker; we have not seen the name of the original owner but we assume it was C. & J. Hampton Ltd.
- 1948—Company goes public.
- 1961—Purchases Woden Tools Ltd. of Wednesbury.
- 1972—Merges with tool maker William Ridgway & Sons to form Record Ridgway Tools Ltd.
- 1981—Record Ridgway acquired by Swedish tool maker AB Bahco.
- 1985—British-owned Record Holdings is created and purchases Record Ridgway, which becomes Record Marples Woodworking Ltd.
- 1991—Record Tools Ltd.?
- 1993—Record Holdings plc.?
- 1998—Acquired by American Tool Companies Inc. and becomes a division, Record Tools Ltd.
- 2002—American Tool Companies acquired by Newell Brands (Newell Rubbermaid)
- 2003— (or maybe still 2002) American Tool Companies is renamed to Irwin Industrial Tool Co.
Information Sources