Starrett Pocket Caliper

[Stan Calow]

I bought an old Starrett No.1025 5" Pocket Caliper this weekend (at a vintage shop) , and, wanting to know something about it, am finding values from $60 (eBay) to $300 or so. For this tiny unremarkable thing, I am wondering what I am missing. I can't imagine how it could be collectible when it has no way to determine how old it is, and why it would be desirable. Anybody have any history or info about these things?

[Bruce Page]

I didn’t know Starrett was still making them. I had a pair of them years ago when I first entered the trades. I never understood the appeal. They are clumsy, not easy to read unless you have excellent eyesight, and don’t have a very good “feel”. JMO

[Rafael Herrera]

I'd imagine people get them for similar reasons to the ones that moved you to buy it: the brand recognition, the made in USA nostalgia, or the appearance of good workmanship and accuracy. For sale at $282 on the Starrett website. If you got it for a fraction of that, then there's the satisfaction of having got a bargain.

[Stan Calow]

Thanks for input guys.

Yes I got it for $5, because I recognized the name. It looks older because the old-fashioned plastic cover has the stiffness and feel of old but unused plastic. The Starrett site says they've been discontinued, but all those prices seem crazy for what it is. I thought maybe there was some secret history there that made them worth more than one of their more useful 12" squares.

Yes there is some satisfaction in getting a bargain, but I dont need it, and know if I keep it, it will disappear in my crowded shop and eventually end up in my estate sale for 25 cents.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for input guys.

Yes I got it for $5, because I recognized the name. It looks older because the old-fashioned plastic cover has the stiffness and feel of old but unused plastic. The Starrett site says they've been discontinued, but all those prices seem crazy for what it is. I thought maybe there was some secret history there that made them worth more than one of their more useful 12" squares.

Yes there is some satisfaction in getting a bargain, but I dont need it, and know if I keep it, it will disappear in my crowded shop and eventually end up in my estate sale for 25 cents.

Starrett lists a 1025-6" on their web site. Ebay has a listing for a 4". Me thinks the price has as much to do with the name as it does the 'history' of quality.

My Lufkin pocket caliper gets used all the time. It is usually good enough for me. If a more precise size is need, like for sorting out a pile of drill bits, my dial caliper or micrometer is brought out.

My Lufkin was also probably picked up at a yard sale for a few bucks. There are a few other calipers in the shop. One 2" cheapy sits in a tray in a drawer with a bunch of loose drill bits and is used when walking across the room to fetch another isn't desired. Though if a Starrett for $5 was in front of me my pocket might get torn in the process of buying it.

At times members of my family have been shown the prices of my tools on ebay so they know they have value. Maybe it is time to make a catalog of my tools so they see. Also there are enough of my heirs with interest in keeping my tools that many of them may not meet the estate sales bargain hunters for at least another generation or two.

jtk

[Cameron Wood]

I also have a Lufkin version, which I use, but don't love.

Seems like it's always getting lost in the shuffle, and is not easy to read. Being left handed doesn't help.

Also have a boxwood version, which is even harder to read, and more easily lost.