3/8 Whitworth socket: WS102

[Neil]

Hi,
I have a 1931 Snap/on No7 ratchet with captive plug. The casting is marked: "No7 Snap/on", "Patent Applied For", "Milwaukee USA", "On" & "Off", and is date stamped 1931. The ratchet is fitted with a 3/8 Whitworth, single broached, hexagonal socket which resembles a standard, short series socket, circa 1928. The ratchet and Whitworth socket were presumably exported to England during the early 1930's. The socket, while suffering some corrosion, is marked: "WS102". As I haven't found any reference to a 3/8 Whitworth, circa 1928, WS series socket, I would appreciate any information, together with an approximation of the combined value (I guess the ratchet itself is worth about $30).
Many thanks, Neil.

[snapmom]

Is it possible to post some pictures of the socket. The first whitworth to show up in the catalogs was 1938.

[Neil]

I will hopefully post some pictures tomorrow (I need to borrow a macro lens to capture the "Snap/on WS102" marking, since there is some corrosion damage). Meanwhile, the socket resembles the "Pre 1929 sockets" as shown in the photo on your 'Collecting Snap/on', '1/2 Early Sockets' page, and the Snap/on logo resembles that shown in the 4th photo (1928) on the same page.

[snapmom]

Does it look like this. Has it got "Made in USA" stamped on it?

[Neil]

No, it doesn't resemble the one in your photo. As I mentioned previously: the socket resembles the "Pre 1929 sockets" as shown in the photo on this 'Collecting Snap/on' website, '1/2 Early Sockets' page, and the Snap/on logo resembles that shown in the 3rd photo (1927) and/or 4th photo (1928) on the same page.
The socket is marked (above the knurled band): Snap/on
Ws-102 (upper case W, lower case s)
Hopefully, I''ll post you some photo's tomorrow.

[Neil]

I've attached some pictures of the 3/8 Whitworth socket (the outside of the body measures: 1.0"diameter x 1.5" long). It does appear to resemble those in the photo (from this website) of the pre 1929 sockets.
While there is some corrosion, the socket is marked Snap/on with a straight (not radiused) horizontal tail on the letter 'a'. The letter 'a' is therefore similar to that shown in the 3rd photo, entitled 'early socket labelling', from the 1/2 Early Sockets page on this website, which may suggest that this Whitworh socket dates from 1927?
The socket is also marked: Ws-102. However, on closer examination, while the last number may be a 2, it could also be a 6? This could make sense if the 6 represents 6/16 Whitworth (that is, 3/8Whitworth)?

[snapmom]

You pic is not showing. A WS102 would be 3/8 whitworth.

[Neil]

Sorry the pictures were too big for this website. Hopefully they should upload ok this time.

[snapmom]

Its the only one I have ever seen. Would date 1928-31. Its hard to put a value on it, as I have not seen one sell before, but if you would like to sell it, let me know. very nice.

[Neil]

I'll let you know once I decide. Many thanks for sharing your knowledge.