These hand drills were manufactured by Bill Ruger c. 1946-1949 before the successful launch of his firearms company with Alexander Sturm. These are popular with collectors as the forerunners of Ruger's popular pistols. Note that the shape of the handles on two of these drills is very similar to the Ruger Standard. The two pistol shaped drills both are marked "THE RUGER CORP/SOUTHPORT CONN. U.S.A./PATENTS PENDING," and the straight shaft model has no visible markings. One of the two pistol shaped drills has scrollwork patterns. The accompanying "The Ruger Collectors' Journal, Vol. 31 No. 3" is signed by John Dougan (dated 2018) and the consignor reports that the cover shot is the embellished drill offered in this lot, which according to the caption "is believed that RCA member Marty Kuykendall had this drill decorated about 30 years ago."

Excellent overall with some minor flaking primarily of the red paint.