Black & Decker Workmate

[1] When invented, the designer Ron Hickman had difficulty convincing anyone to market the Workmate, and sold them himself at trade shows.

As a test of demand, the UK-manufactured Workmate WM325 was introduced to the United States market in 1974 as the Model 79-001 Type E ("E" for England).

U.S. consumers snapped them up, and Black & Decker began building Workmates for the North American market at their factory in Brockville, Ontario, Canada.

Types E, and 1 through 5 used a pair of cast-aluminum pivoting H-frames to support the vice jaws and to allow the Workmate to fold for storage.

[4] The aluminum H-frame gave the Workmate a very distinctive appearance and was considered to be "Hickman's greatest aesthetic stroke.