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Welcome to
the Fid-O.com home page of James D. McGrew. The trademark for 2 of his
splicing tools are shown above, and a click of the buttons below will provide
additional information.
FID-O
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SNAKE | VIDEO | ORDER
ONLINE | FAX/MAILORDER
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| The
Fid-O/McGrew Splicing Tool Company History and Information |
He enlisted in the Navy in 1937, when ‘basics’ were learned from manuals, and ‘skills’ were passed along ‘man to man’. He earned his Coxswain Training Certificate on the foredeck of the
USS New Orleans and his Sailmaker’s Mate 3rd Training Certificate in her sail locker in 1938.
In 1939/40 while on a ‘tour of duty’ in the Asiatic Fleet aboard the USS Augusta (Flag Ship) he earned the rank of Carpenter’s Mate 2c, and was discharged in May, 1941 after the ship returned to the States.
He reenlisted a week after Pearl Harbor in the reserves as a CM2, and was promoted from CM1c to the rank of Warrant Carpenter in a Lion 9 Mobile Repair Unit, part of an Amphibious Assault Group being assembled for the invasion of the Japanese home Islands when the war ended, and he was discharged.
When synthetic fibers changed the characteristics of twisted rope in 1972, he developed and patented the [Fid-O] that resembles a‘sailmaker’s pricker’ in size and shape. Its spade point lifts a strand without distortion, and its hollow handle holds the strand up without thumb pressure.
Click on [Super Snake] for his ‘double braid’ patented splicing method, splicing tips, and
tools. Some of you reading this may have seen his tools and name mentioned before. He holds 8 patents relevent to splicers, and has been demonstrating his tools and methods in the San Francisco/Oakland area since 1972, and the Southern California area since 1973. The Calgary Stampede and Regina’s Agribition were added in 1975.Seattle, WA area in 1977, and Boston Fish Expo in 1979.
Over the last 28 years several ‘human interest’, ’new product’, or ‘how to’ articles in magazines, or newspapers have mentioned him and his tools when covering various ‘trade
shows’ One national magazine of note mentioned his first 7 patents in a ‘Boat Show’ feature, but his 8th patent for the ‘hollow tube and snare’ braided rope splicing tool went un-noticed when he demonstrated it personally on the West coast at the 1991 Sail & Power Boat Show in Long Beach CA.
A friend offered to introduce it on the East coast at the 1992 ‘Sail Expo’ in Atlantic City where two magazines covering the East coast event mentioned the demonstrations but failed to mention a few details, like the name of the inventor, that it was his 8th patent, that the tool was patented, and that it carried the Fid-O trademark.
The books of the authors listed below contain the name of James D. McGrew but no claim is made or implied that the inclusion of his name or tools in the books listed, implies an author’s pesonal endorsement of him, his tools, or methods. On the ‘flip side’, the use of his name in a book does not imply his approval of the way his tools and methods are shown in the books listed.
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