The ideal tool was patented by John Barlow in 1884 and he manufacturered several different models under the name Ideal for 26 years. He sold the business to Marlin in or around 1910. Marlin allowed the business to languish and at some point some of the reloading tool business was sold to Lyman. Many of the old bullet mold designs and model numbers are still carried on today by Lyman. Until recently, Lyman made a version of the nut cracker tool that took interchangeable dies. The same dies fit their Trueline Jr reloading presses.
One model has the decapper, mold, bullet sizer, capper and an adjustable bullet seater/crimper all in one tool. When I bought my first 50-70 rifle, finding one of these old tools was the most reasonable way to reload. Tools for the more common cartridges are still available for a reasonable price on the on-line auctions. for instance a 44-40 tool can be purchased for around $35.00. A 45 Colt however might go for double or triple that. Tools for 30-40 Krag or 30-30 come up every 6 weeks or so.
The ad is from the 1920 Ideal cat.
