​Mac Tools was founded in 1938 as the Mechanics Tool and Forge Company by seven men with the common goal to manufacture the finest tools in the world. The first step toward their goal was taken on July 11, 1938, when they signed the Articles of Incorporation, and were officially recognized by the state of Ohio. The state issued 250 shares of no par common stock, of which these men could only afford to subscribe to 55 shares.

Nonetheless, they persevered, and elected Ralph McPherson and Otto Tucker as the first President and Secretary of the organization. These two men scraped up all available capital, a paltry $5,000, to secure a building and buy used machinery so they could begin production.

The management of Mechanics Tool and Forge decided to open a new, associate company with virtually the same stockholders, rather than expanding the existing product line. On October 30, 1944, the Clinton Tool Company was born. With Clem Poole as its president, Clinton operated in the same building as Mechanics Tool and Forge and is the lineage from which the present day line of sockets and accessories hail.

In 1945, Russ Darrah, a 20-year veteran of the hand tool industry, presented Mechanics Tool and Forge with a program designed to purchase an allied line of tools. This resulted in the formation of Mac Allied​​​​​​ Tools which was moved to Akron, OH to facilitate shipping. Even though there were three companies functioning as one, their collective product was always referred to as "Mac Tools."