Who invented the ratchet strap, and when?
Let’s be honest up front: history didn’t record the name of the person who invented the ratchet strap. What we can pin down is the origin of its heart — the ratchet mechanism. An American, J.J. Richardson, patented it on 16 June 1863 (US Patent No. 38,914), and funnily enough, not for securing cargo at all — for an ordinary wrench. The strap as we know it came later, when that mechanism was finally paired with strong synthetic webbing. But who did that first? No reliable source says. So below we’ll separate what’s actually documented from what’s just a good story the internet keeps repeating.
The history is more interesting than you’d think. Because behind that ratchet click every driver knows lies a century and a half of engineering — from a hand tool of the American Civil War era to the modern European standard EN 12195-2.
The ratchet mechanism: the 1863 patent
It didn’t start with a strap; it started with a ratchet — a simple thing: a toothed wheel and a spring-loaded pawl that lets you turn one way and locks the other. On 16 June 1863, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, the American inventor J.J. Richardson of Woodstock, Vermont, was granted US Patent No. 38,914 for a ratcheting socket wrench with interchangeable heads.
The idea was brilliantly simple: instead of lifting the wrench off the nut after every turn, you just rock the handle back and forth while the pawl catches the next tooth. Pull and it drives; push back and it slips. That’s the very same principle now tensioning the load on your trailer. In other words, the mechanism that keeps a truck’s cargo in place was born in a workshop — for repairs, not for transport.
And here’s a detail for the precision-minded. Richardson wasn’t the only one on the trail. Court records from 1880 show that a certain D.M. Moore had a working ratchet as early as 1859 — he just never filed the paperwork in time. In the end, Richardson filed first, so history calls him “first.” The moral is simple: inventing something isn’t enough — you have to patent it.
Who married the ratchet to the strap? Here’s where the legend begins
From here on, there’s a gap in the story — and half the internet plugs it with fiction. One version circulates with great confidence: that a French engineer named “Gustave Audiffren” invented the ratchet strap somewhere in the early 1900s. Just one problem: that name gets copied from article to article without a single patent number or archival document to back it up. And when a “fact” is repeated a hundred times but nobody can show the source, it isn’t a fact — it’s an internet legend.
Then there was another version — that Matthias Baldwin patented the first ratchet strap back in 1853. That one was quietly dropped: Baldwin made his name in locomotives, and no such strap patent was ever found.
From chains to synthetics: how the modern strap appeared
The next turn in the story, on the other hand, is easy to trace. For a long time cargo was secured with whatever was to hand: ropes, chains, steel wire. That changed in the second half of the 20th century, when strong synthetic fibres — polyester and nylon — came into use. As a result, light but tough woven webbing quickly displaced jute ropes, chains and wire, at least for light and medium loads.
Meanwhile, webbing offered what a chain or a cable never could: low weight, no rust, gentle handling of packaging, and sheer convenience — because you just roll it up and stow it. Paired with a ratchet tensioner, it became the ratchet strap that now rides in every truck.
EN 12195-2: when the strap became a standard
The final piece was standardisation. As long as a “webbing-and-ratchet” device was just a handy tool, it had no guaranteed strength and no clear marking. Then the European standard EN 12195-2 closed that gap: published in 2000 and revised in 2004, it set the requirements for strength, construction, testing and marking. From that point the strap stopped being an improvised item and became a certified product with a stated LC (Lashing Capacity) on the label.
Today a lashing strap to EN 12195-2 is no longer just a strap — it’s part of a system. You calculate it to EN 12195-1, and at roadside checks under Directive 2014/47/EU inspectors expect exactly that: a certified strap with a readable mark. The road from a homemade ratchet in 1863 to a regulated safety component took nearly a century and a half — but it reached a logical end.
| Milestone | What happened | How solid is it |
|---|---|---|
| 1863 | US Patent No. 38,914 for the ratchet mechanism (J.J. Richardson) — for a wrench | Confirmed: the patent exists |
| Early 1900s | The “invention of the strap” attributed to G. Audiffren | Unconfirmed, likely a legend |
| Late 20th century | Synthetic webbing displaces ropes, chains and wire | Confirmed |
| 2000 (rev. 2004) | EN 12195-2 published for textile lashing straps | Confirmed |
From history to the here and now. The LPX Trade catalogue is the modern result of that very evolution: lashing straps to EN 12195-2 with a marked LC, plus the chains and tensioners to go with them. Browse the catalogue →
FAQ: the history of the ratchet strap
Who invented the ratchet strap?
History didn’t record the name of the strap’s inventor. However, what is documented is the origin of the ratchet mechanism: J.J. Richardson patented it in 1863 (US Patent No. 38,914). And who first paired the ratchet with woven webbing isn’t stated in any reliable source, so we don’t credit the invention to any one person.
Is it true that Gustave Audiffren invented the strap?
It’s a common claim, but an unverified one. For example, the name “Audiffren” gets copied from site to site without a single link to a patent or archive — a clear sign of an internet legend. So until a primary source turns up, we don’t treat that version as proven and we won’t present it as fact.
When was the ratchet mechanism invented?
The ratchet in its recognisable form was patented on 16 June 1863: In short, US Patent No. 38,914 went to J.J. Richardson of Woodstock, Vermont. Notably, it was a ratcheting socket wrench with interchangeable heads, because the mechanism was designed for a tool rather than for securing cargo.
When did straps replace chains and wire?
The mass shift came in the second half of the 20th century, when synthetic fibres — polyester and nylon — became widespread. As a result, light, strong woven webbing displaced ropes, chains and steel wire for light and medium loads, because it is lighter, doesn’t rust and is simply easier to work with.
When did the EN 12195-2 standard appear?
EN 12195-2, covering textile lashing straps made of synthetic fibre, was published in 2000 and revised in 2004. So it sets the requirements for strength, construction, testing and marking, including the mandatory LC value. Then the securing calculation itself runs together with EN 12195-1.
How does a modern ratchet strap differ from the early ones?
Early tensioners were all-metal and tightened by hand. By contrast, a modern strap is synthetic webbing with a ratchet tensioner and EN 12195-2 certification: a marked LC and predictable strength. It’s lighter, safer, and calculated by the single EN 12195-1 method.
Author: LPX Trade Expert Editorial Team — a supplier of EN 12195 cargo securing equipment. This history was compiled from primary patents and standards, with disputed versions clearly flagged as unverified.
Last updated: 9 August 2026.
Sources: US Patent No. 38,914 (J.J. Richardson, ratchet mechanism, 1863); EN 12195-2 (textile lashing straps of synthetic fibre); EN 12195-1:2010 (securing calculation); Web lashing assembly (construction and marking).
This article is for general interest. Current certified securing equipment to EN 12195 is always in the catalogue at lpxtrade.lv.