Tradesman Pipemaster

[cruiser808]

This weekend, a friend was cleaning out his garage and wanted to get rid of a brand new 24" Pipemaster pipe wrench made by Tradesman Tool Co. He told me, "$5 and it's yours." Well, it looked like a bargain, so I bought it from him. Now, I've never heard of Tradesman Tool Co., but the pipe wrench has USA on it and it seems to be a quality tool. A quick search on the Internet says that P & F industries, which owns Florida Pneumatic, bought out Tradesman Tool Co. in 1995. It also says Tradesman Tool Co. is out of Waukesha Wis.

So, has anyone heard of this Company? Did I do good buying the wrench or is it junk? It's not Ridgid and I have no idea what I'm going to do with a 24" pipe wrench, but I'm always a sucker for a new tool and the price seemed right.

[rodm1]

You did good. No idea how good yet.

[lbgradwell]

Pipemaster used to be a tradename for the Erie Tool Works. They were a highly regarded maker of plumbing & threading tools back in the day. I have one of their pipe vises that was my grandfathers...

If it's the same company, you did very well indeed!

[cruiser808]

Pipemaster used to be a tradename for the Erie Tool Works. They were a highly regarded maker of plumbing & threading tools back in the day. I have one of their pipe vises that was my grandfathers...

If it's the same company, you did very well indeed!

Thanks lbgradwell - I know I can always count on you for insightful information on Craftsman and Proto and now pipe wrenches. You are truly a tool encyclopedia. :bowdown:

[lbgradwell]

Tee-hee-hee! Thanks, Art!

I happened to have been following 2 auctions on just those wrenches within the past few weeks:

Item number: 170307797546 (http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170307797546&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=007) and Item number: 170306380827 (http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170306380827&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=007)