Some Vintage Pipe Wrenches, anyone collect them?

[Private Lugnutz]

"Rothweiler, the Wrench with a Grip" would've had endless possibilities using the likeness of a certain German working dog breed with a strong bite.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is an aluminum 14” Ridgid pipe wrench I found at an estate sale last week. According to Ridgid they were brought out in 1969. I can’t seem to leave them behind when they are offered at giveaway prices.
-Don

 

[AreBeeBee]

Crescent Forging Co., got this sweet baby in todays mail.

DSCF4200 by wvwheaties, on Flickr
DSCF4199 by wvwheaties, on Flickr
DSCF4197 (2) by wvwheaties, on Flickr

That is a cool design! Does the moveable jaw have any play in it, the way Stillsons and others do?
Have you tried it on a pipe or round rod to see how it works?

 

[HeelSpur]

That is a cool design! Does the moveable jaw have any play in it, the way Stillsons and others do?
Have you tried it on a pipe or round rod to see how it works?

Haven't tried it but it does have some play like in the Stilsons. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

 

[Akmehkunik]

Picked up this unusual pipe wrench this morning at the flea market. Parmelee was making them in Chicago from 1907 to 1913, when they started showing up as a Walworth product branded Walworth-Parmelee. Not sure if they bought them out, licensed it, or what. I'll research that later. The concept is pretty straight forward, and the pictures tell the story, but once you grab the pipe (in this case, 3/4"), and have it hooked, you twist that collar, which locks it into place.

I used these in an old Oilfield in Alaska. We called them "rod wrenches". They clamped onto compressor rods to spin them into the crosshead, so you wouldn't scratch or gouge the polished surface. The engines were Clark, and the compressors were Dresser-Rand. Really neat tools, haven't ever seen them anywhere else.

 

[d42jeep]

I found this rusty 18” Stillson pipe at a Berkeley sidewalk sale yesterday. It spent a fairly short time in evaporust but responded well. The pieces of the wrench look to me like they are original to the wrench but the hook jaw is marked Pexto and the body of the wrench has Walworth markings. Since Walworth was the inventor of the Stillson wrench I suppose that Pexto could have been using Walworth’s patent on their wrenches but it’s also possible that someone simply put a Pexto jaw on a Walworth wrench.
-Don
After the rust removal.

 

[AreBeeBee]

I found this rusty 18” Stillson pipe at a Berkeley sidewalk sale yesterday. It spent a fairly short time in evaporust but responded well. The pieces of the wrench look to me like they are original to the wrench but the hook jaw is marked Pexto and the body of the wrench has Walworth markings. Since Walworth was the inventor of the Stillson wrench I suppose that Pexto could have been using Walworth’s patent on their wrenches but it’s also possible that someone simply put a Pexto jaw on a Walworth wrench.
-Don
After the rust removal.

I agree with your last suggestion — a "field expedient" marriage. The result does make me wonder how much interchangeability there is for parts among same-size wrenches with the same design. Collectors treasure all original parts — but the plumber just needs to get the !!@##@! pipe problem fixed.

 

[Farmer J.]

Not my thing, but in case anyone is interested there are some NOS 6" Walworth pipe wrenches for sale in UK. They're a reliable seller, with a huge stock of old traditional hardware i make use of when needed.

6" WALCO PIPE WRENCH WALWORTH CO USA NOS ARMY MATT BLACK NON REFLECTIVE RARE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 6" WALCO PIPE WRENCH WALWORTH CO USA NOS ARMY MATT BLACK NON REFLECTIVE RARE at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks. I sent the link to my collecting counterpart in Wales. Shipping to the US puts then out of reach for me. Those are year dated on the side.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Happy to have found another Parmelee - my second, at the flea yesterday. For 1/2" diameter pipe.



This one is an example of his very first patent (379,123 / March 6, 1888), when he was still making a go of it himself, where the grip was maintained by keeping pressure on the pipe and a cam. My other Parmelee is a later example when he was licensing the design and name to Walworth, and the grip could be secured with a screw-down collar. He had three improvements - 590,853 (1897), 648,706 (1900), and 871,436 (1907) - all tinkering with a way to lock the jaws.

DATAMP has an interesting biographical tidbit of the kind @woody 73 would appreciate. Homer Parmelee, a Philly man, was 69 years old when he received the first patent!

More pics of the later wrench, more info, and cool period ads in posts #47-51 on page 2. And HeelSpur posted one in post #106 on page 3.

More pics of both wrenches together in thumbnails below.

 

[d42jeep]

I would like to find one of those at a sale. They go for WAY too much on eBay.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Wow. I had no idea. Just checked it out. I'll have to keep that in mind for when I'm ready to pass them on. For now, still fascinated. It never ceases to amaze me how the design is so obviously, simply, and effectively modeled after the human hand. Three pieces, two joints, just like our fingers. A fact that did not escape the advertising illustrators.

 

[d42jeep]

I was putting some recent acquisitions in the pipe wrench storage box so I took the opportunity to get a picture of some wood handled Stillson wrenches. From top to bottom is a Wells, a Trimo and two Walworths
-Don

 

[don long]

I have a slug of old wood handle pipe wrenches and found this picture of an older display that was in my garage before a remodel replaced it with a solid wall to the left top of the picture you will find a couple of the smaller wrenches.

 

[d42jeep]

I found this US made pipe wrench at an estate sale yesterday and cleaned it up a bit. I grabbed it assuming it was a Ridgid HD. I’m pretty sure that the resemblance was intentional. It’s the first Toledo Beaver wrench I‘ve seen.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

My first thought was Erie, not Ridge.

 

[d42jeep]

It was pretty greasy when I first saw it. The jaw tensioner is different than either of those two. It’s spring steel with assorted bends.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Interesting. I was just going by the shape of the so-called swash plate. That's not Ridge.

 

[chris142]

I don't collect pipe wrenches but I do buy them at yard sales if I find a good one.

 

[AntiqueBen]

I bought this odd Craftsman pipe wrench the other day. It's on the way so I don't have it in hand yet. For the love of God!! What the hell is this thing? I've never seen this before. Very appealing design. Cool handle. It just doesn't look like something Craftsman would do, but they did. It only came in a 14" version. I can only find it in the 1945 Sears catalog. Did they only make this thing for one year? The information on this wrench is pretty scarce online. That's why I wanted to post it here to see if anyone knows anything or has any thoughts about this thing?? I'm looking forward to learn more about it & I can't wait to clean it up when it arrives.
Could this be one of Craftsman's rarest tools?

 

[AntiqueBen]

This Craftsman Streamline pipe wrench showed up today. Pretty unique. I'd like to find out how long Craftsman offered this wrench. I don't think it was long? Any thoughts??

 

[Private Lugnutz]

No clue, but it might get more of the right kind of attention from the Craftsman guys who aren't inclined to follow this thread in one of the Craftsman threads. It looks like Heritage era to me. I know, it doesn't have the "=CRAFTSMAN=" brand, but it just looks like something that would've been produced between the 40's and the Crowntop 60's. I could be wrong. Whether you dive into Long C, Heritage Love, or Crowntop, someone will know something or direct you somewhere else.

 

[onetonbb74]

I have this old 14" Roxco I got from my old man...
You can see it on the far right as well as some old Parker pipe cutter and another one that I got from my granddad...
This is an old Aluminum rigid 24" with a newer one underneath it...
Then there is this wood handle flat jaw at the top of the drawer...

 

[HeelSpur]

My first Challenger pipe wrench.

 

[MisterEd]

Maybe the previous owner couldn't restore it, but could repair it?

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

So I have tools I didn't know I have. Three old ones. Top Dunlap Germany and the bottom Walworth Stillson wrench. And not sure of the middle one, So is there two Dunlaps involved in tools?

 

[d42jeep]

Just one Dunlap sold by Sears but many different suppliers and styles. 1960 was the last year for Dunlap.
-Don

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Just one Dunlap sold by Sears but many different suppliers and styles. 1960 was the last year for Dunlap.
-Don

Thanks. I was thinking that Germany was a different brand. So mine would have come from Sears also? Thanks.

 

[HeelSpur]

I would like to find one of those at a sale. They go for WAY too much on eBay.
-Don

This is crazy. https://www.ebay.com/itm/2663129014...DetALnUDXW7Bo2lRyFFe4iPcCzINh1ehj6bEidiAaiFUh

 

[HeelSpur]

Missing the nut at the end but its the first I've owned.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are the old pipe wrenches in my new ‘82 Craftsman roller. A wartime 18”:and transitional 18” Ridgid pipe wrench along with an 8” wood handle improved Stillson from Ridge. Three Trimo pipe wrenches, two 18” and a 10”. Three Walworth Stillson wrenches, two with wood handles and a steel handle one.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I found this at a Tahoe yard sale today. First one I’ve ever seen. The design is quite familiar though. I cross posted it on the Heller Masterench thread.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Having an ongoing Parmelee search going on eBay finally paid off. I got this one at a fairly reasonable price and the government label was a bonus, as far as I was concerned.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

wait.... what??
a Walworth Parmelee?

 

[d42jeep]

They’ve been making them fot quite a while.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Happy to have found another Parmelee - my second, at the flea yesterday. For 1/2" diameter pipe.



This one is an example of his very first patent (590,853 / March 6, 1888), when he was still making a go of it himself, where the grip was maintained by keeping pressure on the pipe and a cam. My other Parmelee is an example of his fourth and last patent (871,436 / Nov 19, 1907), when he was licensing the design and name to Walworth, and the grip could be secured with a screw-down collar. So, I have his bookends, with two intermediate improvements - 590,853 and 648,706 - in between yet to find.

DATAMP has an interesting biographical tidbit of the kind @woody 73 would appreciate. Homer Parmelee, a Philly man, was 69 years old when he received the first patent!

More pics of the later wrench, more info, and cool period ads in posts #47-51 on page 2. And HeelSpur posted one in post #106 on page 3.

More pics of both wrenches together in thumbnails below.

Lugz discusses his upthread.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

the government label

The more significant part of that gubbmint tag is the name on the bottom. I'm not too familiar with the Kaiser Company after WWII. Before it, they were part of a consortium that built three of the big famous western dams. During it, their shipyards famously built 1,000s of ships, mainly, but not exclusively, transports or so called Liberty ships.

 

[four.cycle]

Erie Tool Works 14-inch "Pipemaster"

 

[MisterEd]

6 Inch Stillson Pattern by J.P. Danielson. No date code marking.

 

[HeelSpur]

Finally got "The Beast", my missing link. 24" Craft.

DSCF0777 by wvwheaties, on Flickr
DSCF1874 (2) by wvwheaties, on Flickr