Show Us Your Antique Pipe Tongs

[AntiqueBen]

I recently acquired a nice antique pair of pipe tongs that inspired me to do some research. The early history of pipe tongs is quite interesting. In 1858 James Brown (while working for Walworth I believe) patented the first pipe tongs, although the tool is titled as a "wrench" on the patent. In 1860 Ashcroft acquired the rights to Brown's patent & started manufacturing the tool. Apparently, Walworth thought they had the rights to the tool & was marketing the tongs. In 1872 Ashcroft sued Walworth and won.

I've always confused pipe tongs with blacksmithing tongs. Pipe Tongs will have the screw adjustment to adjust to different size pipe. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information online about all the specifics about pipe tongs & who made them. It appears as though Ashcroft had the market on this tool. Most pics of what I see online are usually always Ashcroft. I could be wrong as I'm just now going down the "pipe tongs rabbit hole." Did James Brown manufacturer this tool before selling the rights to Ashcroft? Are the earliest examples of Ashcroft Pipe Tongs not marked? Did Walworth manufacturer this tool before they lost in court in 1872? These are some of the questions I'm trying to answer.

My pipe tongs seem to be very early. They are 26" long & extremely heavy. There are no stampings, except for a number 3 on the handle. After looking at the patent pics & pics of other pipe tongs online, I believe mine are made by Ashcroft. That's why I'm wondering if early examples of Ashcroft were not stamped in the early 1860's.

I thought I would start this thread and try to shed some light on the subject & learn from people out there that know more about them. Post up your pipe tong pics (Ashcroft or not) & any information you know about them. See the first pipe tongs patent HERE

 

[four.cycle]

Or alternatively, you could just make it a "show us your vintage pipe tongs" thread.

It's an interesting rabbit hole, this one, isn't it?
I'm really starting to take a liking to you, Ben... you do know, of course, that you're on a completely different planet when you're down in the pipe tong rabbit hole, right?

Ashcroft / E.H. Ashcroft Co., Boston, MA (see also Ashcroft Mfg. Co., Bridgeport CT) / "Brown's patent" pipe tongs / patent 22157 Nov 30 1858 & 79724 Jul 7 1868 James R. Brown / pipe tongs, other tools /

Pretty sure I included the term "pipe tongs" in the entries for the other makers. There were more than a few.

Just a hint: if this rabbit hole isn't deep enough for you, there's always "nippers". (start with "Nettleton Nippers" and go from there.)

but I digress....

1902 Witte Hardware Co. catalog Trimo Ithaca Champion Ashcroft Brown Stanwood ad pp 158

1908 Simmons Hardware Co. catalog Ashcroft Barnes ad pp 352

1909 H.S. Howland Sons & Co. Catalog Boker Ellin E.H. Ashcroft Brown Vaughan & Bushnell pipe wrench ad pp 713

1910 John Pritzlaff Hardware Co. catalog Ashcroft Brown's Cochrans Wiley & Russell ad pp 393


Brown's Adjustable Pipe Tongs E.H. Ashcroft Co. (patent 22157) 1902 Witte Hardware Co. catalog pp 158

*** note the logo stamped on that pair in the last engraving image just above.

 

[four.cycle]

keeping it interesting here....

Ashcroft / Ashcroft Mfg. Co. (see also E. H. Ashcroft Co., Boston) / Bridgeport, CT (offices in NYC) / wrench (1876-1909) – Consolidated and eventually part of Dresser Industries, Stratford, CT

Ashcroft Mfg. Co. logos, including that used on their "Packer" ratchet:

 

[AntiqueBen]

Or alternatively, you could just make it a "show us your vintage pipe tongs" thread.

It's an interesting rabbit hole, this one, isn't it?
I'm really starting to take a liking to you, Ben... you do know, of course, that you're on a completely different planet when you're down in the pipe tong rabbit hole, right?

Ashcroft / E.H. Ashcroft Co., Boston, MA (see also Ashcroft Mfg. Co., Bridgeport CT) / "Brown's patent" pipe tongs / patent 22157 Nov 30 1858 & 79724 Jul 7 1868 James R. Brown / pipe tongs, other tools /

Pretty sure I included the term "pipe tongs" in the entries for the other makers. There were more than a few.

Just a hint: if this rabbit hole isn't deep enough for you, there's always "nippers". (start with "Nettleton Nippers" and go from there.)

but I digress....

1902 Witte Hardware Co. catalog Trimo Ithaca Champion Ashcroft Brown Stanwood ad pp 158

1908 Simmons Hardware Co. catalog Ashcroft Barnes ad pp 352

1909 H.S. Howland Sons & Co. Catalog Boker Ellin E.H. Ashcroft Brown Vaughan & Bushnell pipe wrench ad pp 713

1910 John Pritzlaff Hardware Co. catalog Ashcroft Brown's Cochrans Wiley & Russell ad pp 393


Brown's Adjustable Pipe Tongs E.H. Ashcroft Co. (patent 22157) 1902 Witte Hardware Co. catalog pp 158

*** note the logo stamped on that pair in the last engraving image just above.

Thanks for the catalog info. Now that I think about it, your probably right that I'm on a different planet since I'm down the pipe tong rabbit hole
I see the arm & hammer logo you referenced and also the different model numbers referencing the sizes. Mine is a #3. The million dollar question is, were the early Ashcroft examples not marked with the logo yet & only the number indicating the size? I found this reference from 1875 for Brown's patented pipe tongs #3.

 

[four.cycle]

^ anybody's guess, if you want the short answer.

tongs and nippers - two very common tools used by blacksmiths - (stop and close your eyes and put yourself back to 1900) were made by anyone who had an operational forging facility.

both items were made by a number of different makers up and down the Connecticut River Valley as well as other New England locations.

 

[AntiqueBen]

^ anybody's guess, if you want the short answer.

tongs and nippers - two very common tools used by blacksmiths - (stop and close your eyes and put yourself back to 1900) were made by anyone who had an operational forging facility.

both items were made by a number of different makers up and down the Connecticut River Valley as well as other New England locations.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but would you agree that most blacksmiths would have made regular blacksmithing tongs & not pipe tongs with the adjustable nut? I agree that unmarked blacksmith tongs would be impossible to figure out the maker because most everyday blacksmiths made their own tongs for personal use & resale. I'm guessing that pipe tongs is more of a factory produced item by a manufacturer? Any tongs I've seen so far that had the adjustable nut was called pipe tongs, but I'm no blacksmith either Thoughts??

 

[four.cycle]

^ oh, without question.... there's still tons of hand-made "blacksmith" stuff in the second-hand market, at least on the east coast.

I am perhaps overstating things... there were a lot of different "tongs" made ... that particular model was manufactured in at least three different locations that we know of.

When you toss horseshoe calk tongs, blacksmith tongs, and ice tongs into the mix it gets a bit nutty.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Yes, there are many different types for sure. This James R. Brown was like the "King" of pipe tongs. He had at least 12 patents for pipe tongs & 5 of those patents was in the one calendar year of 1873. I've been going through all of his patents. Pretty interesting stuff. All of his patents are at link below.
https://www.datamp.org/patents/displayIndex.php?start=0

 

[four.cycle]

^ that URL apparently doesn't want to be hot-linked to.

 

[AntiqueBen]

^ that URL apparently doesn't want to be hot-linked to.

I fixed the link. Thanks for the heads up

 

[four.cycle]

nope... guess you can't hot-link to all their pages!

 

[AntiqueBen]

nope... guess you can't hot-link to all their pages!

That's crazy. I fixed it again & it works. Not sure what's goin on

 

[AntiqueBen]

James R. Brown had around 12 different patents on his pipe tongs. I went through each patent on datamp to learn some of the differences to the tool between patents. Only 4 of them really came to fruition. The rest of them say "not known to have been produced." These differences between patents can help us date the tool. Below are the specifics on each of the 4 patents with the differences made to the tool. Keep in mind that Ashcroft Mfg. Co. bought the rights from Brown in 1860. So they are Browns patents but Ashcroft is manufacturing the tool.

-Patent 22,157 dated 1858
Original patent for the pipe tongs. These examples are the only one with a nut & pivot block design. As the thumb screw is loosened you can slide the opening of the jaws.

-Patent 79,724 dated 1868
This example no longer has a nut & pivot block. There are now pins that hold the two pieces of the tool together. The thumb screw now adjusts the opening of the jaws.

-Patent 142,143 dated 1873
The fulcrum pins are better supported & stronger making the tool less likely to become twisted or bent.

-Patent 150,131 dated 1874
The handle of the hooked jaw rotates to adjust the pivot point. The design of this example looks nothing like the original patent design.

So there you have it. A lot of Brown's other patents that were never produced introduced some major changes to the tool, but I guess those were never produced. What I find interesting is how the first design has a nut & block at the fulcrum. The later designs have pins instead. I would still like to know if Brown ever actually manufactured his pipe tongs before Ashcroft bought the rights. It would be interesting to know what it looked like compared to the original patent drawing. Who knows, maybe this info is buried somewhere in Google books

 

[four.cycle]

^ that link still isn't working... I think that may be a deal where you have to be ON the site to get to that page.

When you get to the point you are, you start digging for genealogy stuff and try to figure out where the guy was living, what he was doing, who he was married to, and who he worked for and possibly known associates. Sometimes you just hit a wall. Sometimes it's all there on somebody's "family tree" website where some distant cousin chimes in with a story about how Grandpa started a mill somewhere.
That's more in Woody's area of expertise. He may know some secrets.

Of course... Google searching for "James Brown" may pose some challenges.

I feel good!

 

[AntiqueBen]

I'll have to look for an "I Feel Good" stamp on my pipe tongs Never thought I'd see a James Brown pic on GJ. I hope to never get that deep down the rabbit hole. I think its cool to think that my pipe tongs could be Civil War era. Maybe it was used on steam fittings on a steam engine locomotive that was carrying gold, supplies for troops or maybe got robbed all while some guy was shoveling coal like mad in the furnace for more steam. I guess I'll always be a kid at heart

 

[four.cycle]

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ahgilbertson/genealogy/browndesc.pdf

Vanished tool makers: Ashcroft Manufacturing Company, Bridgeport, CT and New York City

progress-is-fine.blogspot.com

Mr. Ashcroft was certainly no dummy:

Edward Ashcroft was one of the breed of Yankee inventors, hailing from Lynn, Massachusetts. He started off making parts for steam engines, travelling to London, England for a trade fair in 1851. There he met Eugene Bourdon, who was demonstrating his new pressure gauge which he had invented two years previously. This was capable of measuring up to 100,000 psi and resulted in huge decreases in steam engine accidents since its use allowed such high pressures to be monitored.

Ashcroft Mfg. Co. - History | VintageMachinery.org

vintagemachinery.org

 

[RTM]

^ that link still isn't working... I think that may be a deal where you have to be ON the site to get to that page.

yup, there are a few like that. Been bitten more than once, I try links in incognito tabs to make sure. Of course here you can fix your error, mailing lists, not so much.

Cheating requires some work on the part of the reader

Find a Person

datamp.org

Insert

James R Brown

Into the appropriate fields

 

[AntiqueBen]

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ahgilbertson/genealogy/browndesc.pdf

Vanished tool makers: Ashcroft Manufacturing Company, Bridgeport, CT and New York City

progress-is-fine.blogspot.com

Mr. Ashcroft was certainly no dummy:

Ashcroft Mfg. Co. - History | VintageMachinery.org

vintagemachinery.org

Here is an interesting link about Ashcroft s history from their website. I was unaware of the MMM history.
https://ashcroft.asia/about-us/at-a-glance/history/#history-tab-1

 

[crguy]

Another adjustable pipe tong is this Jarecki. 1873 patent.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Another adjustable pipe tong is this Jarecki. 1873 patent.

Very cool. Those were patented by Albert H. Jarecki in 1873. See patent in link below.

US Patent: 138,161 - Pipe-Tongs

US patent 138,161 Pipe-Tongs was issued to Albert H. Jarecki of Erie, PA. It was granted on 04/22/1873. The main feature of the Jarecki tongs is the adjustable "tooth" which has compound teeth on one end and a single sharp spur on the other.

www.datamp.org

 

[AntiqueBen]

While doing more research I ran into an interesting advertisement. I found a Boston Business Directory for 1860. Down at the bottom of the title page it is dated July 1, 1859. It probably went from July of 1859 to July of 1860. About 500 pages into the directory there is an ad for a company called Atkinson & Clough. Looks like they sold anything steam & gas related including gas & steam fitters tools & parts. At the bottom of their ad it says "Sole Agents for Brown's Patent Pipe Tongs, and all articles appertaining to steam and gas."

This ad was printed just months after Brown's 1858 patent & before Ashcroft bought the rights to his tool in 1860. So, it would appear as though Brown's pipe tongs were being sold before Ashcroft bought the rights & started manufacturing the tool. Wonder who made Brown's pipe tongs before Ashcroft? Or did Ashcroft manufacture the tool for Brown before they bought the rights? Information on Atkinson & Clough seems to be very elusive at this point. Another interesting twist discovered while down the "Pipe Tongs Rabbit Hole."

 

[four.cycle]

^ Difficult to say, because in many cases, a product continued to be marketed by the original patentee's name, even though it may have gone through a succession of different manufacturers.
Search my list (in notepad) for keywords: 's patent

 

[four.cycle]

.... didn't know you could do that, huh?

 

[AntiqueBen]

.... didn't know you could do that, huh?

I didn't know that. Nice option. I'll include this in my research

 

[RTM]

^ Difficult to say, because in many cases, a product continued to be marketed by the original patentee's name, even though it may have gone through a succession of different manufacturers.
Search my list (in notepad) for keywords: 's patent

Like Todd’s patent nippers. DAMHIKT

 

[four.cycle]

^ exactomundo. or Nettleton's nippers. some of 'em just get nutty.

 

[four.cycle]

I didn't know that.

I didn't either until you brought up that question above and it caused me to think of it.
I've set that list up so it's "searchable" using the "find" function in windows notepad.
That list all began as more of a "cross reference" - people didn't know who made "Sparta", or "TomahawK" or any number of obscure brand names... kind of went from there and grew a life of its own.

 

[AntiqueBen]

I discovered another interesting bit of information. I've been wandering who might have manufactured these pipe tongs in the early days. Did Ashcroft start making these pipe tongs as soon as they bought the rights in 1860? I don't believe they did, but the pipe tongs were being produced. I ran across an advertisement from 1864-65 not from a company, but an individual (pic below). The ad is titled "Allen Beach Mechanical Engineer." He deals in anything steam, gas, pipes & fittings. He is also the Gas Regulator for the city of Boston. Oh yeah, he lists something else too. He's the "Manufacturer" of Brown's Patent Pipe Tongs & Cutters." Looks like Ashcroft had this guy manufacturing the pipe tongs before they started producing them. Right now my guess is Ashcroft didn't start producing the pipe tongs until the early 1870's when the arm & hammer logo was trademarked & used. I'm sure Ashcroft in the 1860's-70's was focusing most all of their resources on their gauges. That was their main staple & still is today. I'm still looking into how long Ashcroft produced hand tools & when they quit making them. As I uncover more I'll post it up. I know you guys are waiting to see what info comes from the "Pipe Tong Rabbit Hole" I'm so tempted to call this thread that.

 

[four.cycle]

-

 

[AntiqueBen]

The ad is in the 1864 New England Business Directory & Gazette. The title page is pictured below. Also, here is a link to the page:

The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer for ...

books.google.com

 

[AntiqueBen]

RE: "The ad is titled..."

date? publication?

The ad is in the 1864 New England Business Directory & Gazette. The title page is pictured below. Also, here is a link to the page:

The New England Business Directory and Gazetteer for ...

books.google.com

 

[four.cycle]

Beach / Allen Beach, 18 Bowker St., Boston, MA / "Brown's Patent" pipe tongs / patent 22157 Nov 30 1858 James R. Brown & 19842 Aug 6 1858 Henry H. Gilmore & 79724 Jul 7 1868 James R. Brown & RE2283 Jun 12 1866 Henry H. Gilmore /


1864 Boston Directory Allen Beach ad pp 77

1865 New England Business Directory Allen Beach ad pp 349

1866 Annual Report from the Commissioner of Patents pp 1617

1868 Boston Directory Allen Beach ad pp 1072

It would appear that by 1866 Beach was making pipe tongs using Gilmore's patent.

datamp.org shows Beach on the (Gilmore) RE2283 reissue, but puzzlingly not on the earlier (Gilmore) 19842 patent

 

[AntiqueBen]

I found some Ashcroft Pipe tongs that has me a little puzzled (pics below). I bought them but they haven't arrived yet. What originally drew my attention to them was that they are stamped E.H. Ashcroft (Edward Ashcroft the founder) instead of the more common Ashcroft Mfg. Co. Plus the fact they have the 1858 patent date. But what has me a little puzzled is they are only 8" long. Ashcroft had several different size pipe tongs. The no. 1 is the smallest pair I see in the old catalog ads (courtesy of Fourcycle). The no. 1's are 13 1/2 or 14" in length per the ad info. So, I'm not sure what this 8" pair is? Could their have been an unadvertised no. 0 that was smaller? I doubt they're a salesman sample. I haven't found any info out there yet on a pair of Ashcroft Pipe tongs this small. Guess I'm going back down the PTRH. Yes, the "Pipe Tongs Rabbit Hole" has its own abbreviation now

 

[four.cycle]

8 inch?
as in.... EIGHT ?



why do you need pipe tongs for pipes that small?

 

[AntiqueBen]

I

8 inch?
as in.... EIGHT ?



why do you need pipe tongs for pipes that small?

I know. Crazy isn't it. I can't wait to get these so I can look for any other stampings or clues. Makes no sense to me. Like you said, why the need for pipe tongs this small when at that size regular pliers would probably do the job. I haven't seen a picture, advertisement, not even a mention of any kind online about Ashcroft manufacturing something like this....yet....here it is. I'll definitely post pics & measurements when I get it. Should be here in a few days. Another mystery in the PTRH.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Something else I noticed that's seems to be somewhat unique about these Ashcroft Pipe Tongs is some of the stamping. I've seen some (not all) that are stamped not only with the patent date, but also a "Registered" date or an "Extended" date. I'm assuming these are the dates the patent was registered or extended. I guess the "Registered" would be equivalent to "Pat Pend" or "Other Pats Pend." I've not seen this that often on other tools.

 

[RTM]

8 inch?
as in.... EIGHT ?



why do you need pipe tongs for pipes that small?

Remember, way back then, houses had gas lights, so little 1/8" ID pipes inside houses weren't uncommon. I think Pipe Tongs would give a better grip than a pair of pliers from back then. ¢¢

 

[AntiqueBen]

Remember, way back then, houses had gas lights, so little 1/8" ID pipes inside houses weren't uncommon. I think Pipe Tongs would give a better grip than a pair of pliers from back then. ¢¢

Makes total sense. I'm guessing these weren't common for Ashcroft since there is no information on them....as of yet.

 

[AntiqueBen]

I was examining the pics of my 8" pipe tongs that's currently be shipped to me & I did find another stamp on the tool. On one of the handles is what appears to be double zeros (00). Pic is below. At first I thought that one of the numbers was a 6 or a 9. But if you look at it closer, the 6 or 9 looks like the other zero with some of the thicker left side of the zero missing. Now this is strictly speculation but if the no. 1 size was 14 in, could a no. 0 possibly be around 10"-12" & a no. 00 be 8 in. I'm certainly pulling at straws here, but I'm trying to make sense of a pair of 8" pipe tongs. This still doesn't explain why the smaller size seems to have never been advertised. I'm still continuing to research, but do you guys have any thoughts on this stamp??

 

[four.cycle]

@AntiqueBen -

^ in the parlance of patents, a patent can be "renewed". those patent numbers begin with an "RE" prefix.
eg., 19842 Aug 6 1858 Henry H. Gilmore & RE2283 Jun 12 1866 Henry H. Gilmore