Pliers; How Many Is Too Many?
- Thread starter MisterEd
- Start date
d42jeep
Well-known member
d42jeep
Well-known member
They may be ugly but I was happy to have found these.Uh-oh. Either you're looking through that Pile O' Pliers drawer and seeing an NB I don't have, or an NB I don't know about! I'm kinda hoping it's the latter, because they are rare!
-Don
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Ugatz. But it looks like another happy early J.P. Danielson contract production customer!
Last edited:
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Damn straight. I have never seen a pair of NB pliers in the wild. Ever.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Before I move on to the next type of pliers in my collection, here are a few more slip-joints that were MIA or surreptitiously slipped into the wrong drawer.
Left to Right:
A flaky Wilde bent nose, with a small square opening in the jaws; Bridgeport "Matchless", 1930's production, with an interesting asymmetrical nose and the gorgeous "BHM" monogram on the grip; and an in-house branded McKaig-Hatch Model 438, with a stylish rounded MH monogram behind the pivot, as opposed to the ubiquitous 6-inchers they must've been supplying 3rd party production with only the simpler MH monogram on a handle shoulder.
Left to Right:
A flaky Wilde bent nose, with a small square opening in the jaws; Bridgeport "Matchless", 1930's production, with an interesting asymmetrical nose and the gorgeous "BHM" monogram on the grip; and an in-house branded McKaig-Hatch Model 438, with a stylish rounded MH monogram behind the pivot, as opposed to the ubiquitous 6-inchers they must've been supplying 3rd party production with only the simpler MH monogram on a handle shoulder.
Last edited:
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
And I'll end the slip-joints with this pair of Motor Spec pliers, K16 and K18. I'm not a huge Diamond fanatic, but my love and respect for these pliers is immense. Everything from the high quality to the style is badass. I labored under the misconception for years that "Spec" was short for "Specification," by the way. I thought, erroneously, that it was an allusion to engineering precision, giving them a sort of pit crew cred, if you will. It's actually short for Motor Special. And the really interesting thing about that is the way it harkens back to their big boost in the 1920's, when the Motor Tool Specialty Company, Snap-on's distributing entity, tagged Diamond as their adjustable supplier.
These are handsome, well-made pliers...
....and I would be a happy man if I ever ran into the K15 and the K110.
Catalog excerpt ("to meet the need of the most particular" is right!) from 1951, credit: IA/ITCL!
These are handsome, well-made pliers...
....and I would be a happy man if I ever ran into the K15 and the K110.
Catalog excerpt ("to meet the need of the most particular" is right!) from 1951, credit: IA/ITCL!
Last edited:
d42jeep
Well-known member
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Now batting: Side-Cutters! (On deck: Dykes. In the hole: Long, Round, Needle, and Chain Nose.)
Left to right, small to large:
Early/special Boker (x2), Storm King, S&H “Red Devil”, and some Heavy-Duty Lineman's, including Barcalo, later Boker, and a Stack O’ Neverslips.
I don’t have much to say about the Barc-Buffs except that I think they were supplied by J.P. Danielson. Here’s the grip, on top of the Red Devils.
There’s nothing notable about the later Boker’s, but the little jobbies have a very appealing logo that I have never been able to date or find any information about on the official Boker site or anywhere else. Trademark searches have turned up nil so far. Lots of info on Boker’s famous Tree Logo...
...used primarily on knives and cutlery
Nothing on this arrow, X, and stars, which looks kinda sorta weathervane-ish to me. If anyone knows anything, please sing out.
Storm King was a Utica brand. It’s the name of a famous mountain, park, and arts center in upstate New York. You can read more here.
I could go on and on about the Neverslips, but I already have, in their own thread here, and besides, their most characteristic feature – those replaceable cutters – is self-evident.
I’d be fond of them if they were made in Alaska, but they are native sons of the heavily industrialized Garden State.
Left to right, small to large:
Early/special Boker (x2), Storm King, S&H “Red Devil”, and some Heavy-Duty Lineman's, including Barcalo, later Boker, and a Stack O’ Neverslips.
I don’t have much to say about the Barc-Buffs except that I think they were supplied by J.P. Danielson. Here’s the grip, on top of the Red Devils.
There’s nothing notable about the later Boker’s, but the little jobbies have a very appealing logo that I have never been able to date or find any information about on the official Boker site or anywhere else. Trademark searches have turned up nil so far. Lots of info on Boker’s famous Tree Logo...
...used primarily on knives and cutlery
Nothing on this arrow, X, and stars, which looks kinda sorta weathervane-ish to me. If anyone knows anything, please sing out.
Storm King was a Utica brand. It’s the name of a famous mountain, park, and arts center in upstate New York. You can read more here.
I could go on and on about the Neverslips, but I already have, in their own thread here, and besides, their most characteristic feature – those replaceable cutters – is self-evident.
I’d be fond of them if they were made in Alaska, but they are native sons of the heavily industrialized Garden State.
Last edited:
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
If you’re thinking, “WTF? No Crescents?”, trust me, I was, too. Because I know I have some. Somewhere. I just don’t know where they got to. When I remembered, too late – and illustrative of some of the comments at the kickoff of the thread about the seemingly inherent habit of pliers to hie thyselves to other drawers, boxes, and places – my wartime military stuff!
Inside the Signal Corps CS-34 pouch attached to my “Old Crow” travel bag...
…is this resplendent TL-13 (Crescent 1950-6).
I also like to put Signal Corps pliers in my GMTK's, even though they weren’t issued that way. Here's a couple tucked into the removable tray of my current keeper set.
...including the Crescent TL-107 (filling the 41-P-1839, PLIERS, Lineman's, Side-Cutting, 8" requirement) among these three troopers, mustered up for inspection. The thin nose Diamalloy is a TL-13-A, the –A suffix designating that little hole in the jaws for wire-stripping. (Please ignore that ****, who photobombed my little Signal Corps 'side-cutters only' formation!)
Inside the Signal Corps CS-34 pouch attached to my “Old Crow” travel bag...
…is this resplendent TL-13 (Crescent 1950-6).
I also like to put Signal Corps pliers in my GMTK's, even though they weren’t issued that way. Here's a couple tucked into the removable tray of my current keeper set.
...including the Crescent TL-107 (filling the 41-P-1839, PLIERS, Lineman's, Side-Cutting, 8" requirement) among these three troopers, mustered up for inspection. The thin nose Diamalloy is a TL-13-A, the –A suffix designating that little hole in the jaws for wire-stripping. (Please ignore that ****, who photobombed my little Signal Corps 'side-cutters only' formation!)
d42jeep
Well-known member
Barcalo is a brand where I actually don’t have too many pliers. Just enough!
-Don
-Don
Last edited:
S-K Tool Fanatic!
Well-known member
99% these are Barcalo, I’ll try and find them when I get home, if you are interested hit me up.
d42jeep
Well-known member
Cool. I have a Wayne combo wrench set aside for you. My motto is “No Barcalo left behind”. Here is the one I have.
-Don
-Don
S-K Tool Fanatic!
Well-known member
Sorry forgot to look, will look tomorrow, may have some other barcalo goodies for you.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I have never had much luck with contacting companies, with a couple notable exceptions, but the Boker website touts, "Personal advice has always been our priority," and...[ ]..."You are welcome to use this form for inquiries regarding information," which I just did. We'll see what happens.
d42jeep
Well-known member
Some Dunlap pliers.
-Don
-Don
d42jeep
Well-known member
Plenty o’ Plomb (including some duplicates)
Plomb and Wilde comparison
-Don
Plomb and Wilde comparison
-Dond42jeep
Well-known member
-Dond42jeep
Well-known member
-Dond42jeep
Well-known member
-Don
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Like my slip-joints, and my side-cutters, my diagonal-cutting pliers can be hard to tabulate and account for as a type, because many of them are inside brand-specific toolboxes (e.g., Snap-on, Bonney, etc), user specific toolboxes or cases (e.g., Signal Corps, Bell System, etc) or stored with other types of pliers in a brand-specific drawer or on a brand-specific shelf in the Lugzsonian.
I do keep a few miscellaneous brands in a drawer that don’t really have a more usecase- or brand-specific place to hang out.
Left to right…
(1) ‘Offset’, ‘Angled’, or ‘Raised Cutter’ pliers, branded H&S, from Germany; (2) Red Devil High-Leverage lap-joint dykes; (3) Unbranded; (4) J.P. Danielson; (5) a nice black ox Crestoloy; (6) and Barcalo “E” (made by J.P. Danielson)
One of the two worth talking about a little more is the Raised Cutter jobbie. The idea is the same as long pattern DBE's with a 15* angle on the end.
You'd think the idea would have caught on here, but no dice. @LesserSon ‘s daughter has a pair, made by C. Wieland, Inc., also from Germany, and @BlueBomber has a pair from France. While they appear in a very early Peck, Stow, and Wilcox catalog, as model No. 37, called “Raised Cutters” (and marketed “for jewelers, electricians, and opticians”), I have never seen another pair anywhere, or any that were made in America by any American mfgr. More photos and info here.
The other notable pliers are the unbranded, which have a very appealing braided pattern on the grips, seen here underneath a J.P. Danielson (top) and an S&H Red Devil (middle). If anyone recognizes them, please pipe up.
I do keep a few miscellaneous brands in a drawer that don’t really have a more usecase- or brand-specific place to hang out.
Left to right…
(1) ‘Offset’, ‘Angled’, or ‘Raised Cutter’ pliers, branded H&S, from Germany; (2) Red Devil High-Leverage lap-joint dykes; (3) Unbranded; (4) J.P. Danielson; (5) a nice black ox Crestoloy; (6) and Barcalo “E” (made by J.P. Danielson)
One of the two worth talking about a little more is the Raised Cutter jobbie. The idea is the same as long pattern DBE's with a 15* angle on the end.
You'd think the idea would have caught on here, but no dice. @LesserSon ‘s daughter has a pair, made by C. Wieland, Inc., also from Germany, and @BlueBomber has a pair from France. While they appear in a very early Peck, Stow, and Wilcox catalog, as model No. 37, called “Raised Cutters” (and marketed “for jewelers, electricians, and opticians”), I have never seen another pair anywhere, or any that were made in America by any American mfgr. More photos and info here.
The other notable pliers are the unbranded, which have a very appealing braided pattern on the grips, seen here underneath a J.P. Danielson (top) and an S&H Red Devil (middle). If anyone recognizes them, please pipe up.
Last edited:
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Ditto ^All the Above^ for various Long Nose (Needle, Round, Chain, and Flat) pliers!
Here - a NOS wartime bent needle nose caked in cosmo in its NOS wartime box - is just one example of the kinds of places where some of the others might be hiding...
But I do keep some in a Miscellaneous Drawer.
Seen here...
...are a tiny UDF&T Co. flat nose with the <U><TI><CA> logo; a Utica Lubring (built-in self-lubing gasket around the pivot!) chain nose; a ME-KAN-IK 63-6 (made by PEXTO), and an in-house PEXTO 256-6 round nose.
I talked about the Lubring, including patents, ads, etc, on the Utica thread here. And I posted the TM info for the ME-KAN-IK - you have to admit, a Charles Bronsonishly cool name for any hand tool - in a thread linked here.
Last edited:
four.cycle
Well-known member
RE: "a very appealing braided pattern on the grips"
most interesting.
and no idea who made them?
most interesting.
and no idea who made them?
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Nope. No brandings or markings of any kind and the profile, construction, and other features are very generic.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Are the Danielson's bent nose? Or is that just a trick of the light?
S-K Tool Fanatic!
Well-known member
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
SK,
I see that the slip-joints on the left are Danielson. I'm asking bobIN if they are bent nose type. It's hard to tell from the pic. See how the jaw on the right is bright, and then darker close to the body? Like it's bent. They're not common. In any brand. I posted a Wilde upthread. But maybe it's just the light.
I see that the slip-joints on the left are Danielson. I'm asking bobIN if they are bent nose type. It's hard to tell from the pic. See how the jaw on the right is bright, and then darker close to the body? Like it's bent. They're not common. In any brand. I posted a Wilde upthread. But maybe it's just the light.
d42jeep
Well-known member
They look like bent nose Danielson pliers to me. None of my Danielson pliers are bent nose but they have two different handle patterns. 
-Don
-Don
Yes they are bent nose. I'll take some more pictures tommorow.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Nice!
S-K Tool Fanatic!
Well-known member
Ooooohhhhh I see what you mean now, now I feel dumb…
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
No sweat, man. You were just trying to help.
/// BREAK ///
I picked these up yesterday. PENENS 3106.
For one thing, I had never seen Vlchek-made gull wings with a PENENS MFD. brand before. Flying V, PR206, H1106, or nothing, yes. Fleet or PENENS MFD., no. Also a good example of that storage dilemma I led with. Where do I put them? Vlchek drawer? Slip-joints drawer? Or inside the Fleet Master Mechanics' carry box?
Interesting markings on these that I skipped earlier because they were in the Fleet box. PTII was obviously having some of their pliers made in the old J.P. Danielson plant, but if you didn't know any better, the markings on these PENENS CORP. slip-joints would imply the old Cragin plant in Chicago...
...and they have beveled cutters!
Now I have PENENS 3106 branded gull wings and Fleet 3106 branded regulars made with former Vlchek dies for PTTI, and PENENS CORP. branded specialty slip-joints made either in the J.P. Danielson plant in Jamestown, NY, or with JPD dies in Chicago. I'm thinking the reference to Chicago might just be a PENENS formal address thing.
Attachments
Last edited:
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I regret to inform you guys that I am up early but rained out at my flea, so, more pliers posts!
Speaking of bends, or in this case, angles, I pulled out my angle- or so-called parrot-nose pliers.
Left to right, that’s (1) an Eagle Claw (which they originally called a wrench, hence Eagle Claw Wrench Co.); (2) a J.P. Danielson - still beautifully blued!; (3) Barc-Buff; (4) unbranded MADE IN U.S.A. #11; and (5) a Wilde.
You can read more about the Eagle Claw here.
"Not All Angles on Angle-Nose Pliers Are Created Equal!", though. All of them usually have a right angle at the fixed jaw through the slip-joint area. They all have that in common. What the handles do after that is important.
Here in this photo, all of the fixed jaws are lined up with that seam in my workbench.
Look at the different angles of the handles!
The unbranded on the left is the most shallow at 20*. The Wilde is 35*. The Barcalo’s are 70*. The J.P. Danielson are about 75*, The Eagle Claw is a true 90*.
Like angles on angle wrenches, the more the merrier, and you can never have enough.
Speaking of bends, or in this case, angles, I pulled out my angle- or so-called parrot-nose pliers.
Left to right, that’s (1) an Eagle Claw (which they originally called a wrench, hence Eagle Claw Wrench Co.); (2) a J.P. Danielson - still beautifully blued!; (3) Barc-Buff; (4) unbranded MADE IN U.S.A. #11; and (5) a Wilde.
You can read more about the Eagle Claw here.
"Not All Angles on Angle-Nose Pliers Are Created Equal!", though. All of them usually have a right angle at the fixed jaw through the slip-joint area. They all have that in common. What the handles do after that is important.
Here in this photo, all of the fixed jaws are lined up with that seam in my workbench.
Look at the different angles of the handles!
The unbranded on the left is the most shallow at 20*. The Wilde is 35*. The Barcalo’s are 70*. The J.P. Danielson are about 75*, The Eagle Claw is a true 90*.
Like angles on angle wrenches, the more the merrier, and you can never have enough.
d42jeep
Well-known member
My personal favorites. Early Vacuum Grips, Snap-on and Blue Point pliers. No particular order and lots of duplicates.
-Don
-Don
d42jeep
Well-known member
Next group of pictures.
d42jeep
Well-known member
All kinds of pliers.
