Pliers; How Many Is Too Many?

[d42jeep]

-Don

 

[d42jeep]

-Don

 

[d42jeep]

The final batch of photos.









-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

My personal favorites. Early Vacuum Grips, Snap-on and Blue Point pliers.

They are very high quality.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was going to move on in my methodical sequence to the final group of vintage pliers I own by type, but I am going to jump across the pond instead, prompted by these T. Williams light duty side-cutters that I just found on Friday. These are the first and only T. Williams pliers I have ever seen in the wild. Maybe @Farmer J., he of the ever-expanding Superslim wrench board, will chime in with some info on them.



When I went to put them away in my "European drawer", I saw that they were very similar to a pair of Abingdon "KING ****" branded of the same type.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That drawer is in a dark spot, so the British are coming out first...



Left to right, are the aforementioned KING ****, very nice Wilkinson long needle-nose, and two Elliott-Lucas High-Tensile "ELECT" class pliers - round-nose and gas and burner.

I can say with not one ounce of exaggeration or false fawning that the Elliott-Lucas rival the highest quality pliers in my collection, which...



...are also made in Europe. Sweden, precisely.

 

[four.cycle]

^ what is that roundish-looking protuberance on the left side handle (in the second image) on those gas pliers? a poker-thingie?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Yes! Not the only gas & burners I have with a screwdriver on one handle and a spike reminiscent of the punch on a sapper's tool on the other. But they are the only ones I have with Button pattern type cutters at the pivot! They are some seriously robust and versatile pliers. Put it this way. If there was a sudden distant flash of hot radiant light, all the lights go out, and I start looking around for the handiest tool/weapon I can find that doesn't need re-loading as I fill the bathtub with potable water, I might grab the Elliot-Lucas gas & burners!

 

[four.cycle]

for???
cleaning the carbon deposits out of a gas burner orifice? would it not need to be smaller?
I'm trying to envision the use.
(and yes, I DID catch the wire-cutter feature on the side... I do not believe my gas pliers have either of those features....)

 

[Farmer J.]

These are the first and only T. Williams pliers I have ever seen in the wild. Maybe @Farmer J., he of the ever-expanding Superslim wrench board, will chime in with some info

I concur, those are the genuine article TW pliers, surprisingly common to find around here. Not very 'slim' are they!
I think I have some the same..
The TW slip joint pliers are more common, similar to all those usual toolkit pliers. I have some with the 'Ford' Logo and some without... Will take a few pictures and post them up here when I get a chance.

 

[Farmer J.]

That drawer is in a dark spot, so the British are coming out first...

I think I could reproduce that picture with exactly the same models of pliers...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Moving on in my type sequence, nothing says “GMTK Collector!” like ten (10) water pump pliers - and eight (8) of them dupes!



The first toolkit I ever collected was for my 1943 Willys MB. When I finally crawled myself out of that years-long rabbit hole with enough tools for a few jeep kits and co-authoring credits for the toolkit chapter in Lloyd White’s “The Evolution of the MB Jeep” series, I had a classic “What now?” collecting relapse.

The answer was the GMTK, the 2nd echelon carry kit issued to every general automotive mechanic in the Ordnance Dept. A few years of research, several GMTK’s and a ‘Wingnutt’s Whiz’ (my username on G503.com) later...



...I started branching out, going beyond military, and going older than wartime, older than prewar, back to the Roaring Twenties, which is what brough me to GJ and a more diverse group of collectors and tools.

But if I spy a GMTK tool in my forays, I grab them, on the premise that “Someone will need them!”, because not everyone who is putting together a GMTK lives where they grow on trees at flea markets. Consequently, I probably have a few of most items, enough to put together a couple kits.

The result is four (4) Channellocks with the wartime correct markings and four (4) J.P. Danielsons with wartime date codes.



And a Vlchek and a Plvmb.



The Channellock and JPD's are examples of late war specs (1-1/2” opening capacity). The Vlchek and the Plomb are examples of early war specs (1-5/18” capacity) and much less common.



I think it’s well past time I get rid of most of these and stop bringing them home!

 

[LesserSon]

Harrold. Guranteed.

Maybe Harrold but no guarantees.
-Don

I don't know enough to know who "H" is, but I like 'em.

Thank you so much for starting this thread. I can hardly wait to get back to my own pliers now!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I think I could reproduce that picture with exactly the same models of pliers...

That would be fun to see, but don't put yourself out - I believe you!

Thank you so much for starting this thread.

Indeed. Ironically, after it took off, I went looking for the last one that died an early death, vaguely remembering it, but knowing it didn't last long enough to Stickify. When I found it, I had a chuckle seeing that it was also @MisterEd 's! THAT's how easy it is to forget threads and how hard it is to find them again - even when they're your own!

I can hardly wait to get back to my own pliers now!

Snerk. It has that effect.

 

[d42jeep]

Before LesserSon returns from his travel and inundates this thread with his vast Utica collection, here are too many Utica plier pictures. Many of these have moved along.

-Don

 

[d42jeep]

More random Utica pictures.

-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Don’t forget, the title of the thread is “too many”
-Don

 

[MisterEd]

When I found it, I had a chuckle seeing that it was also @MisterEd 's!

Persistence can be rewarding . . . or obnoxious.

 

[d42jeep]

Last batch of Utica pictures
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

Maybe we can differentiate this thread with testimony on the psychological effects of too many pliers. Here is a knothole in the deck at our current location; inkblot-like suggesting 8” longnose pliers to my eye. (The deck boards are 2x4.)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

cleaning the carbon deposits out of a gas burner orifice? would it not need to be smaller?
I'm trying to envision the use.

According to this Elliot-Lucas catalog, it's a "pipe reamer".

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Persistence can be rewarding . . . or obnoxious.

Not at all. If I had Stickified your first one, which was two pages long, maybe you wouldn't have needed to start a second one with an equally interesting title. (Your first was: "Pliers, Slip Joint - Like some body parts . . . everybody has one" )

Maybe we can differentiate this thread with testimony on the psychological effects of too many pliers. Here is a knothole in the deck at our current location; inkblot-like suggesting 8” longnose pliers to my eye. (The deck boards are 2x4.)

Okay, Rorschach, I'd say you have a few kotter pins loose, you've been away from the Quakertown Flea Market for too long, or you've been drinking too many pina colladas in Rich Port, but I see it too! Now I can't unsee it! (The pivot is a little off...)

 

[AreBeeBee]

Got a question for those who are knowledgable about Knipexes (Knipexen?). Below are two water pump pliers, one is clearly a Knipex rebadged as Craftsman, the other appears older and simpler. There's no maker name on the latter but the COO is marked Germany, and the design of the jaws strongly suggests Knipex, at least to me.

Any ideas who made the unmarked one?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Knipexes (Knipexen?).

Wouldn't it be Knipices?

I don't have a clue on your question, but you might fare better up on the General Tool Discussion board. It is rife with knowledgeable Knipex nuts.

 

[MisterEd]

Atlas Tool Co.

 

[MisterEd]

Corbin

 

[Meursault74]

Maybe we can differentiate this thread with testimony on the psychological effects of too many pliers. Here is a knothole in the deck at our current location; inkblot-like suggesting 8” longnose pliers to my eye. (The deck boards are 2x4.)

Sure, looks like some long nose pliers.

Could also be a Star Trek deal. Maybe you could make some money by charging admission to Trekkies.

 

[MisterEd]

Utica Drop Forge & Tool

 

[MisterEd]

Harrold Cutter

 

[AreBeeBee]

Wouldn't it be Knipices?

I don't have a clue on your question, but you might fare better up on the General Tool Discussion board. It is rife with knowledgeable Knipex nuts.

Thanks — I wondered which forum to use and chose Vintage because they're old(er) and not in production any more.

Do I just repost in the General board, or is there a way to shift the post from here over to there?

(Oh, and the pedant in me adds that -en is a legit German plural.)

 

[drmarkr]

FWIW, I use these pliers racks from HF....work great to organize the things.

 

[shanny19]

the psychological effects of too many pliers.

For proof that some still don’t have enough pliers, head over to General where there is an active thread on which leather holster is best to carry around ones slip-joints in. Right NOW, 2023.
Not your Cobras mind you, or your Plier-Wrench, or your Orbis EvoTel, or your NWS ErgoCombi, or your LN46ACF’s, or any other actually well thought out and tactile-joyful modern tool, but your god-awful Gomer Pyle Wally’s Filling Station Slip Joints. In the words of Chaz Michael Michael, mind-bottling

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Maybe you could make some money by charging admission to Trekkies.

Snerk.

Thanks — I wondered which forum to use and chose Vintage because they're old(er) and not in production any more.

Do I just repost in the General board, or is there a way to shift the post from here over to there?

I wasn't suggesting you posted in the wrong forum, RBB. I meant additionally, because there are a lot of guys up there into Knipex who don't really hang out down here. You could try the 'Tools of the Old World' thread, too. It's on the same board. I have asked several questions about vintage European tools on that thread with great results.

(Oh, and the pedant in me adds that -en is a legit German plural.)

Ja, I was just yokin' around. Index,...Indices. Knipex,...

 

[ararat]

FWIW, I use these pliers racks from HF....work great to organize the things.

This rack was too tall for my pliers drawer, so I flipped it over.

 

[MisterEd]

Westcraft

 

[d42jeep]

I took some pictures of a few this morning.
Farmer Boy
Samson
Danielson
Herbrand
McKaig Hatch
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

A few Xcelite pliers.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm itching to get all caught up here so that I can post new 2024 finds that don't have a better place (e.g., by brand) in this thread. Below are some special pliers. Vintage fence (Crescent), trench (both Kraeuter), and combinations (Red Devil) in Pic 1, and glaziers' (Red Devil) and unknown (Vaughn & Bushnell) in Pic 2.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

These are top 5 favorite pliers in my collection, despite the fact that I have no idea what they're actually intended for. I just appreciate the design (as you can see, they operate on both ends, with specialty jaw configurations on the main ends, and those rings act as stops for the simple leaf springs when they're not in use) and the workmanship. They are very precise with not an ounce of slop. No markings (brand, COO, etc) of any kind.

 

[engineer2]

My question is to find an adjustable width plier rack to use in a tool chest drawer. This is for daily use pliers, not collectibles. I tried the wire rack and it was inefficient. Anybody use the GearWrench rack?