Bledsoe Pliers - Minneapolis

[outofbounds]

A forum search turned up empty here, and save for a few pair that have found their way to Ebay, googling it doesn't reveal anything substantive either. Curious what about these somewhat crude single pivot pliers might have compelled the company to apply for a patent.....

 

[RTM]

DATAMP mentions this pliers, but not saying why it was patented, in the comments for this patent

http://datamp.org/patents/advance.php?pn=1227372&id=40340&set=1

 

[DadsTools]

DATAMP mentions this pliers, but not saying why it was patented, in the comments for this patent

http://datamp.org/patents/advance.php?pn=1227372&id=40340&set=1

Thanks for the link. The patent drawing shows that the original design comprised a two-position slip joint with a means to make it much more difficult to accidentally slip out of selected position (we all know what THAT is about!). It seems that patent was filed to claim this means as novel. Apparently the mfr decided not to use the device on this particular pair but stated patent pending anyway. Perhaps they feared someone would copy its function while working around the patent. There might be other reasons too--economical, no tooling for it yet at the time this pair was made, or something else.

 

[outofbounds]

DATAMP mentions this pliers, but not saying why it was patented, in the comments for this patent

http://datamp.org/patents/advance.php?pn=1227372&id=40340&set=1

Fantastic contributions, RTM, and DadsTools! I appreciate that very much. I think it helps to date these for me as well.

Interestingly (to me anyway) there are 3 pairs for sale on Ebay, all the same as "Patent Pending". Maybe the company went belly up before they could really tool to their patented design and these crudementary type are all that actually exist.......Hmm. Food for thought I suppose.

 

[RTM]

Yeah, I don't think the patent covers these pliers, but nothing else has turned up so far.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I hadn't heard of Bledsoe before. It's interesting that while the pliers are stamped Minneapolis, he was listed as being in Bonam, Texas.

 

[3baygarage]

Outofbounds, I have a pair of those too. Aside from the fact I think they look pretty darn cool, the neat thing is they’re from a neighbor’s estate sale several years ago.

I’m not sure if they came in more than one size. Are yours 10-1/2”?

I hadn't heard of Bledsoe before. It's interesting that while the pliers are stamped Minneapolis, he was listed as being in Bonam, Texas.

I found that interesting as well when I looked at Datamp. I have reason to believe my neighbor was from MN, based on some other items, but that may not mean much.

 

[four.cycle]

Bledsoe / Yancy M. Bledsoe, Bonham, TX / pliers / patent 1227372 May 22 1917 Yancy M. Bledsoe / https://wrenchwiki.com/bledsoe-pliers/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/bledsoe-pliers-minneapolis.467250/ /

It's kind of funny how many of these searches come around full circle back to GJ.

Bledsoe's patent was for a pair of locking pliers with a double pivot point. The pliers in the photos above are a different design with a single pivot point, for which apparently no patent was ever issued.
There does not seem to be any explanation for the "Minneapolis" stamping appearing on the single-pivot, "Pat. Pending" model.

 

[HeelSpur]

Here are my Bledsoes, two of mine has the triple slot. Never have seen a double before. Does anyone have a pair?

DSCF0762 by wvwheaties, on Flickr
DSCF0761 by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[HeelSpur]

Found a pair of the double pivot, 8".

481946509_961578659408058_3922541043587065476_n by wvwheaties, on Flickr
481953855_929362095763174_3415235526695984653_n by wvwheaties, on Flickr
480816244_1207083674112773_3934636317781672126_n by wvwheaties, on Flickr
481880853_1674515446836621_7305105668287226991_n by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have never seen this thread before! Glad it was bumped.

Found a pair of the double pivot, 8".

I love the raised thumb pad (which Bledsoe called a "knob" in his patent)! Only the patented "locking" model seems to have it.

DATAMP mentions this pliers, but not saying why it was patented, in the comments for this patent

It's interesting that while the pliers are stamped Minneapolis, he was listed as being in Bonam, Texas.

There does not seem to be any explanation for the "Minneapolis" stamping

My preliminary research reveals that prior research, here, and also by DATAMP stewards, was likely inhibited by identifying the tool as pliers rather than as a wrench.

The name of the company might could be the Bledsoe Wrench Company. Where the tools were manufactured may still be a mystery, but it looks like they probably had a "business office" at 1403 Foshay Tower, Minneapolis, 2 Minn in the late 40's. That building, modeled after the Washington Monument, is now a grand historic hotel and was never suitable for manufacturing as far as I know. All of the references I have found are snippet-only view and none of them put a description of the tool or a picture of the tool together with the name and address, so, technically, this is all still strong probability/informed conjecture, although I would bet my next paycheck on it.

 

[3baygarage]

Neat find HeelSpur. Never knew that type existed.

 

[RTM]

Just poked into DATAMP and USPTO, and found nothing else for Yancy Bledsoe within 10 years of the prior patent noted above. Amazing number of Yancy entries.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Just poked into DATAMP

I emailed Stan to point out that he has the patent miscategorized as pliers. The patent is for a wrench, it's titled as a "Wrench," it's consistently described as a "wrench" (and never as pliers) by Bledsoe himself, and, most crucially, it's categorized as a wrench by the USPTO. It seems to be a simple inadvertent oversight, since Stan has Eifel, Wade, and many other similar pliers-type wrenches in the wrench category.

Since "Minneapolis" appears on later single- and triple-pivot non-locking examples of a tool TM'ed "Bledsoe," I also sent him what I found with respect to the Bledsoe Wrench Company in Minneapolis and their copyrighting and marketing of an "All-Purpose Wrench" in the late 1940's.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

UPDATE

Stan has updated the DATAMP Bledsoe page. He has added the page to the 'wrenches' category and to the 'pliers-type wrenches' sub-category in their database system schema. He has also added Bledsoe Wrench Company as a secondary manufacturer. He has not yet added the 1946 Hardware Age notice as a reference, but it's on his MVWC flickr page here.

 

[Mark Stansbury]

Hardware Age 9/26/46 on Archive.org

 

[Mark Stansbury]

1947 newspaper ad in Miles City, MT.

 

[Mark Stansbury]

Yancey McDonald Bledsoe obituary, The Bonham (TX) Daily Favorite, Tue., May 24, 1955, page 4.
Find-a-Grave