Some Vintage Pipe Wrenches, anyone collect them?

[B Halverson]

This is in nice shape;

 

[esben57]

 

[four.cycle]

Made in Spain 10-inch Pipe Wrench

I'd think possibly "Globemaster", but the Globemaster examples I've seen use a different design and have "Globemaster" forged into the handle, so for the present it's just another generic no-name import.

 

[B Halverson]

My late father gave me this back in the 1960s;

 

[four.cycle]

^ Here is its big brother

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Older big brother.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Not really sure what I have here. I found similar wrenches on this thread, here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...nyone-collect-them.313417/page-3#post-9746626 and here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...yone-collect-them.313417/page-5#post-10643978

It seems they are called “Footprint wrench”/ “Footy” / “Universal shifter”.

Information: https://footprint-tools.com/product/footprint-original-pattern-pipe-wrench/ & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footprint_Tools

I have no Idea who the manufacturer is behind my wrench, but here are some pictures.















Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Leviton]

Quite a history on this design - and still going. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The design was copied the world over. I don't recognize that logo. Original Footprint pipe tongs, made by Ellin in Sheffield, have the Footprint logo, which is literally a footprint. Unfortunately, the brand does not have its own thread.

I remember seeing a few scattered here and there on some older GJ threads, but I know that @Stubby1743 posted tin snips with a very good example of the logo in the 'Secateurs, Shears etc' thread, here.

@3baygarage posted a knockoff of the pipe tongs made by Keystone Mfg here in the US accompanied by some fantastic period Footprint ads in the 'Oddfellows' thread here.

Lastly, @four.cycle has posted a link to another forum with some very interesting historical references for Footprint in his entry for Footprint in the List of US and Foreign Mfgrs reference he maintains here on GJ.

Footprint / see Thomas R. Ellin /

Footprint / Footprint Tools Ltd., P.O. Box 19, Hollis Croft, Sheffield, England (1981) / https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/topic/11319-footprint-tools/ /

For future reference, you can access that Mfgrs List in the Handy Hints and Links section of the READ B4 POSTING! Sticky at the top of the forum, page 6.

 

[four.cycle]

Very similar to Olli's, this "Blitz" wrench has an old D.R.G.M. number of 29923 stamped on it. This pattern of wrench/pliers was made by more than one company. Figuring out who that patent was issued to might offer a clue as to who was making these early on (other than Ellin/Footprint.)
I don't recognize that herald mark on Olli's specimen. Wondering if maybe Wolfgang's site might offer a clue on that.

 

[PowerWagonBuilder]

Hello there.
New guy here. First real post other than introduction. I picked up the 3 big pipe wrenches shown on the table here; one is branded Rigid but the other two I haven't looked at them close enough yet to discern their origin. I plan on cleaning them up here soon; well once it warms up a little since I don't have a sink or tub inside that I can fit the handles in. The table is a 5' x 5' with 1-3/4" square holes for scale so I guess these are 36" pipe wrenches.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The table is a 5' x 5' with 1-3/4" square holes

I want the table!

(Inquiring minds want to know if you also bought the Wilton bullet... and is that a Snap-on L-73 1-inch drive ratchet head?)

Welcome to GJ.

one is branded Rigid but the other two I haven't looked at them close enough yet to discern their origin.

One or the other might could also be RIDGID. They did make Stillson Improved pattern pipe wrenches, too. Chances are two different mfgrs, though.

 

[PowerWagonBuilder]

I want the table!

(Inquiring minds want to know if you also bought the Wilton bullet... and is that a Snap-on L-73 1-inch drive ratchet head?)

Welcome to GJ.

One or the other might could also be RIDGID. They did make Stillson Improved pattern pipe wrenches, too. Chances are two different mfgrs, though.

Thanks for the welcome! This is certainly my kind of place!
The photo is from in my garage; so yep, all things on the table were acquired this weekend, except the Columbian and the stainless tank that are seen in the back right corner.

The table is a very early Acorn, from before they were branding them. Its one of my favorite pieces of functional vintage that I have. Seems I find more and more uses for it every time I am working with it.

The Wilton is already apart and being cleaned up. The screw and nut are a bit worn, but not worn out.

And the Ratchet is a Snap-On L78 1-1/2" drive. That is also currently apart and being cleaned up. Hoping to finish that up this evening. Then on to the tap handles and pipe wrenches. I was going to post pictures but didn't want to clutter this thread. I'll find the right places for those goodies and share them there.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well, you seem very well organized, in your shop, in your mind, and in your approach to GJ, having found the appropriate thread for the PW's all on your own. But I have two tips for you.

One is the READ B4 POSTING! Sticky at the top of the forum. It contains an A-Z Index of Threads down here on the Vintage Board, by type of tools, as well as by brand, whether they are active or not, that is much easier to use for finding threads buried on page 2 through 537 than Searching. We have a Snap-on thread (of course!), for example, for that beast! A Wilton dating thread. Etc. If you're a picker and you plan to stick around posting your pickin's, it will help you find the right thread.

The second is that you may want to check out the 14th Annual Garage Sale thread. It's a place many GJers go to have fun sharing their Pickins, whether they be garage sales, estate sales, flea markets, or even ReStores and the like. (Anything but retail.) That is up on the General board. This haul would garner you plenty of attention and praise. (No self-bragging allowed, though, Read the rules! )

 

[d42jeep]

One of my rusty finds at yesterday’s estate sale was this 14” Ridge Improved Stillson. The evaporust bath improved its’s appearance except for the rusty area.
As found
As clean as possible.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

^ That's funny.
I was just recently discussing with one of the datamp.org stewards the issue of names, and "Stillson" came up. It became another catch-all term like "Kleenex" or"Band-Aid". In the midst of it I came across the ad for the Rigid "Stillson", which I found hilarious.

 

[d42jeep]

One of my rusty finds at yesterday’s estate sale was this 14” Ridge Improved Stillson. The evaporust bath improved its’s appearance except for the rusty area.
As found
As clean as possible.
-Don

I did some work with my vertical belt sander to minimize the pitted area today.
Before
After
BK’s ad blown up.

-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I found a 1946 14” RidgId at a moving sale in Berkeley yesterday.
As found
Cleaned it up


-Don

 

[genog]

I found these three at the College Flea Market on Saturday.....
Tried to buy just the small one, but the Seller insisted on giving me a deal on all three

As a reference, the smallest one looks to be about 6" when closed

 

[genog]

I left this one behind for one of you guys

 

[3baygarage]

Some very nice oldies in this thread.I think this belongs here.

Hard to find info on “American pipe wrench”. Luckily, there’s a patent date.

May 17, 1904. Comes back to:

Patent 760,063

American Drop Forging & Tool Co., Wayland, NY

Inventors: Jacob Emig and Archibald McKaig, Sr.. Hmmm, that Archibald McKaig, Sr.???!!! Hour and a half from Buffalo….

According to an article at Yesteryeartools.com, American was purchased by Warren Axe and Tool in 1907 and moved to Warren, PA.
Link here: http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears Tools/Warren Axe & Tool Co..html

May I present the 8” American pipe wrench

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Taking the liberty of re-posting some photos of a Parmelee that @3baygarage reported in the Garage Sale thread yesterday. It appears to be a perfect example of Parmelee's fourth patent (871,436 / Nov 19, 1907), which we have not yet seen on the thread. See Pics 1 & 2 below.

There are a few examples of a much later (1915+) Walworth-Parmelee with a knurled threaded collar that locks in the grip. And I have posted 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 manual pressure on the cam. See Pic 3 below for comparison purposes of those with the one 3bay just found.

As far as I know, we haven't yet seen any examples of the two intermediate improvements - 590,853 (1898) and 648,706 (1900), when he continued tinkering with a way to lock the jaws in place.

DATAMP is down, but tomorrow I will post links for easy access to the patent diagram that 3bay's find matches.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

@AreBeeBee and @HeelSpur posted examples of Cochran pipe wrenches upthread. But I didn't see any photos of one disassembled, so I'll add those. As I've mentioned before and elsewhere, the most extravagant but stable "stabilizer" I have ever seen. Not only is the adjusting knob snugged in by that pivoting piece, the nut and the whole dynamic jaw is snugged in by a very stiff leaf spring. There is literally zero slop.

 

[Old tool guy]

Picked this up for $10 this week. The previous owner “DHJ” stamped his initials over the makers mark, but it’s easy to make out J P Daniel Son Co, Stillson Pattern, Jamestown NY USA. The number 10 is cast into both sides of the head, and there might be something else cast into one side if the head. Any idea what date it could be?
.

.

.

 

[OmegaDPW]

Picked this up for $10 this week. The previous owner “DHJ” stamped his initials over the makers mark, but it’s easy to make out J P Daniel Son Co, Stillson Pattern, Jamestown NY USA. The number 10 is cast into both sides of the head, and there might be something else cast into one side if the head. Any idea what date it could be?
.

I recently found one exactly like this except for a blue painted handle. Mine is an 8 inch JPD wrench and has an "8" stamp. I'm assuming that's just a size stamp, but I know nothing about mine (yet!)

 

[d42jeep]

I thought I might be able to find markings after cleaning up this 10” Stillson but it appears to be totally unmarked.
-Don
As found
Cleaned up

 

[Jay__Dub]

Picked up this little Stillson beauty today for 5 bucks. It was pretty rough, but I cleaned it up, came out pretty good. I don't expect I'll ever get over my addiction to old tools.

 

[Old tool guy]

Paid too much for this, but i didn’t have one like it.
Stamp on the handle says “Stillsons wrench, pat aug 1882 (i think), walworth mfg co, boston usa”. Logo on the head looks like this:



but the pat date on the trademark sheet doesn’t match what i think i see on the wrench. Also saw this on the site with the trademark sheet: Walworth Manufacturing is most famous as the original maker of the Stillson pipe wrench, named after its inventor Daniel Stillson, who was an employee of the company at the time. The original Stillson design was covered by patent 95,744, filed by Daniel Stillson in 1869 and issued later that year.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

but the pat date on the trademark sheet doesn’t match what i think i see on the wrench.

If by "trademark sheet" you mean that table you excerpted from AA, you are confusing trademarks and patents. Those dates are when the trademark for that logo on the dynamic jaw was first used and when it was issued. While they are both administered by the same office, TM's are for names, marks, or logos used in commerce and patents are for unique design or utility.

"The original Stillson design was covered by patent 95,744, filed by Daniel Stillson in 1869 and issued later that year."

That's true. Walworth had a couple improvements on the first patent, though, which AA doesn't address, doesn't include in their patents table, and doesn't have any examples of.

“Stillsons wrench, pat aug 1882 (i think), walworth mfg co, boston usa”.

That date refers to patent 262,263, issued August 8, 1882, to Caleb Walworth. It superseded the original and subsequent (126,161, issued April 30, 1872) Stillson patents.

While AA can be a helpful source for background, examples, and summary information on tools, their center of gravity is vintage era mechanics' tools and the scale, scope, and well-organized look of the site can be misleading when they dabble incompletely in areas outside that and don't mention that they are dabbling incompletely. DATAMP is a much better source for patent info, especially for antique tools.

EDIT: Better link...

Patents for Walworth Mfg. Co.

www.datamp.org

 

[Old tool guy]

If by "trademark sheet" you mean that table you excerpted from AA, you are confusing trademarks and patents.

I am in awe of your knowledge and your research abilities. And you’re right, I am confused about trademark, patent, service mark and similar things. I like to do enough research to learn a little history of the tool and the manufacturer, and to establish a reasonable date range, and i appreciate your input.

 

[Old tool guy]

Any idea what this wrench is? I’m on the road, just picked this up, have not had a chance to clean it up yet. Can’t see any markings yet. The large knurled collar rotates to open and close the jaws, doesn’t turn well at the moment.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Any idea what this wrench is? I’m on the road, just picked this up, have not had a chance to clean it up yet. Can’t see any markings yet. The large knurled collar rotates to open and close the jaws, doesn’t turn well at the moment.

Definitely looks like a Bemis & Call combination wrench

 

[d42jeep]

Here is mine.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here are the pipe wrenches I found at sales yesterday and today. First is a 10” wood handle Stillson made by Walworth who held the original patent.
Next is 10” wood handle Trimo. Patented 6/20/16.


Today’s find is an 8“ Craftsman sourced from Erie.

-Don

 

[four.cycle]

Any idea what this wrench is?

Bemis & Call / Bemis & Call, 125 Main St., Springfield, MA / patent 6002 Jan 2 1849 Frederick H. Bartholomew and Solyman Merrick & 23751 Apr 26 1859 Albert D. Briggs / http://alloy-artifacts.org/bemis-call-company.html / https://lostnewengland.com/2017/12/bemis-call-tool-factory-springfield-mass/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...ware-and-tool-co-6-inch-monkey-wrench.490149/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/bemis-call-brand-tools.406180/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/bemis-call-h-t-wrench.368211/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/bemis-call-b-m-r-r-wrench.469075/ / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/show-us-your-bemis-call-combination-wrench.499701/ /

 

[d42jeep]

Here are the pipe wrenches I found at sales yesterday and today. First is a 10” wood handle Stillson made by Walworth who held the original patent.
Next is 10” wood handle Trimo. Patented 6/20/16.


Today’s find is an 8“ Craftsman sourced from Erie.

-Don

I added the new Walworth and Trimo pipe wrenches to the others in the pipe wrench drawer.
Walworth
Trimo
Improved Stillson from the Ridge company
Danielson wood handle
Back in the pipe wrench drawer. -Don

 

[Mintgrun]

I found a fourteen inch Penens wrench to go with the six incher a friend gave me. It cleaned right up after a short swim in the electrolysis bucket. I pulled it apart and only dipped it as deep as the start of the paint, to preserve that pretty green.

 

[d42jeep]

I found this 6” Improved Stillson at a sale on Saturday. After cleaning I noticed that the head was floppy. I compared it with another and fo that the spring was missing. Now I need to find a useable replacement spring.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

I was amazed to find that this old Walworth Stillson was in such fabulous condition after cleaning it up a bit. The "before" photo is below:


Walworth Mfg. Co., Boston, Massachusetts 18-inch "Stillson" pipe wrench

 

[Leviton]

I was amazed to find that this old Walworth Stillson was in such fabulous condition after cleaning it up a bit.

Nicely recovered! Had a good amount of paint left on it.