Some Vintage Pipe Wrenches, anyone collect them?

[tlmartin84]

I got these 18" and 24" vintage pipe wrenches. They are heirlooms and heavily worn. Not any good to me, thought if someone collected them I'd try to work out something with them.

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View media item 55508

 

[photoman9]

I too would like to know, I bought a real big one a few weeks ago.


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[sixty4]

Look like old Stillson or Roxbury wrenches. I would put them around $35-$50. I would also bet they still work good as well.

 

[tlmartin84]

They are Roxbury.

 

[don long]

I just acquired a slug of old tools and several are vintage pipe wrenches

 

[onthefence777]

Wow! ^ That is the holy grail of pipe wrenches right there!

I made an amazing score at an estate sale years ago. An entire standard sized hand carry tool box jammed with wrenches. 100's of them, got the whole box for $30-35. Multiples of lots of standard size wrenches, but an ungodly amount of special type distributor wrenches too. Even came with one 18mm offset snap-on wrench! But definitely the nicest tools in that box without a doubt were the pipe wrenches. Look just like the rustyish looking one towards the top right of ^ Don Longs picture. Several of them in various sizes. They work so smoothly and are very high quality!

 

[don long]

I just picked up a few more old pipe wrenches along with other tools

 

[kwoswalt99]

I collect them. Don't have very many though.

 

[Cyberbear]

Old pipe and monkey wrenches are great for collecting, they are numerous and usually very cheap in price, often at what the traffic will bear or OBO. Only the true and serious collector will know which ones are rare and most desirable, and they display well as hung on walls or in your man cave.

 

[404]

Most of the old wrenches I have found also work very very well. The designs bite into the pipe more securely than the modern type. So I use mine as a first choice to do work, not display.

 

[tlmartin84]

I wanted to bump this back up to see if someone wants these.

Maybe just some kind of swap or something. They are now just collecting rust!

 

[crguy]

I wanted to bump this back up to see if someone wants these.

Maybe just some kind of swap or something. They are now just collecting rust!

Tell the guy that said they were worth $35. - $50. to put his money where his mouth is.
I see old pipe wrenches at most estate sales for a dollar or two with no takers.

 

[Oldbear]

I just aquired a slug of old tools and several are vintage pipe wrenches

I need a new keyboard now...

 

[four.cycle]

Those two in the first post are TRIMO:
Trimont Mfg. Co. Roxbury, Mass.

Fairly common because they were produced in massive numbers.

"Look like old Stillson or Roxbury wrenches..."

"Stillson" is actually the type of wrench, not a brand name, per se.

Stillson wrench - U.S. patent #95,744, issued Oct. 12, 1869

Daniel Stillson worked for the Walworth Company. When he showed the prototype of his wrench to company executives, they challenged him to test the wrench to see whether it or a pipe would break first. The pipe broke, and Walworth put the Stillson wrench into production. Walworth maintained a monopoly of the production of Stillson wrenches until early in the 20th century, even after the Stillson patent had expired. Walworth was unable to establish "Stillson" as a trademark, and starting around 1905 other companies began producing wrenches that they called "Stillson" or "Stillson pattern".

And yes, while Mr. Stillson did "invent" the wrench named for him, the name was never copyrighted.
The "Stillson" type pipe wrenches were manufactured by Walworth, Moore, Merit, and Oswego, among others.

see also: Walworth vs. Moore Drop Forging (a rather lengthy, but interesting ruling on the case) HERE: http://www.leagle.com/decision/192751519F2d496_2345/WALWORTH CO. v. MOORE DROP FORGING CO.

Oldbear: looks like you've got a few real gems there!

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a 6" Walworth Walco from September 1942.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

Winchester

 

[kwoswalt99]

That design is still commonly used in other parts of the world.

 

[thehorse13]

I don't collect them for looks. I find them very useful on rusty old things when a good bite is needed. For that reason, when I see them being given away, I grab the large sizes.

 

[Mickey O]

Not really a collector of pipe wrenches but I do have quite a lot of the odd ball ones, many of the ones Don posted and the original Ridgid pipe wrench:

Rust Farmer (member here) has a huge collection of Stillson style wrenches in all shapes, sizes and variations.








...

 

[d42jeep]

Here is my Barcalo Stillson pipe wrench collection. 6", 10", 14" and 18". They look very similar to Plomb Stillson wrenches of the same vintage.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Here is an unusual 6” Trimont pipe wrench I found at a Nevada garage sale. It is marked “Roxco” rather than the more familiar Trimo.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Very cool find, Don. I suspect the different brand name may have something to do with the different pattern. TRIMO's are Stillson (with the adjusting nut inside the housing). This one is more like a RIDGID or Erie, strangely.

 

[notlob]

It appears Trimont started making the Roxco pipe wrench in ~ 1949.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is an oldie made by F. E. Wells and Son. From what I was able to find on this company, they were around from 1900 to 1917.
-Don

 

[LesserSon]

I sort of started collecting wood-handled Stillson pattern pipe wrenches. The 10” size is either the most commonly available in my area, or at least the most economical. I like to clean them up and shellac the wood handle.

 

[LesserSon]

And some more. I believe the Parker was made by JPDanielson.

 

[LesserSon]

I got interested in them because Bonney made them for a while, and I saw there were design changes over time. Even though these three are mostly the same, the second specimen has subtle differences in the placement (and size) of the B-shield logo and “U.S.A.” vs “USA”. It also received a donation of the single-leaf spring from the third one. I decided, after removing the rust, #3 was so deeply-pitted and missing the tapered **** nut not to bother with the split handle.

 

[LesserSon]

Eight-inch specimens. I replaced the handle on this Walworth, which was my grandfather’s, before really understanding the geometry. Plus, I flattened the sides.

 

[LesserSon]

Twelve- and fourteen-inch Bonneys.

 

[d42jeep]

Nice collection, LS. I have a few of the wooden handle wrenches. Here are my wartime dated Walco pipe wrenches along with their Federal Stock Numbers. They go from 6” to 24”
-Don

 

[HeelSpur]

Some 6 & 8" Stillsons.

DSCF1878 by wvwheaties, on Flickr
DSCF1876 by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[davethorik]

Man pipe wrenches is something I don't have very many of lol in the pic are 3, plus I have a 14" Ridgid and an 8" Walworth stillson at work. So only 5. I switched to Knipex cobras for most indoor plumbing needs (don't hurt me). I only pick up interesting examples and I just don't find many.

Pic top to bottom
14" Lectrolite Defiance Ohio stillson
24" Ampco W-214 aluminum bronze non spark (jaws are BECU)
14" Greenfield Tap & Die Little Giant 4-way

 

[kjcspencer]

Wow, nice collections from all. I am a newbie to GJ and i am just wandering thru several threads and saw this one and thought i would share images of three pipe wrenches I just got for free along with some other stuff at garage sale and thought someone might find the images interesting. I have no history on them and the wrenches are well used which I am ok with as I intended to use these as needed. You all have some nice collections.

8" marked "Ben Hur", well worn & abused; note distortion on frame above adjusting nut. Small little guy but useful in tight quarters.
10" marked "Walworth" on handle also marked "Stillson"on the head, had to use it on some plumbing work already.
10" marked "GTD" for Greenfield Tap & Die Co. Still has some orange paint on handle, not sure if it was added by previous owners. I know GTD did a lot of work with tooling used in pipe trades, these could have been Mfg. by somebody else.
Again, no history on anything but thought someone might find images useful.

 

[d42jeep]

I found this Walworth Stillson pipe wrench at a Tahoe garage sale yesterday. I was surprised to see a possible date code on the jaw although my Walco pipe wrenches all have date codes.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

I added a couple of wartime pipe wrenches to my collection at a Tahoe moving sale yesterday. The 18” Ridgid is from 1943 and the Walworth Stillson is dated 1942 and quite similar to the 1945 one posted above.
-Don

 

[454ragtop]

Found this interesting GTD Little Giant pipe wrench a couple weeks ago at the flea market. Same GTD as the maker of taps and dies, right here in MA. Weird 4 way design.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

When there are pipes on either side, you need a right angle pipe wrench . Lee Valley had some NOS Walworth " Stillson" wrenches on their clearance shelf. Just guessing I would put them as vintage. At the price, I couldn't pass them up. When pipe fitting , only one use of an aluminum pipe wrench will have you converted. I don't think Ridgid makes an aluminum 6", so a Stillson 6" has a place.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are more of my Stillsons and the small 8” one is an “Improved Stillson” by the Ridge Tool Company. The ones in the last picture are all Walworths.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

When there are pipes on either side, you need a right angle pipe wrench . Lee Valley had some NOS Walworth " Stillson" wrenches on their clearance shelf. Just guessing I would put them as vintage. At the price, I couldn't pass them up. When pipe fitting , only one use of an aluminum pipe wrench will have you converted. I don't think Ridgid makes an aluminum 6", so a Stillson 6" has a place.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a big believer in aluminum pipe wrenches.
-Don

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

That is a nice one. We were changing the center pipe on a rack. It would have been a struggle except my partner had a right angle pipe wrench. Millwrights don't usually have many pipe wrenches. After that I kept my eyes open for an aluminum clone I could afford.I never did find one. I'm retired now so no need, now.