c. 1949 Whale Tool Corp "Pli-Rench"

[Private Lugnutz]

I snagged these at the flea market on Friday morning specifically because I had never seen the name before in the wild or online. With the PAT PEND marking, made sometime between 1945 and 1949. A quick search reveals only one reference on the GJ vintage board, and that is in 4.c's 'US Mfgrs' A-Z list thread. I couldn't find any other examples. Happy to provide the ̶f̶i̶r̶s̶t̶ second!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As with most other locking plier-wrench type tools not named "Vise-Grip," they attempt to improve on one of the issues with Petersen's design. In this case, it's that pivoting lower jaw, which is meant to keep the jaws parallel as the opening increases or decreases for different work pieces.

 

[wrenchguy]

I have a 9"er in my loader tractor toolbox, it's handy and I use it often. Mine is only marked on the connecting link same as yours, except 3rd line reads "Made in USA". I believe they made different sizes.

 

[Plombob]

Well that's a brand I've never seen before. Thanks for posting.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I have a 9"er in my loader tractor toolbox, it's handy and I use it often. Mine is only marked on the connecting link same as yours, except 3rd line reads "Made in USA". I believe they made different sizes.

Mine is the same size. According to ads they ran in 1947, they called it 10". I haven't found any evidence of other sizes, but it makes sense that they would. Most locking plier-wrench makers did.

Please inspect your pivoting jaw. The example I found matches the patent drawing. One pin for the pivot, and another pin as a stopper on its range of motion. According to DATAMP, there is another later and much more common variant with a different design where a single pin acts as the pivot and the stopper.

 

[3baygarage]

I’m surprised you haven’t seen them Lugz. They used to be around at sales. There are at least 6 on Ebay right now too. Maybe one of those things that got overlooked when you weren’t looking for it. I sure do that.

I posted one that’s NOS in the 2016 GS thread. The pictures aren’t great, but here they are.

Slightly different. I wonder if it’s a later version since it has the Patent #. Looks different above the screw also.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well that's a brand I've never seen before. Thanks for posting.

You're welcome. Just when you think you've seen every possible imitator/improvement (e.g., B.M.C., Gripso, Seymour Smith, etc) there is to be seen, yet another "Vise-Grip" shows up!

/// BREAK ///

I want to amend what I said in post #2. I do believe the pivoting/sliding insert serves to keep the jaws parallel as the jaws open or close, but it also allows their use on workpieces that are not square, as the 1947 Popular Science ad shows.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I’m surprised you haven’t seen them Lugz. They used to be around at sales. There are at least 6 on Ebay right now too. Maybe one of those things that got overlooked when you weren’t looking for it. I sure do that.

That's possible, but I tend to look at plier-wrenches that are not Petersen, just because it's such an interesting little niche. I have a bunch of "not-Petersens." And, it doesn't look like anyone else but you, me, and Mike have them.

I posted one that’s NOS in the 2016 GS thread.

Aha! Thanks. I did not recall those and I did not search the General Discussion board. Those are awesome.

Slightly different. I wonder if it’s a later version since it has the Patent #.

I'm sure they are later, and they probably have a different sliding jaw mechanism, too. See my note to wrenchguy in post #5.

/// BREAK ///



I feel like a red-faced **** and a newbie right now, though. These were spraybombed red. See my haul photo from that day below. I soaked it off in SG. If I had done my research first, I would've left it on the sliding jaw, which was probably original. I worked like crazy with a dental pick and a wire brush to get it out of the cracks and crannies in that jaw!

EDIT: Wait, now I am confused. Your NOS box and the ads call it a red jaw, but the jaw on the tool that was inside the box is not red. It's black, like mine. So maybe they weren't really red.

 

[3baygarage]

It’s red, just shows dark in the photo. Probably darker red than on the box as well.

 

[wrenchguy]

Mine is the same size. According to ads they ran in 1947, they called it 10". I haven't found any evidence of other sizes, but it makes sense that they would. Most locking plier-wrench makers did.

Please inspect your pivoting jaw. The example I found matches the patent drawing. One pin for the pivot, and another pin as a stopper on its range of motion. According to DATAMP, there is another later and much more common variant with a different design where a single pin acts as the pivot and the stopper.

Mine has single pin, that i can see fine in the dim light of the barn. With the barn lights on i found mine is lightly stamped "Pli-rench, pat-pend" like yours in the same location. I know these as "whale grips" never knew were marked pli-reach. Thanks.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It’s red, just shows dark in the photo. Probably darker red than on the box as well.

Thanks. I'm going to touch mine back up. Are those ~10" OAL?

Mine has single pin, that i can see fine in the dim light of the barn. With the barn lights on i found mine is lightly stamped "Pli-rench, pat-pend" like yours in the same location. I know these as "whale grips" never knew were marked pli-reach. Thanks.

Thanks, Mike.

 

[3baygarage]

I don’t have them here to check, but not sure I recall seeing more than one size.

 

[four.cycle]

* note the ad is dated 1946. patent 2489057 wasn't issued until November 22, 1949 *
* but datamp.org shows a number of different patents having been issued

 

[Private Lugnutz]

* note the ad is dated 1946. patent 2489057 wasn't issued until November 22, 1949 *

I'm not sure what your point is, 4.c. The patent was submitted in 1945. They started making them before the patent was granted. Hence the PAT PEND marking. After 1949 they have the patent number instead.

but datamp.org shows a number of different patents having been issued

I only see one patent, the one I posted in post #1. The other patents they show are the citations from Mr. St. Laurence's submission.

 

[3baygarage]

So would it be safe to assume the one with a patent number is 1949 onward?

Just looked at that same datamp entry with the photo from post 1. They mention the two different examples, you can tell one has a collar or additional metal on the end, and one doesn’t, above where the thumbscrew enters.

 

[Ricky Joe]

I have a fairly extensive collection of “not Petersen”s. I prefer Petersen to use unless I’m welding or otherwise being abusive. Some things I can’t pass up. Cheap vise grips is one.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

So would it be safe to assume the one with a patent number is 1949 onward?

I think so, as I just said to 4.c in post #14 above yours. He seems to have data indicating multiple patents, unless he's misreading the DATAMP entry.

Just looked at that same datamp entry with the photo from post 1. They mention the two different examples, you can tell one has a collar or additional metal on the end, and one doesn’t, above where the thumbscrew enters.

DATAMP does discuss two variants, but the only difference between the two that they address is how the sliding jaw insert is attached and restrained, as I discussed upthread.

In the patent drawing, there are two pins. One holds the sliding jaw insert on the lower jaw and also provides the sliding or pivoting action; the second provides a stop. That is the example I have. See post #2. In Pics 1, 2, & 3 I have the jaws wider open and you can see where there is a little hook on the sliding insert that catches on the second pin in Pic 3. In Pics 4, 5, & 6 I have the jaws closed much narrower and you can see where the insert with the little catch is slid back.

In the second variant, there is only one pin. According to Mike (wrenchguy), that is the example he has. But note that per Mike, his is also marked PAT PEND, which means Whale Tool Corp made that change before the patent was granted. (Mike - if you're reading - please post a photo of your jaw insert so we can see what that second variant with only one pin looks like.)

You NOS beauty is also a one-pin model, and it has the patent number.

So, two mechanical variants, both of them in the 1945-1949 range, both of them marked PAT PEND. And a third variant that is the second mechanical variant, but marked with the patent number where the PAT PEND used to be, made after 1949.

As for the "collar" you are referring to, I am not following you, sorry. Can you post an example of each and circle the area?

 

[3baygarage]

At the very bottom end of the handle, where the adjustment screw enters,it looks like there was a change made. If you zoom in on that datamp photo of the two you can tell, and yours and mine appear to be different there.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Yes, I see what you mean now. Of the two example images DATAMP is showing in their patent/example summary info page, the one on the top is a two-pinner with a collar at the end of the handle frame, like mine, while the one on the bottom is a one-pinner without a collar, like yours. It seems like a cosmetic difference or a difference in manufacturing processes.

 

[four.cycle]

I think I got a couple wires crossed here.

 

[Eliot1]

* note the ad is dated 1946. patent 2489057 wasn't issued until November 22, 1949 *
* but datamp.org shows a number of different patents having been issued

Mine has the paten# on it. As you can see it is the newer of the two but does still have the red jaw. This pair was my Father's and he got them for Christmas in 1949.

 

[Jland]

mine are the same as yours Eliot1 but I had to break out a magnifying glass to see any red.. found just a hint... while I have used mine a time or two... I keep them just because they are different... when I look at them I cant help but wonder.. which came first, the design or the company name because they certainly resemble a whale head... they are one of the very few "vintage" tools I haven't tried to clean all the years of crud off... great thread.. the info here is great!!!

​

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks for posting, Eliot and Jland. I missed these the first time around and just saw them now while doing some searching.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Found another Pli-Rench this morning at the flea. I normally don't buy dupes, but this one is an example of the later version, having the improved slotted swiveling jaw (no second pin, no stop). As far as production timeline goes, not quite as late as the versions with the patent stamped on them. Not as purdy as the older one, either.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up a third Pli-Rench this morning at the flea. It's a later PAT. PEND. model with the improved swivel jaw. I already had one, but it's got some irremovable creeping' crud impermeated on it. This one - in the middle on the group shots - is squeaky clean, with more red paint on the pivoting jaw.

 

[Roberts210]

I dunno.... there's somethin' fishy about these. ;-)

 

[AreBeeBee]

Has anyone done tests on how well the Whale Tool models grip variously shaped items compared to the Petersens? Instinctively I distrust moveable gripping surfaces, but that may be pure prejudice.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Has anyone done tests on how well the Whale Tool models grip variously shaped items compared to the Petersens? Instinctively I distrust moveable gripping surfaces, but that may be pure prejudice.

"Test" is too strong of a word, but I have used the Pli-Wrench on various objects, as I have all the Not-Petersen locking plier-wrenches I own. A rod will tend to roll. The Seymour Smith "Snap-Lock," which also has a pivoting jaw, is susceptible to the same issue. Conversely, though, the Pli-Rench and the Snap-Lock are an advantage for objects that are asymmetrically sided, where the object won't move, flipflop, or slip like some are susceptible to doing in Petersen's and all Not-Petersen's with jaws that don't stay square. The most proficient locking plier-wrench for holding symmetrical objects, asymmetrical objects, and rods, in my opinion, are the BMC and the Eifel, explicitly because their jaws stay square at any width. But all of these quirks can be overcome with finesse and blocking, or buying any one of a dizzying variety of specialty vise-grips all of which are pretty much designed to more or less overcome or compensate for the issue of the non-parallel jaws on the original.

EDIT: In short, no, but I don't find it any better or worse than most locking plier-wrenches. YMMV.

 

[WisJim]

I was pretty sure I have one of these, so I looked in the bin of odd wrenches etc., and found one. I got it some time ago for 50 cents or a dollar at a garage sale. It is marked "Pli-Rench" "Pat. Pend." and "Whale Tool Corp." It looks like it should go in the Evaporust.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

I grabbed one of these at an estate sale this morning.

 

[AntiqueBen]

As with most other locking plier-wrench type tools not named "Vise-Grip," they attempt to improve on one of the issues with Petersen's design. In this case, it's that pivoting lower jaw, which is meant to keep the jaws parallel as the opening increases or decreases for different work pieces.

I found a pair of these today for $6. It's also marked pat pend. I really like the parallel ability of the jaws. Very innovative for it's time compared to most Peterson's.

 

[BSA1]

Mine is the same size. According to ads they ran in 1947, they called it 10". I haven't found any evidence of other sizes, but it makes sense that they would. Most locking plier-wrench makers did.

Please inspect your pivoting jaw. The example I found matches the patent drawing. One pin for the pivot, and another pin as a stopper on its range of motion. According to DATAMP, there is another later and much more common variant with a different design where a single pin acts as the pivot and the stopper.

I just found one today. Looks like a 10” with two pins.