Wilde Tool & Forge Co., Hiawatha, Kansas

[four.cycle]

Wilde = pronounced Wild-ee

Prompted by GJ member Private Lugnutz's recent excellent find and his noting there is no thread devoted to Wilde, this is the Wilde thread.

Wilde / Wilde Tool Co., 1210 Pottawatomie St., Hiawatha, KS 66434 (originally Kansas City, MO)(Wilde Tool & Forge) / https://www.wildetool.com / pliers / patent 1800447 Apr 14 1931 Otto P. Froeschl / http://alloy-artifacts.org/wilde-tool.html / http://alloy-artifacts.org/wilde-tool.html#history / http://toolarchives.com/index.php/node/331 /

There's an excellent and brief outline of the company's history on their website.

Wilde got started with Otto P. Froeschl's ingenious patented design for a pair of slip-joint pliers:


patent 1800447 Apr 14 1931 Otto P. Froeschl

The "angle nose" design allows the user to apply more force at the business end, significantly increasing the gripping power of the tool. That the design was in production for well over 80 years is testament to its efficacy.

here's a pair of the original version of Otto's "Angle Nose Pliers":

Wilde 6N Angle Nose Pliers (photo ebay)

After several design changes (and a change in location) - in the middle of which Private Lugnut's "KCMO" specimen was produced - here is the last (and apparently final) iteration of the Wilde Angle Nose Pliers:

Wilde 6N Angle Nose Pliers (photo ebay)

The same design was also produced in an 8-inch size:

Wilde 8N Angle Nose Pliers (photo ebay)

If you check Wilde's pliers selections on their website, you will note that these are no longer being produced.
Currently the best source (for those of you who do not already own a pair) is Cripe Distributing:
Wilde 6N 6-inch angle nose pliers $9.00 + shipping (over 1000 in stock)
Wilde 8N 8-inch angle nose pliers $9.00 + shipping (limited stock available)

 

[four.cycle]

An interesting little anecdote passed along in an email exchange with a member of the Froeschl family:

During WWII, when steel and other alloy metals were being requisitioned for the war effort, Otto P. Froeschl, determined to keep his then-new business operating, contracted with the U.S. military to produce bayonets for the M-1 Garand rifle:

Wilde bayonets for M-1 Garand rifle (photo courtesy Lucas Froeschl - used with permission)

These Wilde bayonets are highly prized by collectors of WWII memorabilia, and command premium prices in the collector market.

Of course, manufacturing bayonets for the war effort required steel, and Otto was able to procure enough raw material to keep his young company operating and producing lots of pliers (in addition to the bayonets.)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...his noting there is no thread devoted to Wilde...

None that I could find, anyway. I've been bitten by that before, though, due to threads left inadvertently abandoned up on the General Discussion board after the Great Schism of 2014, and by Woody's habit of starting threads with the names of patentees, which don't always match the company name. In this case, neither "Wilde" or "Froeschl" produced a single devotee thread up on the GS board or down here, so I think we're good.

I'll re-post this view of my pliers here so people don't have to scroll. That way we'll more or less have several major iterations of the same pliers in the first few posts if not exactly in sequence.

 

[four.cycle]

Over the years, Wilde has gone through many changes. Earlier catalogs include many product offerings which were outsourced from other manufacturers, like this socket set, which I believe was produced by either National Hand Tool or the American KAL/Proamerica/Emporium Forging consortium. (Sorry, no documentation on that - it's just my speculative opinion based on visual comparisons of multiple examples.)
Wilde 12005 24-pc Metric Socket set (photo ebay)

During the last decade, Wilde has streamlined their product line, dropping many of the previously outsourced items from their catalog and focusing on what they make in house in order to fill orders for their private label accounts, which account for the majority of their business.
It's fairly common knowledge that Wilde is the OEM supplier to several other companies for pliers, pry bars, and other items.

 

[four.cycle]

My own meager collection of Wilde is all current-production product, all of which I've found to be of first-rate quality, and superior in design and manufacture to that of their largest competitor. I felt it well worth a few extra bucks for better stuff.

Wilde G271.Z and Proamerica 8010 10-inch groove-joint pliers

Wilde G271.Z and Proamerica 8010 10-inch groove-joint pliers

Wilde G271.Z and Proamerica 8010 10-inch groove-joint pliers

Wilde G271.Z and Proamerica 8010 10-inch groove-joint pliers

(photos above for comparison purposes. sorry, I don't own tools with blue handles. )


Wilde 8N angle nose pliers

Wilde 260P hose-clamp pliers (for "Corbin" type wire hose clamps)

Wilde 260P hose-clamp pliers (for "Corbin" type wire hose clamps)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

These Wilde bayonets are highly prized by collectors of WWII memorabilia, and command premium prices in the collector market.

Of course, manufacturing bayonets for the war effort required steel, and Otto was able to procure enough raw material to keep his young company operating and producing lots of pliers (in addition to the bayonets.)

It was a single, short, but lucrative contract, awarded very early - two months before we declared war, to be precise, by the US Army Ordnance Dept, and terminated mid 1942. This jibes (admirably, and uncommonly in my experience!) with the timeline on the Wilde website. The smaller late war contract for "Hand Pliers" you see on the excerpt is the Navy Bureau of Supplies and Accounts. They may have had other even smaller contracts in between, but the WPB only tracked and recorded at their level those of $50,000 or more in value.

 

[four.cycle]

More red-handled fabulousness-

If you haven't tried the "Flush Fastener" slip-joints, all I can say is you don't know what you're missing:


Wilde G264FP.NP "Flush Fastener" 10-inch slip-joint pliers

Wilde G269P 5-inch groove-joint pliers

Wilde G270P.NP 7-inch angle-nose groove-joint pliers

Wilde G270P.NP 7-inch angle-nose groove-joint pliers

Wilde G271P 10-inch angle-nose groove-joint pliers

Wilde G6360P.NP 9-inch linemans pliers

 

[four.cycle]

In addition to pliers, Wilde also manufactures chisels and punches:

Wilde PS6-VP 6-pc Tapered Solid Drift Pin Punch Set
Wilde PS6-VP 6-pc Tapered Solid Drift Pin Punch Set
Wilde RS906NPVP 6-pc roll pin punch set

They also offer different styles of "picks". This little set is just the ticket for tiny spaces:
Wilde SHP904 4 pc pick set

Let's see what you've got out there! Especially the oldies!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Especially the oldies!

I'm glad you included that. It IS the vintage board.

I didn't realize you were in the midst of a long run of posts when I posted, mucking up your sequence. My apologies.

 

[four.cycle]

No problem - it's all good.
I deliberately posted it here in the "Vintage" forum, notwithstanding my not owning any early product. (I already have lots of 50-year-old Indestro, Proto, and Challenger pliers out in the garage, if I need "vintage".)
Thanks for the details on the military contracts.

For those in the market for new pliers:
Best deals online for Wilde are either from BowersTool on ebay, or Harry Epstein.
Harry Epstein still has the best deal available on the 10-inch groove-joint pliers (in a rainbow of colors.)

I'd really like to see some early Wilde stuff posted here.

 

[3baygarage]

I placed a call to Wilde some years back and asked who produces their ratchets. The person on the phone said that was not information they could provide.

Thus the round head of unknown origin mystery continues.

 

[four.cycle]

^ In most every case, confidentiality is written into contractual agreements between companies who are buying from each other.
Unless the manufacturer is willing to divulge their sources, or who they are selling to, we are left with the unenviable task of determining that for ourselves. In most cases, simple visual comparisons are enough, provided that enough examples can be found.
I could well be dead-*** wrong about my statement above, but I don't think I am.

 

[Jeff]

I have a few Wilde tools. Excellent quality.

 

[Mintgrun]

This thread is in need of a little oxidation. The 8" pliers are marked PAT. PEND. WILDE and WRENCH share the same big W, but it appears to be stretched into two stacked letters that line up nicely on the smaller pair. The Wilde KC MO logo is faintly stamped on that pair, but shows up much better on the six inchers.





These pliers appear as item #1 on page #1 of the 1958 Wilde catalog, shown here.

Wilde Hand Tools for the Mechanic : Catalog No. 58 : Wilde Tool Co., Inc. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

20 p., illus., 27.7 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

On page #2, they show a pair of water pump pliers that have the same strap wrapping the adjuster as this pair of Wards Master Quality pliers, suggesting they were made by Wilde. They all have ALLOY STEEL forged into the handles.



AA suggests that the "rope-banded" grip pattern is unique to Wilde and that they made pliers that were stamped with a variety of logos. I have some long-C Craftsman battery pliers that have that pattern. (It is referred to as "knurling" in the 1958 catalog).



The No. 189 wrench looks like an oldie.





EDIT here is a link to the patent on the pliers https://patents.google.com/patent/US1800447

Tom

 

[Kent_B]

I don't have any vintage Wilde tools, but have a few pliers that are rebranded as Tekton. I'm quite happy with them. So happy in fact that I bought 2 of the Wilde G269P 5-inch groove-joint pliers as shown back i post #7.

 

[four.cycle]

Thanks for showing the vintage stuff, Mintgrun!

The 8-inch angle nose models marked "Pat Pend" were made prior to the patent date - dating clear back to the company's first years.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

This thread is in need of a little oxidation.

 

[four.cycle]

^ you too, huh?

 

[d42jeep]

A couple of Wilde tools. They must have sold plenty of these pliers.
I‘m not sure how old this cotter pin puller is.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The only vintage Wilde tools I have ever found in the wild other than the parrot heads I just found and posted in post #3 above are a carbon scraper, back in 2017 (see Pic 1), and ignition pliers, just last year (see Pics 2, 3, & 4). I'm not sure how old those are, either. (But they don't have red plastic handles! ) I just don't see them too often.

 

[Mintgrun]

I'm guessing this is one of their early wrenches. Stamped WILDE K.C. MO. 63-S. It looks like nickel plating, based on the slightly yellow color.

 

[Ricky Joe]

If you can do it, Tom, I can match you! And I’ll raise you an ignition wrench!

 

[Ton ton]

It's great to see that Wilde has been around for awhile.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a little ratchet wrench I found in my user toolbox recently.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

AA suggests that the "rope-banded" grip pattern is unique to Wilde and that they made pliers that were stamped with a variety of logos.

..... and a variety of brand names, apparently. Slumming around on another "tool guy" website, I found these recently posted images:


Plomb 2236 6-in angle-jaw slip-joint pliers (manufactured by Wilde) (photos: Yadda)

 

[kyrbz]

Epsteins usually has a good selection of Wilde tools

 

[piehammer]

Recent find - Circle P marked Craftsman wrench from Wilde.

 

[Ton ton]

Nice double open end wrench, you ****. Pie hammer.

 

[piehammer]

I have an extra...

 

[Ton ton]

I have blown my tool buying budget unfortunately. But thank you for the offer.

 

[d42jeep]

..... and a variety of brand names, apparently. Slumming around on another "tool guy" website, I found these recently posted images:


Plomb 2236 6-in angle-jaw slip-joint pliers (manufactured by Wilde) (photos: Yadda)

It does appear that my Plomb and Wilde pliers are not-too-distant cousins.
-Don

 

[Zrxrunner]

How about some 3/8 drive socket tools?! Estate sale find year or 2 ago. They just had these in a ziplock, no case or extras to be found. All labeled Wilde K.C. MO. U.S.A. part numbers are a B24 thru B-12 format on sockets. Slider appears to be 296 part number.

 

[d42jeep]

Here are some side by side pictures of the Wilde and Plomb pliers.
-Don

 

[BFBOB]

OK, I'll play! Here's one of my favorite examples of the Thorsen VeeGee pattern - Not a great specimen (you should have seen it before the electrolysis treatment!), but very hard to find wearing the Wilde brand- in fact I only have this one.

 

[kyrbz]

Living near Epstein's, I've accumulated a fair amount of Wilde tools over the years. A small sampling of some of them.

 

[PowderKeg]

Over the years, Wilde has gone through many changes. Earlier catalogs include many product offerings which were outsourced from other manufacturers, like this socket set, which I believe was produced by either National Hand Tool or the American KAL/Proamerica/Emporium Forging consortium. (Sorry, no documentation on that - it's just my speculative opinion based on visual comparisons of multiple examples.)
Wilde 12005 24-pc Metric Socket set (photo ebay)
...

As far as ratchets, Wilde's had at least a couple different suppliers - I've got 1/4" & 3/8" versions in the classic MDF/Easco/Danaher RHFT design, and a 1/2" in the questlonable pedigree round head with the thick bar reverse switch (my personal guess is that it's a Stanley-sourced ratchet).

 

[MisterEd]

Wilde No. 189 3/8” Combination Wrench

 

[Mark Stansbury]

Here are scans of 2 Wilde catalogs, making 3 that are now on Archive.org:
Wilde Hand Tools : Catalog No. 1059 - 1973?
Wilde Quality Hand Tools : 1985 Catalog

 

[Mark Stansbury]

These are the Wilde Tool catalog covers that are not scanned. If anyone has any Wilde catalogs or brochures and are willing to lend them, I can scan it for you and get it back in the mail to you the next day.

 

[d42jeep]

I found these smooth jaw slip joint pliers today at a Tahoe moving sale. They don’t seem to have seen much use. They were in a plumbing box and with the smooth jaws I assume plumbing work is what they were made for.
-Don