Mystery Linesman/ Button Pliers 1857??

[AntiqueBen]

I ran across some old, I guess they would be considered, Linesman Pliers or button pliers. I bought them because they reminded me of an old pair of J.M. King pliers I have from the 1860's. They are marked H&S '57. I'm pretty sure they're not Hemingway & Smith because AA said they were established in 1898. I know these wouldn't be 1957 due to the construction & how similar they are to my JM King pair. These look real early. Who is the H&S in this case? Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on these??

 

[4xdog]

I don't see an apostrophe before the 57. Are you sure it's a reference to 1857 production?

 

[AntiqueBen]

My JM King's are stamped with a number date so just a guess. The way they are made is what made me think they are early. And it's actually Smith & Hemingway not Hemingway & Smith...so that can't be it either.

 

[Leviton]

I bet your pliers are made in Germany.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Could be I guess. What makes you think so?

 

[Leviton]

Could be I guess. What makes you think so?

Other pliers marked H&S followed by a number with a mention of them being German made.

Unique Vintage H & S 5-3/4” Multifunction Pliers Made Pre War Germany

Vintage German Plier lot of 7 plus. Heyco, H & S, Reach

 

[AntiqueBen]

Thanks. Nice find. So wander who H&S is & what era their from? I can't imagine they had that many different models so wander if the numbers are dates?

 

[RTM]

The Meister and Lohman catalogs are my first two search points for German marked tools. Lots of options, but they won’t tell you the maker, but maybe the name.

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

 

[four.cycle]

check:

Holzbearbeitung mit Handwerkzeugen (Inhalt)/Woodworking with Hand Tools (Sitemap)

 

[Cleave]

I have a small pair like that, but have no idea about their lineage or age.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Thanks for the link four cycle. That's a great resource. I've only looked at the German manufacturers so far, but there was no H&S.

 

[Eric Brown]

Other pliers marked H&S followed by a number with a mention of them being German made.

Unique Vintage H & S 5-3/4” Multifunction Pliers Made Pre War Germany

Vintage German Plier lot of 7 plus. Heyco, H & S, Reach

Here are a pair of end cutters also marked "H&S 14" on the inside of one handle, and "Germany" on the other. These seem old simply because of the head shape. Somewhat delicate compared to newer. Could this possibly Hilger & Son(s)? They were in business in the early 1800's. So it possible these were made in 1814 (1914?). One argument against that is the Germany stamp. Country of origin became a law in the 1930's, but it doesn't mean they didn't stamp the Germany name earlier. Hilger and Sons also imported tools. So really not sure. Looking on E-Bay I did find a bunch more tools marked H&S that included cutters, pliers, knives, razors and such. Four pictures of my cutter and one of a pair of pliers off E-Bay with the same H&S 14 marking.

 

[acer66]

check:

Holzbearbeitung mit Handwerkzeugen (Inhalt)/Woodworking with Hand Tools (Sitemap)

Nice and very interesting that he offers to see all his tools in action in his shop/working museum.