Diamond Calk Horse Shoe Co. Double end S Wrench

[psmitty1921]

I snagged this wrench at a yard sale over the weekend. The more I look at it the more interesting it gets. It would be great to hear your opinions on age, rarity and value of the wrench. This is a Diamond Calk Horse Shoe (two words) Co. Duluth Minn. U.S.A. Double end S Wrench. One end is a #10 and the other is a #12. The "10" is a normal looking 1 and 0. But the "12" is a different font. Both ends of the 1 and 2 are bifurcated or forked. I believe this is early say 1915-1925 based on the separation of the word horseshoe into two words and the S handle. But that's about all I know, all opinions are welcome. Thanks for your input.

 

[four.cycle]

Hello @psmitty1921 and welcome to the site!

You have me at a loss, sir.
I do not find that wrench in any catalog.
Purely wild speculation on my part, but I believe there's a possibility you may have a rather rare specimen there.

While I am waiting for responses from a few others (doubtless more knowledgeable about these than myself) let me offer:

Here's a link you'll want to keep handy

.... and this one too

and HERE is the main "Diamond Calk & Horseshoe" thread

 

[psmitty1921]

Hello @psmitty1921 and welcome to the site!

You have me at a loss, sir.
I do not find that wrench in any catalog.
Purely wild speculation on my part, but I believe there's a possibility you may have a rather rare specimen there.

While I am waiting for responses from a few others (doubtless more knowledgeable about these than myself) let me offer:

Here's a link you'll want to keep handy

.... and this one too

and HERE is the main "Diamond Calk & Horseshoe" thread

Thank you for the reply! I appreciate it. I will check out those links and see what I can find.

 

[3baygarage]

Neat find. I have to wonder if it began life as a straight wrench and someone bent it like so.

 

[psmitty1921]

Neat find. I have to wonder if it began life as a straight wrench and someone bent it like so.

I thought that too at first but I have seen S wrenches before and the lettering is very consistently straight for someone to bend the wrench that way and not distort the letters. I think it was forged into the S shape. Just my guess.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It would be great to hear your opinions on age, rarity and value of the wrench.

It's definitely early, as you concluded. Everything about the wrench, including all the markings, is perfectly consistent with other examples of the early 10-12 double-enders. You can see photos of a few on our Diamond thread, the Alloy Artifacts site, and probably various marketplaces. They are uncommon, but they are not unicorns.

Everything except the shape, of course. I have never seen an "S" wrench version. With my curiosity piqued, I searched the digital library on Google Books for a good hour this morning, uncovering all kinds of ads and notices in 1920s trade mags. None of them show or describe "S" wrenches.

I have to admit my first inclination is the same as 3bay's. I have seen all kinds of wrenches bent into odd shapes for special uses cases by previous owners without distorting forged-in markings. Prime examples are regular double-box end wrenches bent into half-moon or starter and manifold wrenches.

In its favor, though, are the bends themselves. If someone did it in a shop, they did it with an ample amount of professional proficiency. Mabe it's original production and just very rare with no documentation.

Hopefully you won't be put off by the skepticism. This is what we do around here. We ooh and ahh with a healthy dose of objectivity.

I am tagging @Fred Knox for his opinion. He owns a near-complete collection of Diamond double-enders, including an early 10-12.

Either way, it's a terrific find!

 

[four.cycle]

This is a pretty interesting artifact, the first example of an S-shaped double-ended adjustable wrench I've seen. This style doesn't show up in any of the Diamond Calk advertisements, so my guess would be that it was an experimental product made in limited quantities.

The earliest reference to Diamond Calk adjustable wrenches is in 1921, and a 1922 ad shows only a single-ended wrench. The earliest illustration I have of a double-ended wrench is in a 1924 ad.

The marking quirk of "Horse Shoe" as two words has been observed in a number of early Diamond "Tool-Steel" wrenches, with an estimated time frame of early to mid 1920s.

For a double-ended wrench with the "Horse Shoe" marking, I would estimate mid 1920s production.

One more detail for the early tool-steel wrenches is that there was a production code in the form of A followed by three digits, e.g. A221. I can't quite make it out from the photos, but it appears that the 12 end might have a code like this.

AA

A Minnesota collector with comprehensive DIAMOND collection has never shown anything like this. He does not do online. DiAMOND (like other wrench makers) did make double end adjustables, In my opinion, the "S" curvature would have to stand some very extensive & exhaustive examination. I've seen some very convincing "custom modifications" in the wrench collecting universe. Stan s.

waiting on answers from a couple others, which may or may not arrive.

 

[crguy]

Count me in as skeptical also. Look at what appears to be vise marks on the sides of the wrench. Like it could have been clamped while being heated & bent. I don't recall ever clamping an adjustable like that when using it, and I've done some odd things to use wrenches.

 

[d42jeep]

There are a lot of markings on the side of that wrench that look to me as if it had been clamped in a vise quite a few times. Those markings may have happened when the wrench had heat applied during its transformation into an S shape. There are very few other reasons to clamp an adjustable wrench into a vise. Just my opinion.
-Don

 

[Fred Knox]

Count me on the skeptical side too. It does look very appealing, but the marks on the sides close to where the bends are, and the thickening of the inside of the grip reinforcement there (compared to the other side), seems to me to be indicative of someone who was actively reshaping the wrench. It is very cool-looking though.

 

[psmitty1921]

It's definitely early, as you concluded. Everything about the wrench, including all the markings, is perfectly consistent with other examples of the early 10-12 double-enders. You can see photos of a few on our Diamond thread, the Alloy Artifacts site, and probably various marketplaces. They are uncommon, but they are not unicorns.

Everything except the shape, of course. I have never seen an "S" wrench version. With my curiosity piqued, I searched the digital library on Google Books for a good hour this morning, uncovering all kinds of ads and notices in 1920s trade mags. None of them show or describe "S" wrenches.

I have to admit my first inclination is the same as 3bay's. I have seen all kinds of wrenches bent into odd shapes for special uses cases by previous owners without distorting forged-in markings. Prime examples are regular double-box end wrenches bent into half-moon or starter and manifold wrenches.

In its favor, though, are the bends themselves. If someone did it in a shop, they did it with an ample amount of professional proficiency. Mabe it's original production and just very rare with no documentation.

Hopefully you won't be put off by the skepticism. This is what we do around here. We ooh and ahh with a healthy dose of objectivity.

I am tagging @Fred Knox for his opinion. He owns a near-complete collection of Diamond double-enders, including an early 10-12.

Either way, it's a terrific find!

Thanks! I appreciate your thoughts on this wrench, yes if the bends were done later whoever did them did a really nice job of maintaining the structure of the letters.

 

[psmitty1921]

waiting on answers from a couple others, which may or may not arrive.

I thought it was visible in the photos but here is a better shot. On the 12" end below the thumbwheel there is a number. It appears to be 502. And now that you mention it I think I can make out an A before the 5. See below

 

[psmitty1921]

Ok, I just found a 10-12 Double ender online with "A502" on one end. Does this solve the mystery? It appears so. What do you guys think?

 

[four.cycle]

^ link or photo?

(FTR: I have no opinion about your wrench one way or another - I'm just the messenger here who's conveyed the information to some others.)
(My focus here is strictly the LIST)

 

[d42jeep]

Early Diamond adjustable wrenches have a model number below the adjusting wheel.
-Don

 

[psmitty1921]

^ link or photo?

(FTR: I have no opinion about your wrench one way or another - I'm just the messenger here who's conveyed the information to some others.)
(My focus here is strictly the LIST)