Wow, Dude, I.B. Trippin' in 1897

[Private Lugnutz]

I found this combination adjustable wrench, alligator wrench, spoke ****** grip, and screwdriver tool at a flea market this morning. It's 5 inches long and nickel-plated.

It was patented (587,624) on August 3, 1897 by I.B. Tripp.

As you can see, the dynamic jaw has a row of teeth that engage with a row of teeth on the handle, which has a lever to squeeze and hold the teeth together. The capacity is 1/16" to 1-1/4”.

The two pieces are not connected.

The back end of the dynamic jaw has an alligator opening with one smooth jaw and one serrated jaw and the round opening where the jaws meet formulates a spoke ****** grip. The end of the handle is a slotted screwdriver blade.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

These were made and marketed at the turn of the last century as “The Best” Wrench by the Best Wrench Company of Chicago.

According to DATAMP they were also put into bicycle tool kits supplied with the bicycles sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co., but I have not looked for evidence of that yet.

Here is a link to the patent on the USPTO site.

 

[ddawg16]

Ok..............THAT is cool

 

[BajaScout]

Sweet!

 

[rlitman]

That is really beautiful. Are the teeth 1/16" spaced?

 

[Sevenhills1952]

That one tool you could carry on bicycle to fix everything...an early Leatherman all in one tool. Amazing someone would sell it.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[3baygarage]

Great find. It appears to be in nice shape too.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That is really beautiful. Are the teeth 1/16" spaced?

Yup. Exactly 32/16ths of them.

That one tool you could carry on bicycle to fix everything...an early Leatherman all in one tool. Amazing someone would sell it.

According to DATAMP, there was one in each toolkit that Sears & Roebuck supplied with each bicycle they sold at the turn of the century, but I haven't found an ad to show that yet. The 1897 catalog does not show it. It shows kits and a few of the tools, but not this one. I haven't found an 1898, 1899, 1900 or 1901 Sears & Roebuck catalog on-line to search it yet.

Great find. It appears to be in nice shape too.

Amazing condition, 3bay. "Cased hardened, nickel plated, and finely finished," the ads say, and they ain't kidding!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Amazing someone would sell it.

It was a house liquidator. They don't really know their merchandise, they're just trying to sell as much of it as they can as quickly as they can so they can move on to the next house or garage, the next haul. I found this, a c.1901 Roebling alligator wrench, and a c.1915 Schollhorn shoe button tool in the bottom of a very old wooden toolbox.

 

[HeelSpur]

That's awesome.

 

[LXCam]

Now that's something I'd like to have in the collection. I'm not an avid antique tool guy but from time to time I see something that is out of the ordinary and will get it.

 

[DFB]

Pretty cool

 

[PartsGuy]

I'll see your pliers, alligator wrench, and flat screwdriver, and raise you a hatchet and hammerhead.

Made by Thomas Manufacturing, Dayton, OH..... funky tool, but the majority reason I purchased mine is that my name was already on it!

TomD

(full disclosure, this is an eBay picture... mine is out in my toolbox and I'm too lazy to go photograph it, but you get the idea!)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Haha. Very cool. Have you done any research? Do you know when it was made?

 

[Corvair]

That's pretty cool!

 

[PartsGuy]

Basic lazy Googling, didn't come to much, although I've also found a pretty fancy pair of scissors and a straight razor made by the same company.... probably turn of the century?
I also found a Sotheby's auction listing describing it as a railroad hatchet, noting that some fool paid over $400 for one several years ago. Likely a hipster with a man-bun, hahaha!

 

[jdbilodeau]

Lugz-
Saw you mention this find over on the Garage Sale thread- What a cool wrench! Thanks for sharing and for the history lesson!
JD

 

[jdbilodeau]

And one more follow up- the design of the I.B.Trippin wrench reminded me of a fad currently going around in the professional bicycle mechanic world- Mechanics who travel (and have to minimize the number of tools/weight they fly with) have taken to modifying the Knipex pliers wrench into something just like this vintage design. The single modified wrench replaces size specific bearing cone wrenches.

So we start with an adjustable solution, graduate to individual size specific wrenches and then come back to the adjustable- over the course of 122 years. Wild.

Pic from the Instagram of pro mechanic Erik Cho, and crossposted to the amazing Toolboxwars Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toolboxwars/

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, jd. And especially thanks for filling me in on the current bike world craze. What comes around, goes around!

 

[four.cycle]

early advertisements for the "Best" wrench invented by Mr. Tripp:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Cool ad. But, is it "Good as can be made", as the ad copy reads? Or "Best" as the name implies? Or are those the same?

 

[bbbarracuda]

Found this today. I was having trouble ID'ing it but found a reference to "the best wrench" on the oddball adjustable thread that led me here. There are no markings other than the Pat applied for.
Since it is PAT APL'D For I assume ii is earlier than the 1897 patent.
I see the Application filed April 16, 1897, so I guess it was made between then and the patent date Aug 3, 1897

 

[four.cycle]

^ wow.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Welcome to the I.B. Tripp Club, 'Cuda! So far there are two of us.

Cool that it's a PAT PEND model.

 

[bbbarracuda]

I saw it buried in a box lot on an online auction. I had no clue what it was but I got the lot for $3.00 so figured it was worth the risk.
I haven't really gone through the rest of the lot so not sure what other treasures await.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Nice snag! I am a flea market guy, but there was a time, and I know plenty of guys still do it, where I was looking through cheap DOE engineers wrench lots on eBay for correct jeep wrenches. In some cases, and this is a good example, it can still be fleaBay. I just got tired of staring into a screen! Well done, though. Hub wrench on top. I see a farm wrench underneath and maybe a Billings adjustable hook spanner.

 

[slowtwitch73]

That's sweet.. love the tooth/lever mechanism.

 

[teagueo]

Awesome looking tool!

 

[firstyearchevelle]

I found this one in a pile of tools dumped on a tarp at a swap meet priced at 2 for $1.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found this one in a pile of tools dumped on a tarp at a swap meet priced at 2 for $1.

What was the other tool you picked?

Kidding. Terrific find. Thanks for posting. It's only the third example posted on GJ so far.

Is that deteriorating plating picking up a golden reflection or did someone spray bomb it yellow? Hard to tell from the photo.

 

[firstyearchevelle]

What was the other tool you picked?

Kidding. Terrific find. Thanks for posting. It's only the third example posted on GJ so far.

Is that deteriorating plating picking up a golden reflection or did someone spray bomb it yellow? Hard to tell from the photo.

I forgot to mention, this one is solid gold. Nah, just a weird reflection.

Since you asked, this was the other 2 for $1 tool. Was so filthy you really couldn’t tell if it was a knockoff or not.

 

[jabberwoki]

Thats a treasure Lugs.
So glad it found its way into your hands.

 

[Retired Wrench]

I saw it buried in a box lot on an online auction. I had no clue what it was but I got the lot for $3.00 so figured it was worth the risk.
I haven't really gone through the rest of the lot so not sure what other treasures await.

Looks like a possible Model T transmission band wrench at the upper left side.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thats a treasure Lugs.
So glad it found its way into your hands.

Thanks, jab. One of the fun parts about old threads being bumped is it reminds you that you have the tool. And in this case, I actually know where it is!