wrenchguy
Well-known member
Almost looks a logo, its neat 1.
The Ancient and Independent Order of Oddfellows (Adjustables, that is...)
- Thread starter Private Lugnutz
- Start date
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Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Thanks, wrenchguy.
Roy
Somebody up on the 'Old World' thread guessed Hanover Schuman on your HAxxxER SCxxxAN marking, but I think they may have just been filling the letters in. It is probable. But a quick search turned up zilch on that name. I'm thinking short-lived exporter maybe, and "SUL" as the OEM, but nothing turning up on "SUL" or "S.U.L.", either.
Roy
Somebody up on the 'Old World' thread guessed Hanover Schuman on your HAxxxER SCxxxAN marking, but I think they may have just been filling the letters in. It is probable. But a quick search turned up zilch on that name. I'm thinking short-lived exporter maybe, and "SUL" as the OEM, but nothing turning up on "SUL" or "S.U.L.", either.
3baygarage
Well-known member
Hammacher Schlemmer? I doubt it, but just a guess.
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I tried that, too, 3bay. No hits. And the names are a little long for the marking. Roy is sending me his 8" wrench to complete an old trade and I'm going to see if I can make the marking a little more legible.
rustynbent
Active member
Outstanding thread lugnutz. Really enjoy it and found some answers for some of my pieces.
damon18
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Here's the 9 inch adjustable I posted in the Garage Sale thread after some more time in EvapoRust and some hand brushing.
Since the patent for the style is from 1909 and mine is marked Patent Pending does that mean it was made before 1909?
I found it here called an Alligator Wrench?
https://www.vintagetools.net/product/superior-wrench-co-alligator-wrench-544as
Book entry
https://books.google.com/books?id=S...444&source=bookclip&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
Alloy Artifacts entry
http://alloy-artifacts.org/other-makers-p3.html#superior
Sent from my SM-G973U using The Garage Journal mobile app
Since the patent for the style is from 1909 and mine is marked Patent Pending does that mean it was made before 1909?
I found it here called an Alligator Wrench?
https://www.vintagetools.net/product/superior-wrench-co-alligator-wrench-544as
Book entry
https://books.google.com/books?id=S...444&source=bookclip&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false
Alloy Artifacts entry
http://alloy-artifacts.org/other-makers-p3.html#superior
Sent from my SM-G973U using The Garage Journal mobile app
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Thanks, and glad it helped you.
That's the logic I would use, yes. More specifically, it was probably made some time after the patent was applied for (March 1908) and when it was granted (September 1909). Nice find. Cool wrench.
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
UPDATE on the tiny wedge-adjust from upthread...
Thanks to roy_olson (for sending me his 8-incher to clean and more closely inspect...see Pic 1) and kjbenner (for identifying the logo on the "Old World" thread...see Pic 2), these were made by HACOMER in Solingen, Germany. HACOMER is still in business making primarily cutting tools. We still have not solved the "SUL" marking.
Roy's wrench is a lot looser than mine, and since the wedge was already slipping off more easily than mine, I removed it to take some photos of how and where the spring was pinned on to the wrench and the dynamic jaw. See Pics 3, 4, & 5. Note that Roy's is constructed a little differently (with raised edges...). See Pics 6 & 7. Either made in a different production era, or the 6-incher is the only length they didn't feel the need to reinforce/panelize like that, I reckon.
Thanks to roy_olson (for sending me his 8-incher to clean and more closely inspect...see Pic 1) and kjbenner (for identifying the logo on the "Old World" thread...see Pic 2), these were made by HACOMER in Solingen, Germany. HACOMER is still in business making primarily cutting tools. We still have not solved the "SUL" marking.
Roy's wrench is a lot looser than mine, and since the wedge was already slipping off more easily than mine, I removed it to take some photos of how and where the spring was pinned on to the wrench and the dynamic jaw. See Pics 3, 4, & 5. Note that Roy's is constructed a little differently (with raised edges...). See Pics 6 & 7. Either made in a different production era, or the 6-incher is the only length they didn't feel the need to reinforce/panelize like that, I reckon.
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Made in USA
Well-known member
Lugz, could you try chalking the “SUL”? The discolorations in the steel blend with the stamped elements. I keep seeing other lines besides the ones you’ve identified. Something like “STEL”.
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I've tried. OOMP up on the "Old World" thread saw the same thing, and suggested it could be "Stahl", the German word for steel. With the luxury of a loupe, inches away, and different angles, the "lines" you are seeing look like natural areas of wear or discoloration to me that have coincidentally conspired to suggest other letters. But, I'll try again. I seem to have some free time on my hands lately. 
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
LS
Here are the two wrenches chalked. The impressions in the 8" wrench (Pic 1) are just too shallow and too mis-stamped (at an angle favoring the top half of the die) to be much help. The stamp in the 6" wrench (Pic 2) is better and might hopefully help you see that there are only three letters.
Here are the two wrenches chalked. The impressions in the 8" wrench (Pic 1) are just too shallow and too mis-stamped (at an angle favoring the top half of the die) to be much help. The stamp in the 6" wrench (Pic 2) is better and might hopefully help you see that there are only three letters.
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Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
These might help even more. I took several photos at some of the more oblique angles at which I have been inspecting the markings. Pics 5 & 6 in particular eliminate the "additional letters" theory, in my opinion. I think the "T" some people were seeing in prior photos was the idea of the "U" possibly connecting to the elongated top of the "S". But it clearly doesn't.
Here is the 6" wrench....
Here is the 6" wrench....
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Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
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Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
My strongest hunch remains "SUL" being the initials for some kind of manufacturers association, either of steel makers, tool makers, or possibly some kind of quasi-authority, like a seal of approval. But so far I haven't found anyone fluent in German and also knowledgeable enough in German toolmaking history to dive into this a little for me. It is not an OEM marking. That is Hocamer, Solingen, Germany, which appears on the flip side of the wedge-adjust.
I hadn’t realized Roy’s 8” had the same mark. And though it is a bad strike, it clearly shows the separation among the tops of the letters. I think between the two of them, it definitely spells “SUL” with the top of the S reaching over the U and L, just as you say.
Maybe it’s a local-pride motto like “Solingen uber Langenfeld” (JK).
Because it says “Germany” instead of “Deutschland,” it seems clear that it was meant for export to the English-speaking market. So maybe not a German mark, but an American importer?
Maybe it’s a local-pride motto like “Solingen uber Langenfeld” (JK).
Because it says “Germany” instead of “Deutschland,” it seems clear that it was meant for export to the English-speaking market. So maybe not a German mark, but an American importer?
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OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Thanks for confirming, LS. / That's a possibility.
Lesserstore
Well-known member
IDK what *IPC is, but the tool itself resembles the Eifel Geared Plierench.
So, “* Immitation Plierench Company”?
There are two aluminum pipe wrenches on eBay right now that the seller has listed as “IPC”, like a brand, but I think the packaging really means “1 PC” (one piece).
The stamp on your pliers does look like an “I”, though maybe the asterix could be a secondary, unrelated stamp?
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r_olson_06
Well-known member
Thread Bump. I think this applies here but how about this wizard that patent dates pre 1910.
Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench
Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Nice. On my bucket list (see post #6). Rare to find in the wild!
r_olson_06
Well-known member
I will put it in the lugz pile.
Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I appreciate the gesture, Roy, but that is a pretty big ticket item find right there. They have sold for $50+ on eBay in the past. I might could find something of that value for a future trade, but you might could cash that in, too!
r_olson_06
Well-known member
I knew what it was worth when I bought it. I am sure we can to some sort of deal.I appreciate the gesture, Roy, but that is a pretty big ticket item find right there. They have sold for $50+ on eBay in the past. I might could find something of that value for a future trade, but you might could cash that in, too!
Looking for a Round Beam Plomb 1068 Double Box End Wrench
d42jeep
Well-known member
I’m not sure that this Carll adjustable that I found recently really belongs in this thread due to the inclusion of an adjusting wheel, but the reversing jaw certainly qualifies as odd. He had it in mind to make a wrench with a rotating head, something he apparently accomplished later on.
-Don
-Don
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OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Nice find, Don.
damon18
ALLIANCE MEMBER
This ones odd, but not an adjustable wrench. Only found one mention of it on GJ but no picture. Here is a video of it in operation.
Speedyratch
Beall Tool Div. Hubbard & Co.
East Alton Ill.
I don't have it, saw the pictures in a Facebook group and asked permission to put it on YouTube so I could share.
Speedyratch
Beall Tool Div. Hubbard & Co.
East Alton Ill.
I don't have it, saw the pictures in a Facebook group and asked permission to put it on YouTube so I could share.
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Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
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Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Excited to have picked up this Cleveland Wrench Co. 6-inch "Auto-Grip" at the flea market this morning. These were patented with a Design Patent (D138,173) granted in 1944. They came in a few different lengths and jaw capacities, but I'm not holding my breath on completing a set.
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If you would have found one of the other sizes, I could have helped you on your way to the set... but you just had to find the 6 incher.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7300163&postcount=19
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7300163&postcount=19
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Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
HAHA. Yeah, I couldn't remember who found one, but then did when I posted in the Masterrench thread.
3baygarage
Well-known member
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Very cool, 3bay! He owned the patent. See Pic 3 in post #70 if you missed it. Like so many other similar stories in the antique and vintage era, perhaps he was a solo inventor who tried to make a go of it himself before selling the rights to a larger manufacturer. Or he started Cleveland Wrench. I suspect the former, though.
3baygarage
Well-known member
I did see that patent drawing you posted. Helps make sense of it all.
Old Radar
Well-known member
At an estate sale the other day I found this 12" spring loaded self adjusting pipe wrench made by The Craftsman Tool Co. Conneaut, Ohio. Pat 870,781, 12 Nov 1907.
Along with his request to post it on this thread, Lugz provided some interesting background:
Patent number 870,781 was issued to George Heckling November 12, 1907.
According to "Wrenchwiki" the company went through a series of reorganizations starting with the McLean Cream Separator Company in Detroit reorganizing as the Attwood Wrench, Tool, and Stamping Company in 1911. The Company became Attwood Manufacturing in Conneaut, Ohio in 1912. The property was then sold at trustee’s sale in 1914. The Craftsman Tool Company was organized after purchasing the property and advertisements exist for them until 1923.
Under Heckling's patent in DATAMP they mention a 1926 Frank Moore patent (1,593,588) assigned to the Pittsburgh Malleable Iron Company. The patent covered subtle differences to Heckling's. DATAMP states "Known examples of the Pittsburgh Malleable Iron Co. roller jaw pipe wrench have the CRAFT trade mark along with the 1907 patent date..."
And before anyone gets excited, I know I should have used a pipe for the jaw photo--just didn't have one handy. I also didn't have a scale to measure the jaw's spring strength, but after spending a couple of hours holding it open while cleaning it, I can say it is still pretty stout.
Along with his request to post it on this thread, Lugz provided some interesting background:
Not the company that Sears, Roebuck & Company paid $500 for the rights to the Craftsman name, if you're wondering, which was Marion-Craftsman, in Marion, Indiana. The Craftsman Tool Company in Conneaut, Ohio, ill-fatefully changed their name to Craftool in 1925, missing out on the big Sears windfall.
Also, if you're not from that part of the country (my dad's side of the family hails from Fairport Harbor, Ohio), that's CONNIE-yacht, not con-KNOW. It may have been settled by French, but the pronunciation did not follow.
Those are not easy to find. They came in various lengths, too, like most pipe wrenches. Other examples have been posted here on GJ before, but not too many. Still hoping to run into one in the wild.
Patent number 870,781 was issued to George Heckling November 12, 1907.
According to "Wrenchwiki" the company went through a series of reorganizations starting with the McLean Cream Separator Company in Detroit reorganizing as the Attwood Wrench, Tool, and Stamping Company in 1911. The Company became Attwood Manufacturing in Conneaut, Ohio in 1912. The property was then sold at trustee’s sale in 1914. The Craftsman Tool Company was organized after purchasing the property and advertisements exist for them until 1923.
Under Heckling's patent in DATAMP they mention a 1926 Frank Moore patent (1,593,588) assigned to the Pittsburgh Malleable Iron Company. The patent covered subtle differences to Heckling's. DATAMP states "Known examples of the Pittsburgh Malleable Iron Co. roller jaw pipe wrench have the CRAFT trade mark along with the 1907 patent date..."
And before anyone gets excited, I know I should have used a pipe for the jaw photo--just didn't have one handy. I also didn't have a scale to measure the jaw's spring strength, but after spending a couple of hours holding it open while cleaning it, I can say it is still pretty stout.
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Terrific find. And a first for the thread.
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Thank you, sir! And my apologies for the delayed reply. (I was not subscribed to my own thread!Whew! I just finished this! Great read!
)
OP
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I found a thread-worthy self-adjusting type wrench at the flea market this morning, which I think may also be a FOAK on this site. The only reference to "Stix-On" that I can find in a search is in four.cycle's 'List of U.S. Mfgrs A-Z' thread. The manufacturer is actually "Efficiency Device Corp., Long Island City, N.Y.". It is also marked with a distributor's branding ("The Automobile Device Co., Cleveland, Ohio") on the flip side. It self-adjusts based on the tension principle, with the jaw fitting around the subject, and the tension on the jaw supplied by a long rather thin coil spring pinned to the jaw and to the inside of the pressed steel handle. From the model number ("No. 2") and capacity marking on the jaw, I am guessing they made them in various sizes. From the teeth, I am thinking pipe wrench, although DATAMP, which has a page on it linked here, says it was also aimed at lathe dogs, and the patent calls it a generic "Work-Gripping Tool." That "PATENTED AUG.20-'18" marking refers to 1,276,596. See DATAMP link for patent diagram and link to USPTO.
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