School me Reed Vises Old Style vs New...

Okay, here's what I know so far after searching and reading many threads...

Reeds basically started out with the "Round Nose" style (as pictured on the right in the first attached picture)... The original non-swivel bases also had three holes.

Then at some time they went from three to four holes, but still had the round nose (as pictured in the second attachment)... Or is that

Then they transitioned over to the "flat nose" style with the split collar and oil ports.

Here's my question. Is the quality all the same? Or is there a preference towards the older or newer style?

Nobody?

Subscribed, for what it's worth!

Here's a couple pages showing the construction of the earlier and later types that I got from Demoman a while ago. Note that this is just a snap shot in time as there were many variations of the early and later styles. For instance: most early Reeds didn't have the full face hardened jaw. It was just the top 2/3 or so. I don't know when they switched over. The later style (flat nose) originally had the welded on jaws. Sometime around the 1960's they switched to the pinned on jaw. They also changed from having different castings between the swivel and non-swivel bases and started using the same one for both. The swivel just got added to the bottom. If it came from the factory it might have an N (stationary) or S (swivel) stamped after the number.

I would suspect they continued to improve until they switched to the current style which are significantly lighter in weight than the older ones. Here's the most notable changes that I'm aware of:
1938: added adjustable pin that holds the nut in
1942: changed to hardened steel nut and screw (flat nose style)
1942: added adjustable collar
1960s?: replaceable jaws, common casting for swivel/non'swivel

<a href="http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/fgrefe/Vises/?action=view&current=Reedoldstyle-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/fgrefe/Vises/Reedoldstyle-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/fgrefe/Vises/?action=view&current=Reednewstyle-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee420/fgrefe/Vises/Reednewstyle-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Really cool, thanks for sharing these, especially the higher resolution versions.

Yes, awesome pictures and info!

...........bl00 .........Your posts are always so imformative!! The new Reeds of today are made by Columbian. The new Reed 3CA is a far cry from the 3C of old.

I personally like the round knob, but the tech in the 60's model seems the better. Faced with choosing one over the other in the same condition, I'd choose the round knob because of it's vintage.

I'm starting the hunt for a Reed 3C or 4C... But if I find any others in the mean time, who knows....

Thanks for the Advertisements. I have a small collection of Reed Vises and enjoy finding and restoring them. Unfortunately, I am running out of room.

It also nice to see other people with Vise OCD as I get alot of flak from friends that do not understand why I have so many Vises.

I am still looking for that Monster Reed Vise I do not have.