gatewaysysop
Well-known member
Greetings fellow vise aficionados! This evening I think I truly have something never before seen, a vise whose scarcity almost trumps its prodigious and titanic girth.
So, as always, the background comes first. After all, the first rule of great drama is to start small and build.
So cruising CL, I happen upon a vise ad for a huge Rock Island, a 6" at that, something that's been on my list for a while. Unfortunately it's crazy far away and the price is sky high. Still, I figure "What the hell, let's see what they say," and give it a go. The guy is willing to budge on the price, but not by a whole lot. For what it was, it seemed too much for me.
Before we ended our call, the gentleman and I got to talking about vises and collecting them, how hard the big ones are to find and that today's vises are pieces of utter and complete junk compared to the vises of old. I expected the call to end there, but as fate often reminds us, when one door closes, another one opens. The seller makes an off-handed remark that actually, while it isn't for sale, he does have an even larger one, so he can make do without the Rock Island. Of course, he notes, if I offered him enough money, he might part with that larger one.
My interest piqued, I inquire further. He believes that it's possibly up to an 8" vise, possibly a Rock Island as well. Wasn't aware such a thing existed, but I stifled my skepticism out of curiosity for what might be. Swapped email addresses and he agreed to send some photos, which he did the next day. The vise was indeed big, but it was no Rock Island.
Now I've seen some big vises in my time, and I already own a monster of an Athol 646, and I thought nothing he had could top that. I was very wrong. They say that sometimes the only way to beat a monster is with an even bigger monster and, to my astonishment, there it was. An Athol 628. I never knew such a thing existed, but there it stood.
As is probably no surprise, at that point I abandoned all rationality and decided that price be damned, that vise was going to be mine. It took a few days to finally arrange a meet up, and it was nearly 100 miles round trip. Today though, tucked away in a desolate corner of a maze of nameless, faceless warehouses and industrial structures, I came face to face with this monstrosity. It took quite a bit of work and disassembly on site, but we got her loaded and I brought her home.
Most days, the hunt for big game is a double edged sword, because whatever you've found, be it a Reed, Prentiss, Parker or an Athol, somewhere out there, you just know there's a bigger one to be had. That's most days, but not today.
Enjoy the pics, I've included a 4" Prentiss for scale.
So, as always, the background comes first. After all, the first rule of great drama is to start small and build.
So cruising CL, I happen upon a vise ad for a huge Rock Island, a 6" at that, something that's been on my list for a while. Unfortunately it's crazy far away and the price is sky high. Still, I figure "What the hell, let's see what they say," and give it a go. The guy is willing to budge on the price, but not by a whole lot. For what it was, it seemed too much for me.
Before we ended our call, the gentleman and I got to talking about vises and collecting them, how hard the big ones are to find and that today's vises are pieces of utter and complete junk compared to the vises of old. I expected the call to end there, but as fate often reminds us, when one door closes, another one opens. The seller makes an off-handed remark that actually, while it isn't for sale, he does have an even larger one, so he can make do without the Rock Island. Of course, he notes, if I offered him enough money, he might part with that larger one.
My interest piqued, I inquire further. He believes that it's possibly up to an 8" vise, possibly a Rock Island as well. Wasn't aware such a thing existed, but I stifled my skepticism out of curiosity for what might be. Swapped email addresses and he agreed to send some photos, which he did the next day. The vise was indeed big, but it was no Rock Island.
Now I've seen some big vises in my time, and I already own a monster of an Athol 646, and I thought nothing he had could top that. I was very wrong. They say that sometimes the only way to beat a monster is with an even bigger monster and, to my astonishment, there it was. An Athol 628. I never knew such a thing existed, but there it stood.
As is probably no surprise, at that point I abandoned all rationality and decided that price be damned, that vise was going to be mine. It took a few days to finally arrange a meet up, and it was nearly 100 miles round trip. Today though, tucked away in a desolate corner of a maze of nameless, faceless warehouses and industrial structures, I came face to face with this monstrosity. It took quite a bit of work and disassembly on site, but we got her loaded and I brought her home.
Most days, the hunt for big game is a double edged sword, because whatever you've found, be it a Reed, Prentiss, Parker or an Athol, somewhere out there, you just know there's a bigger one to be had. That's most days, but not today.
Enjoy the pics, I've included a 4" Prentiss for scale.
Attachments
Last edited:
