A Threefer this weekend.

[safariknut]

Haven't been getting out much lately due to some health issues with myself and my wife but Saturday I stopped in to see a friend of mine at his antique shop. Found these three items:
First up is a pair of Fulton pruning shears someone had listed as tin snips.While you could probably use them for that purpose I don't think they would be that efficient.They are also mistaken for poultry shears which is easier as they are nearly identical except the poultry shears usually have serrations on the lower jaw.
Second is a tiny open end wrench(measures 1/4")by Williams and stamped,"Special" across one face with the mark S 000 cast into the handle. Not sure what makes it special.
Last is the mystery piece.At first I thought it might be an old slide blade knife similar to the ones made by Eagle Pencil Co. This one is unmarked save for a patent date(Mar.29 '10)on the lock knob.By loosening the lock knob you can remove the blade and turn it around to use as a scriber(?). The only problem is the entire piece is made from nickel plated brass. Not the best material for a knife blade or a scriber. So what do you think it is? Any input would be greatly appreciated.BTW the total cash outlay for all three items was under $10.

 

[Cf mtn]

Haven't been getting out much lately due to some health issues with myself and my wife but Saturday I stopped in to see a friend of mine at his antique shop. Found these three items:
First up is a pair of Fulton pruning shears someone had listed as tin snips.While you could probably use them for that purpose I don't think they would be that efficient.They are also mistaken for poultry shears which is easier as they are nearly identical except the poultry shears usually have serrations on the lower jaw.
Second is a tiny open end wrench(measures 1/4")by Williams and stamped,"Special" across one face with the mark S 000 cast into the handle. Not sure what makes it special.
Last is the mystery piece.At first I thought it might be an old slide blade knife similar to the ones made by Eagle Pencil Co. This one is unmarked save for a patent date(Mar.29 '10)on the lock knob.By loosening the lock knob you can remove the blade and turn it around to use as a scriber(?). The only problem is the entire piece is made from nickel plated brass. Not the best material for a knife blade or a scriber. So what do you think it is? Any input would be greatly appreciated.BTW the total cash outlay for all three items was under $10.

safari, i saw your post and was surprised to see your finding that little wrench. i went to an estate sale last friday and found a box of misc tools. this was 1 of the wrenches i brought home, it appears armstrong had a line of wrenches they thought of as being "special"? mine is 3/8.

 

[3baygarage]

What makes them special usually is it's an item that wasn't available in the catalog. Most were probably made to order. Either the length, width, thickness, wrench size, or a funky shape.

For example if they normally listed an open end wrench 1/2 x 9/16 in the catalog, but the customer wanted a 1/2 x 5/8 for some piece of equpment. I've seen a lot of DOE's, single ends and old wrenches in general marked special by Williams.

They and Armstrong were very similar back in the day. The 3/8 looks like the head is not as wide as it should be on that type wrench, so they could have purposely made it that way.

 

[Cf mtn]

1 other thing about the armstrong, the wrench is 4". the head on it is about 1/4" thick. researching it when i got it, i found armstrong made bicycle tools in their early days?