If I recall, on the main vise thread, there was mention that the first ever vise was somewhere around 1835, not a Parker. Then mentioned the first Parker was around 1865 or so.
Parker has had model numbering schemes all over the place, probably more than a dozen other companies combined. But if they had any rationality or logic, one would suspect that there first vises were probably 1,2,3 & 4...but not guaranteed for sure. So if I were to guess, your vise would built anywhere from the late 1860's to at least RTM's catalog page from 1897, so 1900 or touch later.
If you ask your question on the "Vise Info Thread", Fierljeppen will probably see it. He is an encyclopedia of vise knowledge. Either he, or others on that thread should be able to give you a better idea of when it was made.
Also consider that you will never know an exact date as that kind of info was not kept. The best you can hope for is the exact years the model was made.
Thanks DAGNY, RTM & FMC1959 for your responses. It appears the N0. 5 was available in an 1879 catalogue, so I'm going to assume that model No. 5 was likely built for a number of years and in all likelihood was finished by 1900. At your suggestion FMC1959, I may try to lure out FIERLJEPPEN to share his expertise. You fellows have given me essentially what I was looking for, and that was confirmation of the era it was produced. I collect Railroad Standard pocket watches, and at times I have a similar sistuation in not being able to establish a YOM due to non-existent records or destroyed records, and end up looking to dated advertisements to establish the era. For many years I assumed the vise was from the 1930's or 40's, but as years passed I came to the realization it could not have sustained that many scars in only a couple decades of use before we obtained it, Putting it pre 1900 pretty much says it all..............Thanks Again.............Joe.............
It doesn't take much encouragement to get me to participate in a vise puzzle, especially an old Charles Parker.
My earliest catalog scan of a Charles Parker no. 5 parallel vise is from 1865, as seen below. It's interesting to see how they duplicated some of the model numbers, even giving them different size jaws. I wish I could understand the logic or story behind that reasoning.
This would have been the 1st generation Parker no. 5 vise, without all of the patent improvements on Sanderson's vise.
The following
1870 catalog scan would represent the earliest of the 2nd generation Parker no. 5 vise.
Pay attention to the size of the jaws and the weight of the vise in these scans, as they will change going forward and may provide a clue to the vintage of your vise.
1875, 1879 and 1899 catalog scans respectively.
The following article is from 1899, which introduces the new "X series" Parker vises, which would be the end of the Parker no. 5 vise, making your vise from somewhere between (1867-1899).
I would suspect that your vise was not the latest vintage of that model due to the patent date castings on your vise.
Your vise has "Pat May 28 Nov 26 Dec 10 & 17 1867". This is unusual, since the "Dec 10, 1867" patent refers to a vise wrench for a Parker swivel model vise and your vise is the stationary model.
The following Parker no. 5 vises don't have the "Dec 10" date in their casting, possibly a correction made on later castings. If that was true, it would make your vise an earlier version. However, this is pure speculation on my part though.
Either way, it's a good vise story, thanks for sharing. "Long live the old Parkers!"
