General Fire Extinguisher vise?

[MushCreek]

I found an old vise on FB yesterday. It's made by General Fire Extinguisher Company in Providence, RI. It looks pretty good, except screw doesn't pull vise open. I assume there's some kind of yoke like a Wilton has? It's fairly big- the seller says it opens 10". Anyhow- Are these things worth much? Asking $95, and over an hour away, so I'm not rushing down there. Thoughts?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Probably made for, not by.

 

[MushCreek]

No, they were made by them, way, way back. Like 1892-1919, according to one source. Here's a pic of a restored one:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Wow. Way, way interesting. From sprinklers and other fire retardation related equipment to vises is quite the atypical breadth of production diversity. Thanks. Good luck on getting it if you decide to make the trip.

 

[Stillgottimefor1]

Wondering if they were originally red or did the restorer of the one pictured decide to go with that because it has the word ‘Fire’ in the name?


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[Fierljeppen]

If you want a steam-fitters vise with the richest history, this would be a good one for you. They are fairly rare and have sold from ($175-$250) on eBay.

I love the history behind my collectibles, and the GFE Co. founder, Frederick Grinnell was a pioneer in automatic sprinklers. So, when a local General Fire Extinguisher Co. vise became available, I jumped all over it. It's a beast of a vise and I'm very happy to have it in my collection.

 

[MushCreek]

Wondering if they were originally red or did the restorer of the one pictured decide to go with that because it has the word ‘Fire’ in the name?


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The one I saw for sale was red, and was quite unrestored. Of course, if it really is 100+ years old, there's no telling what color it may have been originally.

My interest in this vise is because apparently they are pretty rare. It's hard to find much info. I'm not a vise collector, although I could be tempted by something interesting.