Hand made pliers?

[Jimmy1940]

These have a lot of hammer marks. No markings of any kind. The two pieces are asymmetrical as to shape and dimensions. Some pics -

 

[mike93lx]

My guess is that they were just used as a hammer a lot. I bet that anyone with the skill to make that would take more care in the finish

 

[rlitman]

ALL box joint pliers like that require hand forging in at least one important step. These are just a cruder example of stuff churned out every day in the 3rd world now, and yeah, they could be a one-off in that sense, not that that imparts any special value that I can see. The asymmetry in the handles is a bigger giveaway than all those hammer marks, that they're not factory made.

 

[Ricky Joe]

Red Devil made pliers with asymmetrical handles, as, I believe, Utica did also. Try the way they fit in your hand. You will find that they are very ergonomic. Box joint pliers are handmade. A friend of mine is a blacksmith, and discards maybe 75% of his efforts to make good box joint pliers. This may be an old effort that made it through quality control. My buddy discards pliers that I think are very useable. He has extremely high standards and rejects flaws I can hardly discern. Not everyone is so exacting. Utica also made box joint pliers, the only non-surgical maker of whom I am aware. Surgical pliers are box joint because there is no side force in the grip. Nice find. Now you will seek box joints!

 

[rlitman]

...Utica also made box joint pliers, the only non-surgical maker of whom I am aware...

Optician and jewelers used box joint pliers before the stainless versions existed. A number of makers come to mind, Damascus, Vigor, Arrow, Dixon, Lindstrom...

 

[Jimmy1940]

If it makes any difference these had been part of my Dad's toolbox since the late 1920s.