Holy vise grip Batman!

[30-30remchester]

My set of Vise Grips made for oxy-acc hose feral crimping are similar to above mentioned and photographed. Mine are at least 35 years old and were factory painted a heavy gloss black. The only markings other than the name are on either side of the jaws and both sides are marked C-5.

 

[isb cornbinder]

My son says I have well over 200 pair of Original Petersen Vise grips. I have every style shown in this thread and some styles from Petersen that may have been custom made .
I never thought of myself as a collector until we gathered up the VG and they filed three drawers in a toolbox. I have another 20-30 pair that need cleaning and putting away.

 

[d42jeep]

It’s almost always a pleasant surprise when a pair of formerly rusty Vise grips come out of the evaporust looking so much better than when they went in. Here are the pair I found at an estate sale yesterday.
-Don

 

[isb cornbinder]

It’s almost always a pleasant surprise when a pair of formerly rusty Vise grips come out of the evaporust looking so much better than when they went in. Here are the pair I found at an estate sale yesterday.
-Don

You have shown respect for a well made American Tool. I thank you.
I also use Evaporust. I use Evaporust in my ultrasonic parts cleaner, for rust. The ultrasonic makes the Evaporust work many times faster.

 

[ObnoxiousFumes]

Just found these at a garage sale on Saturday, I’d never seen a pair this small before! One of them is missing the spring but I think I have something that will work.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Those are great for welding clamps

 

[ObnoxiousFumes]

Those are great for welding clamps

Yes indeed, super pleased to have found them. I’m accustomed to using the bigger version of them for welding clamps, work great for smaller places where you can’t fit a Bessey.

 

[d42jeep]

I found these rusty treasures yesterday. They came out of the evaporust today looking a little better but they’ll never look like new again. At least they were free.
-Don

 

[2mJps]

My name is Doug and i have a Vice grip problem. When i was married we went to alot of garage sells i have 2 buckets full and i have one draw full of new ones

 

[nadogail]

If you have a use for them, it is impossible to own too many Vise Grips.

 

[ObnoxiousFumes]

If you have a use for them, it is impossible to own too many Vise Grips.

Agreed

 

[ecotec]

You have shown respect for a well made American Tool. I thank you.
I also use Evaporust. I use Evaporust in my ultrasonic parts cleaner, for rust. The ultrasonic makes the Evaporust work many times faster.

How many liter is your ultrasonic?

 

[isb cornbinder]

How many liter is your ultrasonic?

30 liters

 

[ecotec]

30 liters

Thank you. That looks like a nice size.

 

[genog]

Found this little guy this weekend

The Seller had a bigger one.....
I had this one in my hand and when I reached for the larger pair, just to inspect it and to fool with it, some dude grabbed it
He waited for me to put this one back down, while I waited for him to put the bigger pair down....

It was a draw

Not sure what this ole VC is used for, so I am going to give this to a friend who does welding and fab work.
He said, you should have grabbed the bigger pair

 

[Farmer J.]

Not sure what this ole VC is used for,

They're for grabbing rounded off hexagon huts.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Found this little guy this weekend

The Seller had a bigger one.....
I had this one in my hand and when I reached for the larger pair, just to inspect it and to fool with it, some dude grabbed it
He waited for me to put this one back down, while I waited for him to put the bigger pair down....

It was a draw

Not sure what this ole VC is used for, so I am going to give this to a friend who does welding and fab work.
He said, you should have grabbed the bigger pair

They're called Parrot Head vise grips

 

[SquirrelsTools]

Saw a lot of what I have here. Didn't know if all of these got posted, but I use them regularly. I just use em cause they're useful ha?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That's what they are for!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As I was saying on the annual Garage Sale thread, the last thing I need is another pair of vise-grips, but I would never leave a Petersen with this marking behind. The "OTHER PAT PEND" refers to 2,481,866, which was applied for in May 1945. These are not super rare. But not super common, either. Into the wartime bucket they go.

 

[d42jeep]

Those look to be in unusually nice shape.
As I often do, I grabbed a pair of smaller Visegrips at a yard sale yesterday. I failed to notice the Irwin marking, unfortunately. Even though they are still the Made In USA version, they don’t look to me to be as well made as the Peterson examples. These are showing some chrome peel.
-Don
As found.
Out of the evaporust.

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

We went to the inlaws today to help him out and he gave me two pair. One needle nose and a New Britian and I have had this old pair that I have been using for over a hundred years It feels like. The older pair with patent # 1'489'458. Would those be 1920s?

 

[cody1325]

These, I think are pretty early (and still work great).

As a teenager, I was looking for a specific fastener, and came across these in a bottom of a 5-gal bucket full of bolts. My Granddad let me keep them, and they've been used heavily ever since.








Craftsman, Petersen 6LN, and Bremen/HFT from my small box (I plan to upgrade to the discounted Eagle Grips that briefly came out of the old Petersen plant, but they never got to making a 5WR equivalent before they closed--but Snap-On does).

"Harry" was my Granddad's name. He marked all his tools--something I need to get around to doing.

 

[AntiqueBen]

I have a whole drawer of vise grips, mostly Peterson's. I have a couple pair of locking pliers with absolutely no marks at all (pics below). I find this odd. Wouldn't the manufacturer want everyone to know that's their tool? Somehow through the years I've ended up with 2 pair of these unmarked vise grips. I noticed two main differences between these & Peterson's. How the spring is connected towards the top is different & the knurled knob is domed on the bottom where Peterson's are flat? Anyone have any ideas on who made these or their age?

 

[d42jeep]

This pair looked kind of crusty when I found them at an estate sale on Friday. Fortunately most of the crust was thick paint that came off with not too much effort after the evaporust bath.
After
-Don

 

[Sumboodie]

That style is used to align round stock for welding. Exhaust pipe usually. Or at least thats what we used them for.

Kevin

Huh, never thought of that.

 

[Beerhippie]

Here are the "daily drivers" that live in the shop:



I don't recall buying any of those new. Junk shops and yard sales. Mix of Peterson, Irwin and Crafty--and a couple of MIC.

If I go through all my tool boxes I can probably add another dozen or so.

I'm seeing far too many styles here that I didn't know I needed until I saw them!

I still remember my excitement when the little 4" needle-nose first came to my notice--Mechanic's Roach Clips!

 

[LNKMK8]

They're called Parrot Head vise grips

Not really... some guy on eBay started calling them that a year or two ago. The "LW" stands for Locking Wrench. They are designed to be used on hex nuts. When they were first released, they came with a hex nut locked in place in the package. They were offered in three sizes, the 4LW, 7LW, and 10LW.

 

[Provincial]

Also great for holding round objects with minimal damage. No sharp jaws digging into the round, just three contact points applying broad pressure.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Found this little guy this weekend

The Seller had a bigger one.....
I had this one in my hand and when I reached for the larger pair, just to inspect it and to fool with it, some dude grabbed it
He waited for me to put this one back down, while I waited for him to put the bigger pair down....

It was a draw

Not sure what this ole VC is used for, so I am going to give this to a friend who does welding and fab work.
He said, you should have grabbed the bigger pair

I have that design in two, maybe 3 sizes. While I do not know the intended use, I can say they work really well on stuck flare nuts.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

An old vis grip I got in a box of stuff

 

[d42jeep]

Those are early. Nice find.
i found these odd Taiwan made tools at a recent garage sale. I grabbed them due to them being kind of unique but they certainly don’t come close to Petersen Vise Grips in quality.
i went back to the same seller’s sale a week later and grabbed these genuine Vise Grips. They improved a bit after spending an overnight in the evaporust.
-Don

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Got these on eBay. It has a Schrader valve. Any idea of it's use?

 

[Mike'smeatshop]

Anyone recognize the middle grips? I found them at our Ky Court days. I thought they were Dewitt time frame with the hex bolt on the adjustment. But all they say is Japan and forge jaw on the side of the jaw. Thanks men and women.

 

[d42jeep]

Among the rusty items I found at sales yesterday was this pair of fairly odd locking pliers. I seem to recall buying these when they first came out but I have no idea what happened to them.
Out of the evaporust.
Catalog images

-Don

 

[Provincial]

My father bought a couple of those new. If I remember right, one was a needle-nose. They work OK, but are more sensitive to adjustment than a Vise-Grip.

 

[john.k]

The one with the spike thru the jaw is for the 'outlaw' Freon reclaimers.......puncture a tube in a scrap fridge and save the gas ......illegal in 52 states and territories........or so they say.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

I grabbed these two Vise Grips at an estate sale this morning. One needs a good bath in Evaporust, the other is a Plu-Rench by Whale Tool Corp set. Not sure how old they are but they function nicely.

 

[Farmer J.]

Here's my old English version, the 'Mole Grip'. I got these new probably in the 1970's, and also the clamp which supposedly makes them usable mounted to a bench. It's so wobbly it's never been much use!

 

[DetailSeeker]

Picked these up the last day of 2024, and finally got time to pick out the dead bug/cobwebs, disassemble, and dunk them in Evaporust.


A little sad about the chipping finish, and wondering how hard nickel plating actually is, but I feel that can definitely be something I look at when the garage is not full of car.