info needed on sale find.

[Lee Celtic]

Ok guys time to flex your Google Fu...

Today I went on a rummage through the local sale and bought a few things (they are listed in the garage sale thread.)

One item that stood out is a small pair of what I took to be circlip pliers..seen here in the photo at the bottom.

https://scontent-lhr3-1.**.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18951298_409521756140411_758691662975978287_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=02384d6beb27510055e939e305b783dd&oe=5B300A3D

They turned out to be bernard brand made by schollhorn in New Haven USA..

So as they are old and not from My side of the pond does anyone have any idea of the age/value.. Value isn't really important as I'll be keeping them to use but more info would be interesting.

Unlike most of the other tools in the box I found them in they still move perfectly and look to have hardly been used..

 

[woody 73]

A little information for you:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344360

 

[ssdave]

They're parallel jaw pliers, used for working flat metal sheets. Used by jewelers a lot; also other trades where you need to hold something flat without denting the edge, like standard angled jaw pliers do. One use is repairing and installing zippers, they're used to close the crimps that hold the bottom together.

 

[Lee Celtic]

Thanks for the info guys. some good reading for sure..

I thought they were some sort of circlip pliers as both the jaws are cone shaped almost to a point and have no flat surface at all.. I've tried to find something similar online but failed.. they do open up parallel and very smoothly I might add. nice bit of kit.

 

[Lee Celtic]

just had a look online at an old tool Catalogue and found two pairs of the flat faced ones using the same handles.. cost between 20 and 80 cents..lol

https://archive.org/stream/MontgomeryWard1916/Montgomery%20Ward%201916#page/n985/mode/2up

 

[ssdave]

I had looked at them on my phone the first time and couldn't see the round jaws. These are also jewelers pliers, used for bending loops in wire, to make jump rings, chain links, etc. Very common in use. Same pliers, just different jaw shape. Commonly called loop bending pliers.

 

[DadsTools]

I had looked at them on my phone the first time and couldn't see the round jaws. These are also jewelers pliers, used for bending loops in wire, to make jump rings, chain links, etc. Very common in use. Same pliers, just different jaw shape. Commonly called loop bending pliers.

Yes, if jaws are round profile, they're most useful on wire. I use these a lot in fishing tackle for spinners, wire leaders, wire weedguards, and fashioning or fixing bent wire springs in old fishing reels. Don't have a parallel jaw set, though, and this would have several advantages over a simple angled hinge. I'd certainly keep them!

 

[ssdave]

I use loop bending pliers a lot; worn out enough of them to make looking for better ones a necessity. I'm using Knipex ones right now, they've held up for almost 3 years bending hard wire; but I'm about to wear out a pair of them again, it's the second pair. I was hoping they would work better than that, but the tips aren't hard enough and have grooved badly under the wire pressure. The japanese pair I was using before the Knipex lasted better than that. Snap-on ones weren't quite right sized, I had high hopes for them but they won't work. The Swiss and German and Channellock ones I have aren't the right size for what I need, but have lasted well with silver and gold wire on my jewelers bench. I'd like a high leverage pair of parallel jaw ones to try. But, haven't run into them for sale anywhere.

 

[Lee Celtic]

Most likely been covered a lot on other threads but to save time and give you guys a chance to show off your experience.

Can you recommend a way of stopping the corrosion and remove the rust spots without hurting whats left of the finish.. I don't really want to wire brush the stuff off..

And thanks for the replies..

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Very unusual, Lee.

Dads and ssdave already covered the purpose. As for their name, as with most tools, there are different colloquialisms based on region or application. I grew up calling these "chain pliers", and I've also seen them called that and "round-nose pliers" in vintage technical literature. But I've never seen them with compound handles.

Also unusual, for me anyway, because 9 out of 10 times I see BERNARD brand Schoolhorn pliers they are the compound side-cutters shown in this GJ thread here.

Ironically, back in January I found a pair of very nice chain pliers made in Cannock, England, by Elliot-Lucas, shown in this GJ post here. I can't seem to find them at the moment, which is annoying, or I would include a close-up.

For a look at a more typical example of round-nose pliers, here is a vintage pair made by WILDE that I just picked up at a flea market.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

As for de-rusting/cleaning, those don't look too bad at all. I would hit them with WD-40 and lightly scrub only the rusty parts with fine grade (0000) steel wool. That shouldn't remove what's left of that black rust-proofing Schollhorn preferred. Or you could soak them in vinegar.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found those Elliot-Lucas chain pliers made in Cannock, England I mentioned yesterday. A characteristic I did not fully notice until I placed them next to a few other pairs of chain pliers is the diameter of the tapering round-nose jaws, which is considerably greater than that of US counterparts of the same O.L. Pic 3 is a comparative photo of them (on the right) next to the Wilde (middle), which I posted yesterday, and a pair made by PEXTO (left). Pic 2 is a close-up of the markings.

 

[davethorik]

I had always erroneously assumed those round nose pliers were an old style of snap ring plier. I recently saw a vintage NOS pair that had knurling where the jaws met, which threw that theory out the window.

I too like those parallel jaw pliers for certain tasks, such as pulling something narrow you can fit through the pliers themselves. Can't say I've ever seen a round nose version either, cool! I'd give them a vinegar soak and perhaps light attention with steel wool.

 

[speedypro]

Check out electrolytic derusting. Lots of info available, works like those fish that eat dead skin of your feet. Oxides/rust, (dead skin) is eaten, parent metal (live skin) is preserved. A billion times better than a wire brush. An old hammer with corroded makers stamp came back as if logo newly minted.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=154196

 

[bsg1]

great that you have no desire to use wire brush. as far as maintaining the integrity of the piece, using the wire brush is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.