Mystery Line Wrench

[Provincial]

I picked up this old 1/2" line wrench off a dollar table Sunday. Other than "1/2" on one open end face, there are no markings. The design reminds me of A. Plomb and California Tool Company products. It is pretty massive, which makes me suspect it is older than 1930, or not much later than that.

Does anyone recognize this design? Perhaps made on contract.

 

[MR.X]

Jock, it looks Calf-Tool to me...also looks like your camera did pick up some letters on it. BTW, mid 40's Calif-Tool diesel wrenches did look like they were made in 1930.

 

[Provincial]

Thanks. There are a couple of line wrenches from Calif-Tool/ A. Plomb listed on Ebay now. They look the same, perhaps not has chunky. I can't make out any of the marks on my wrench.

I suspect that my wrench is early, and they discovered that it didn't have to be as stout.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is the same size Calif - Tool/A. Plomb flare nut wrench for comparison.
-Don

 

[MR.X]

Some of those eBay wrenches are described as “20’s” though A.Plomb didn’t even come out with their “line” diesel wrenches til 1936.

 

[four.cycle]

I secured a copy of a full-blown "California Tool Company" catalog, but the thing was about 900 pages. I don't think Mark ever got around to scanning it and getting it uploaded at ITCL. I think he still has it.
I remember it had a lot of "Plomb" made stuff in it, but I only briefly flipped through the pages.

 

[MR.X]

I think we covered most of this in a California Tool Company thread not even 2 years ago?

 

[four.cycle]

I don't have all this stuff committed to memory. I just wing it here. I know the catalog was several hundred pages of outsourced product, and I believe there was some Plomb stuff in there, but it wasn't a really EARLY catalog so I'm not sure it would even be of use in this instance.
There were several catalogs I sent to him that were so large they never got scanned and uploaded. I believe that one and the old Montgomery Ward catalog were among them.

 

[MR.X]

All I’m sayin is…. I posted a pic on that thread from the Calif Tool Museum ref a timeline for those wrenches. I also mentioned that I’ve seen a 34 catalog and that style of wrench wasn’t being offered yet.

 

[Provincial]

I got a chance to clean up the wrench a little more today. Mr. X is right about the remains of some markings. I can make out enough to call it Calif Tool Co on the one side.

I think this was a "grind off" tool.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I like that style line wrench. The fat open end is effective. I have a set of snappy in that style in sae and metric I use at work.

 

[d42jeep]

I’ve been using Snap-On wrenches in that style since the late 60s. Here are the ones currently residing in my home user box.
-Don

 

[MR.X]

I got this “set” years ago. A.Plomb CHROMED D-12, D-14 and D-16, a spitting image Cornwell? And a couple of C. T. I wrenches continuing the “D-** California Tool sizing convention.