Old Needle Nose Pliers

[Rick B.]

I've had one pair in my box since the late '70's and the other two were my dad's since I don't know when.

The left one is marked with what appears to be ARAX and WEST GERMANY.
The middle simply says Made In W. Germany.
The right pair is marked with UTICA TOOLS 226P 6 1/2 UTICA, NY USA

Any ideas on the maker of the first two and the age of all three?

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[SweetD]

Not sure but I have two pair of dykes from Germany. They were my grandfather's, he would have been 100 years old next year.

One says "OXWALL TOOl Co. FORGED OCCUPIED GERMANY" and the other says

"Manufactured.....Germany" and "U.S. Zone" on the other side. I can't make out what it says between Manufactured and Germany, it's wicked small font even with a magnifying glass.









Dave

 

[bubinga]

Not sure but I have two pair of dykes from Germany. They were my grandfather's, he would have been 100 years old next year.



One says "OXWALL TOOl Co. FORGED OCCUPIED GERMANY" and the other says



"Manufactured.....Germany" and "U.S. Zone" on the other side. I can't make out what it says between Manufactured and Germany, it's wicked small font even with a magnifying glass.















[emoji481]



Dave

Don't know about the unmarked ones but the Utica I have been told are a good quality.

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[Private Lugnutz]

The left one is marked with what appears to be ARAX and WEST GERMANY.
The middle simply says Made In W. Germany.

Any ideas on the maker of the first two and the age of all three?

These two were made between 1949 and 1990.

One says "OXWALL TOOl Co. FORGED OCCUPIED GERMANY" and the other says

"Manufactured.....Germany" and "U.S. Zone" on the other side.

Made between 1945 and 1949.

Generally speaking, from the late 1800's to WWII, tools and other products made in Germany were marked MADE IN GERMANY. This was an export requirement defined by England. Ironically, it had the reverse effect of its intent, which was to increase the buying of domestic products and decrease the influx of goods made in Germany.

After WWII through 1949, when the US and the other major Allies were occupying (and trying to reconstruct what was left of) a split-up Germany, tools and other products were marked with some kind of reference to "Zone", "Occupied Zone", or "Occupied".

From 1949 until about 1990 (with the dissolution of the USSR and the wall separating East and West Germany coming down), tools and other products would be marked "West Germany" and sometimes "Western Germany."

EDIT: For completeness, after 1990 we see MADE IN GERMANY again, which can be confusing if not for a modern look.

 

[Farmer J.]

I saw the first posts earlier, but didn't have time to reply, and thought "maybe Lugz will see this and put in an explanation about the 'Made in Germany', 'Made in Occupied Zones' and 'Made in West Germany' timeline .."! All I can add is that there's a good explanation on wikipedia about the occupied zones. Also, I was recently using some excellent pipe wrench grips with my grown up daughter watching and she seemed to find it amusing that they have 'made in West Germany' on them, and asked how old must they be! I could only reply that they were made in the time of 'The Iron Curtain'.
Of course, I had bought them in the 1970's, based on the assurance of quality of them having been made in West Germany, and they certainly are much better than the equivalent 'Made in England' pipe grips of that era.

 

[SweetD]

Guys, thank you for the great explanation. I would love to know how my granddad acquired these tools, he was not really mechanically inclined, and his toolbox was minimal, but these two were there.

Thanks again!

Dave

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Growing up in the '50s, Made In West Germany was not a mark of quality.

 

[outofbounds]

I know that the Barcolo pliers don't qualify, but how about the J.P. Danielson Co. pliers? Do they meet the criteria of "needle nose"?

 

[GalaxyRat]

I have a pair of Utica 654-6 and a pair that just say "Drop Forged USA"

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[GalaxyRat]

Here is a better pic "Forged Steel USA" is the correct stamp

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[Odd Job]

More stuff from Dad's old toolbox