Parallel Jaw Pliers

[NateHiggins]

I got these parallel jaw pliers at a store recently, the second pair I've come across, though this one is in much better condition. It's coated in this hard layer of what I assume is grease that isn't present on the older ones. Should I leave it on or try and get it off?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Cosmolene. It will come off easily with acetone or turpentine, but even WD40 will work with scrubbing. If you're not going to use them, you could also leave it on. Those are probably NOS surplus repacks. Wartime. That Federal Stock Number was replaced in 1952 or thereabouts with the 11-digit format. Made for Utica by Schollhorn. EDIT: Made for Schollhorn by Utica! Believe it or not. Two of them just showed up on the Utica thread with WWII "TAXI" numbers, prompting me to research deeper.

Show Your Vintage Utica Tools!

Plus they have a Signal Corps part number! -Don Which # is the Signal Corps one?

www.garagejournal.com

 

[crguy]

It's your choice to do whatever you want with them. It's not like they are a rare collectible or anything.

 

[woody 73]

Leave them alone, anything that keeps the rust at bay is the best option.

 

[retDAC]

If you are not going to use them, leave the preservative on as stated before. Occasional light handling probably won't matter.
HOWEVER if you are going to use them, clean the handles at least. Forcing the preservative into your skin could easily be bad for your health.

 

[rlitman]

If you are not going to use them, leave the preservative on as stated before. Occasional light handling probably won't matter.
HOWEVER if you are going to use them, clean the handles at least. Forcing the preservative into your skin could easily be bad for your health.

Cosmoline is lanolin based. It isn't toxic.

Oh, and while solvents will strip it, heat helps more. Get it nice and warm, and it comes off easily.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It's not like they are a rare collectible or anything.

Schollhorn compound pliers, which were issued to armorers' toolkits, are not rare. There are many floating around GJ, including the Schollhorn thread. But Schollhorn and Schollhorn-made Utica-branded compound pliers caked in cosmoline inside a NOS Utica box also marked with the wartime FSN for armorer's kit pliers, are rare. WWII collectors prize surplus tools in surplus packaging and that tool and box has surplus written all over it. Are they extremely valuable? No. But they are more valuable than their cousins in the wild.

 

[SweetD]

Here's a little history lesson for you from Mr. Pete:

 

[retDAC]

Cosmoline is lanolin based. It isn't toxic.

Oh, and while solvents will strip it, heat helps more. Get it nice and warm, and it comes off easily.

Maybe way back then, but now this indicated a different formulation.
https://www.cosmolinedirect.com/content/Cosmoline-Industrial_Grade_RV_342_SDS.pdf

 

[slowtwitch73]

I've got a few different iterations of those.. really like them.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

If you're interested in Schollhorn "BERNARD" patent pliers, in general, we have a good thread going on them down here on the Vintage Board with lots of good info, catalog links, and many examples. Use the Index in the Sticky or click here. I have a small collection, including three different sizes of the compounds with side-cutters, most of which are shown on that thread. But I recently took them out of the drawer and dedicated some display space to them.

 

[isb cornbinder]

Mister Pete of You Tube fame did a few videos on these pliers. Check it out. There were many configurations for special purposes.

 

[NateHiggins]

Schollhorn compound pliers, which were issued to armorers' toolkits, are not rare. There are many floating around GJ, including the Schollhorn thread. But Schollhorn and Schollhorn-made Utica-branded compound pliers caked in cosmoline inside a NOS Utica box also marked with the wartime FSN for armorer's kit pliers, are rare. WWII collectors prize surplus tools in surplus packaging and that tool and box has surplus written all over it. Are they extremely valuable? No. But they are more valuable than their cousins in the wild.

Oooh okok. The number on the box here seems to me to indicate they were made in 1992, so I'm doubtful of them having any serious value. I plan to use them as pliers, so I'll probably strip that cosmoline off. Any reccomendation on what to oil them with to keep the rust away?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The number on the box here seems to me to indicate they were made in 1992, so I'm doubtful of them having any serious value.

That is not a date. It is an integral identifier component of the Federal Stock Number format in use from 1934 to 1952. I'll be more explicit and more declarative than I have been prior. Your pliers are surplus, very likely military, very likely repacked for long term storage, probably by the Ordnance Dept, and probably just after the war or in the very early 1950's. Without ANY shred of doubt. See attachment, which is an excerpt from a 1944 manual. I'm not telling you what to do with them. But they have a value well beyond a run of the mill pair of 6" Utica or Schollhorn parallel jaw side-cutters with WWII collectors. As I alluded to upthread, WWII tool guys go nuts for cosmo and packaging that is proven wartime. I know a colleague in Australia with a G-61 Emergency Repair Truck who would love to have them for one of the armorer's boxes that went in the back. EDIT: Not to talk you out of them. Just to give you more context for what you have and the collector's environment.

 

[Leviton]

That is not a date. It is an integral identifier component of the Federal Stock Number format in use from 1934 to 1952. I'll be more explicit and more declarative than I have been prior. Your pliers are surplus, very likely military, very likely repacked for long term storage, probably by the Ordnance Dept, and probably just after the war or in the very early 1950's. Without ANY shred of doubt. See attachment, which is an excerpt from a 1944 manual. I'm not telling you what to do with them. But they have a value well beyond a run of the mill pair of 6" Utica or Schollhorn parallel jaw side-cutters with WWII collectors. As I alluded to upthread, WWII tool guys go nuts for cosmo and packaging that is proven wartime. I know a colleague in Australia with a G-61 Emergency Repair Truck who would love to have them for one of the armorer's boxes that went in the back. EDIT: Not to talk you out of them. Just to give you more context for what you have and the collector's environment.

I always appreciate your knowledge Lugnutz.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks. To be honest and self-deprecating, though, any WWII collector would spot that as a wartime FSN, and the cosmo quite literally (and figuratively) seals the deal. Like being into vises, or wood planes, or any niche, once you're in it for a few years, this stuff is just second nature. The cool thing about the VB on GJ is you have a lot of niches (and experts) all in one place! A rising tide lifts all boats.