Pliers; How Many Is Too Many?

[Ricky Joe]

My question is to find an adjustable width plier rack to use in a tool chest drawer. This is for daily use pliers, not collectibles. I tried the wire rack and it was inefficient. Anybody use the GearWrench rack?

How about the just throw them in the drawer stack method?

 

[Ricky Joe]

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[Ricky Joe]

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[craftsman creep]

Plier drawer before plier drawer after
This is set that is in there plus a few extra
Preston

 

[d42jeep]

Picked up this Fulton marked pair. Hmm, that handle pattern looks familiar.
-Don

 

[snorvet]

Let's see. I have many pliers in my workshop, some in my Jeep toolkit, some in my truck, some in the basement, spares in some assorted toolboxes. But I think I need some more. A person should have pliers everywhere that they think they may be needed.

 

[d42jeep]

Yep. Just grabbed these Cee Tee pliers with the yellow plastic handles.
-Don
I just dipped the metal part in the evaporust just in case the handles wouldn’t have survived.

 

[jblnut]

I can’t resist a dollar pliers at a flea market so I have pails of the things. The neatest have made their way into a toolbox drawer and a lot have been scattered between tractor and vehicle toolboxes. If I had to venture a guess I bet there are 250 pliers on the property. Not specific brand or style but I do favor the Diamond brand if I had to pick one. Most in the toolbox are Diamonds.

 

[Outlawmws]

I'm approaching 750 (741 counted in inventory) pair, across at least 141 brands and at least 9 countries.
Most common brands for me (Double digits):

Boker
Channelock (Primary users)
Crescent/Crestalloy
Diamalloy
Klein
Kraeuter
Pexto
Proto (Primary users)
Sargent & co /Bernard
Utica
ViseGrip (Primary users)
No Name (61...)

 

[Mintgrun]

I'm approaching 750 (741 counted in inventory) pair

That's an achievement that warrants a few group-shot photos.

 

[Outlawmws]

That's an achievement that warrants a few group-shot photos.

I'm pretty sure I've posted similar before, but these are the three drawers of the daily drivers in the MATCO 16 drawer roller:

Proto in the loer right, Misc specialty up top, and a few that I just wanted handy lower left;


,
Vise grips, wire tools adn more specialty;



Channel lock on the bottom, more specialty on top;



And the drawer of smaller stuff in the inside bench Tool box (A few pair are "out and about")



The rest? that's an all weekend project at least to get "Family pics". Not likely until i'm retired and bored!

Besides it's tax season again and I need to do mine and my mom's trust (for the last time)

 

[Outlawmws]

Speaking of plies, here is a Pair of Krauter nippers that were abused, and I was able to resharpen them. Not an easy task if you have ever tried. A party of the problem is will the handles close up and be uncomfortable? In this case they are slightly narrower, but complatly usable.



No before pics, but the nippers had been used on hardened wire/springs or something as looked like this guy:

When opened to the "lock" position I noticed the angle of grind was pretty near flat, so I took them to my belt sander and with some care, and making sure I didn't over heat, I got this:













While not factory perfect, It's now more than usable. So I'll use them until the can't be sharpened any more, and then convert then to another size/config of Sheet metal Tongs:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I added an M. Klein & Sons long flat nose duckbill (No. 304 in the cats) to the Klein bag this morning. On the right. They have a very wide nose. The duckbills on the left are an example of their regular flat nose (No. 205). More photos in the Klein thread.

 

[MisterEd]

Similar but different; X-90 & Enderes No 23.

 

[American Iron]

Hey not much to find lately due to winter but came across these nice old Bernard P-400-7 adjustable pliers. Love the addition of the wire cutter to this style of pliers. Minimal wear. You can tell they are a quality tool by the feel of the steel. For a consumer grade tool they really finished this to a fine grade. No casting left overs or rough edges anywhere.

 

[Outlawmws]

Cool find! pretty rare to see Bernard's that are not the parrelel/Compond pliers.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...these nice old Bernard P-400-7 adjustable pliers.

Please post photos of the markings.

...pretty rare to see Bernard's that are not the parrelel/Compond pliers.

...and not made of pressed steel.

Of the twenty-six (26) unique Wm. Schollhorn ("BERNARD") pliers in my collection, only one is forged steel (the WWII sapper tool). Several of them have jaws made of forged steel, but the frame and handles are pressed steel. I have never seen any forged steel pliers in the wild, and I don't recall seeing any in anyone else's collection, but they did make them - a 40-6 and a 42-8, as shown in the 1942 catalog. See thumbnail.

 

[MisterEd]

The SigO, my Queen of Rusty Tools, brought these home today.

Craftsman Lineman's Pliers by Crescent
Craftsman Battery Pliers by Wilde
Utica 1000-10 "Giant Button's Pliers"

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice finds! Shes a keeper!

 

[d42jeep]

These look to be from Germany. I’m not sure of the brand but I’m sure that someone will recognize them.
-Don

 

[Mintgrun]

These look to be from Germany. I’m not sure of the brand but I’m sure that someone will recognize them.

Oxwall?


(edited in a ?)

 

[Outlawmws]

Oxwall was an importer I'd be curious who actually made them.

 

[Mintgrun]

I might be wrong about those being Oxwall. The brand appears to end in LL but I don’t see the A. I recently purchased these Oxwall pliers that look similar, but have fancier grips. The side cutters share a similar grip pattern but are marked Supreme.


The insides of the handles on the Oxwall pliers have raised numbers/lettering, which reads 001372 DROP FORGED. (sorry for the sideways photos)







These are also made in Germany and Googling around for images, I saw the same patterns that had Oxwall branding. These two are unbranded. I have no idea who the maker(s) would be, but they don't seem like high quality tools; in spite of the nice grips designs. Maybe they've just had hard lives.



The Oxwall set is defective, in that the pivot is worn in a way that makes the cutter open back up when you squeeze them shut.

Tom

 

[bonneyman]

I might be wrong about those being Oxwall. The brand appears to end in LL but I don’t see the A. I recently purchased these Oxwall pliers that look similar, but have fancier grips. The side cutters share a similar grip pattern but are marked Supreme

Shoot, you can see that? I'm lucky to be able to tell they're pliers!

 

[Mintgrun]

Haha. I recently bumped my reading glasses up from 2.0 to 2.25 and pretty much wear them all day long now. I saw an old guy in a junk store shopping with a flashlight once. That'll be me before long.

I couldn't read the markings on my Oxwall pliers through the rust, but thought the grips were cool enough to buy them; remembering that I had a pair with similar grips at home. If I'd seen Oxwall while in the store, I probably would have saved $2 and left them there.

I just spent some time scanning eBay listings for "Vintage pliers Germany" and found a pair that share Don's branding. Bruno Will is not a brand I'd heard of.



I Googled "Bruno Will Germany Pliers" and got some hits. One of them was on the "Progress is fine" site. https://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2015/02/gripping-tales-harry-p-will-gmbh.html This quote is from there, "In 1918, the Bruno Will gun and tool factory was built."

It's mentioned here too, https://www.orbiswill.de/geschichte-alt?lang=en sharing the history of the company, which was eventually bought out by Knipex.

There. I learned some stuff today. No telling whether I'll remember it tomorrow though.

Tom

 

[Farmer J.]

Shoot, you can see that? I'm lucky to be able to tell they're pliers!

Haha. I recently bumped my reading glasses up from 2.0 to 2.25 and pretty much wear them all day long now. I saw an old guy in a junk store shopping with a flashlight once. That'll be me before long.

I can't help identify the pliers, but for the last few years I have been using these bifocal safety glasses. Very reasonably priced and a great life changing improvement, they do polarised ones too.

IRI-S | Bollé Safety

Bollé Safety

www.bolle-safety.com

 

[d42jeep]

Haha. I recently bumped my reading glasses up from 2.0 to 2.25 and pretty much wear them all day long now. I saw an old guy in a junk store shopping with a flashlight once. That'll be me before long.

I couldn't read the markings on my Oxwall pliers through the rust, but thought the grips were cool enough to buy them; remembering that I had a pair with similar grips at home. If I'd seen Oxwall while in the store, I probably would have saved $2 and left them there.

I just spent some time scanning eBay listings for "Vintage pliers Germany" and found a pair that share Don's branding. Bruno Will is not a brand I'd heard of.



I Googled "Bruno Will Germany Pliers" and got some hits. One of them was on the "Progress is fine" site. https://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2015/02/gripping-tales-harry-p-will-gmbh.html This quote is from there, "In 1918, the Bruno Will gun and tool factory was built."

It's mentioned here too, https://www.orbiswill.de/geschichte-alt?lang=en sharing the history of the company, which was eventually bought out by Knipex.

There. I learned some stuff today. No telling whether I'll remember it tomorrow though.

Tom

Great research. Thanks for that. I’m now sporting 2.5 safety glasses. Big improvement.
-Don

 

[RTM]

Haha. I recently bumped my reading glasses up from 2.0 to 2.25 and pretty much wear them all day long now. I saw an old guy in a junk store shopping with a flashlight once. That'll be me before long.

Hell, that’s me now, tho my readers are only 1.5. They keep getting dimmer and dimmer in those stores.

And estate sales too. Always take my flashlight old tool shopping.

 

[Beerhippie]

I have a theory regarding the life-cycle of tools: All small tools eventually metamorphose into slop-joint pliers. I also believe that some species of tools have an intermediate stage as dull or broken standard screw drivers.

That pair of Snap-on convertible lock-ring pliers that I desperately need right now? Nowhere to be found, but, oh, look, here's a pair of no-name slop-joint pliers I don't recall seeing before....

 

[Mintgrun]

I've taken pocket magnifiers with me too, but light is usually a bigger issue.

I nabbed this quote from the link I posted above, because it is a fun one for the pliers thread. Son of Bruno Will,

"Harry P. Will immigrated in Toronto /Canada at the beginning of the 1950s. Before the war he had already established close business contacts in the United States and Canada. He was soon well-known under the name "Plier-King". "

Tom

 

[Outlawmws]

I saw an old guy in a junk store shopping with a flashlight once

I've taken pocket magnifiers with me too, but light is usually a bigger issue.

I carry a magnifier, a 40" tape, a Dorsey, single AAA LED Flashlight, a 4" Crescent a magnet (is that brass?) and and nail clippers (stuck to the Crecent with the magnet) and not one, but two pocket knives; my "dirty" one and one for food. The larger streamlight is in my jacket pocket for when things get serious; and I recently added a small LED "Puck" (USB charged - not pictured) to the opposite jacket pocket, that can be used as a work light (has a stand and magnet so under a hood or stuck to a frame?).

 

[Beerhippie]

I've taken pocket magnifiers with me too, but light is usually a bigger issue.

I nabbed this quote from the link I posted above, because it is a fun one for the pliers thread. Son of Bruno Will,

"Harry P. Will immigrated in Toronto /Canada at the beginning of the 1950s. Before the war he had already established close business contacts in the United States and Canada. He was soon well-known under the name "Plier-King". "

Tom

I take a B&L Hastings triplet 10X loupe (it always lives in my pocket), a small flashlight (headlamp), a magnet and a chunk of 4-0 steel wool in a small plastic bag when "out hunting"--plus, of course, my "cheaters". The steel wool in particular, makes IDing rusty and or dirty tools much easier.

 

[Mintgrun]

The steel wool in particular, makes IDing rusty and or dirty tools much easier.

That's a good idea. I've gone over to the wire brush/wheel section and used one of those to lightly clean off logos.

I carry a magnifier

That's a cool one! I've got a few pocket magnifiers and have managed to remember to bring one a few times. These posts are encouraging me to improve my kit!

 

[Outlawmws]

That magnifier is one I found at a yard sale, and I added the leather cover to the tortoise shell frame. It and the tape live in my "pocket watch" pocket of my jeans. But all those except the Streamlight are in my jeans at all times (unless on a plane or in a court building)

 

[AreBeeBee]

I always bring a cheap plastic magnifier (like those for use in grade school science classes) and a small pocket flashlight. Most tool places I browse (Restores, consignment shops) usually have dim corners, which is where they like to park the tools. Which are often rusty, grimy, paint-spattered as well.

The magnifier hasn't turned up any real finds. But the other day at a local Restore I did get (for $1) a Klein D502-10 tongue-and-groove pliers with yellow plastic coating on the handles. It's like a Channellock 420, but a little beefier. I wouldn't have bothered with it, even at a buck, because I have half a dozen 420s and nearly as many 430s. But the magnifier and a little thumb and spit revealed a nearly worn away lineman logo, so that clinched it. The model number I didn't get until wirewheeling it at home.

Anyway — magnifier & flashlight are essential for tool hunting, at least for me.

 

[Beerhippie]

Here's one where the magnifier (10X loupe) and steel wool helped me find a little gem I would have passed up without them:



The iron and chip breaker cost me... nothing. But they were the some of the last bits I needed to make a Stanley Bedrock 605 Type 6 period-correct:



Since the little loupe always lives in my pocket anyway, the steel wool was the secret sauce. Without it, the embossing would not have been readable.

 

[humber2]

I have a theory regarding the life-cycle of tools: All small tools eventually metamorphose into slop-joint pliers. I also believe that some species of tools have an intermediate stage as dull or broken standard screw drivers

Slop-joint pliers, a truer description hasn’t been tabled before. Made my day.

 

[elidas]

Too many?? I don't understand.

 

[four.cycle]

I have a theory regarding the life-cycle of tools: All small tools eventually metamorphose into slop-joint pliers. I also believe that some species of tools have an intermediate stage as dull or broken standard screw drivers.

I would swear I had heard somewhere that there was some other "intermediate" stage involved wherein they all morphed into Made-in-India 8mm x 9mm open-end wrenches. I may have been misinformed.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I posted two Diamond Calk "Motor Spec" brand pliers (K15 and K16) upthread, on page 2, with a 1951 catalog excerpt, linked here.

@Outlawmws recently found Diamond Calk "< DC >" brand pliers (K36) and reported them on the Garage Sale thread, where we were ruminating on distinctions.

The "Motor Spec" and "< DC >" pliers were produced contemporaneously to each other, appear to be identical in shape and style, and I believe the different branding and model numbering comes down to composition and finish. But it's a little confusing. I am tagging him with an invite to re-post them and continue the discussion here.

Here is a fuller cat excerpt.