mritchie77
Well-known member
Today I acquired several pairs of Plomb 240 water pump pliers from GJ member btrnuthatch that are intriguing. I am building a "pebble" set and naturally, a 240 is included. A-A has an example dated from 1939-1948 on their site (below)
What's interesting is that while one 240 I have matches this with the recessed script Plomb on the top, the second pair has a recessed and pebbled Plomb on both handles. Plomb advertises this as "Name-Nurl" but as I am about to show, they used this advertisement across at least two different designs. The handles also have a slightly different shape to them. Searching through GJ, I cannot seem to find another similar set (although the archives here are enormous and I could have possibly missed one). My theory is that the above A-A example (and my rusty example) were an earlier transition period before the final pebbled texture.
A-A example matches the lower set. Side profile, note the different shapes of the handles and flat faces.
240 label. Note the "Made in USA" differences
Top profile clearly showing the non-pebbled and pebbled textures.
Bottom profile. Note that the non-pebbled version (lower) is missing the Plomb script.
If A-A dates the non-pebbled version to 1939, I would have to assume that the pebbled texture was added around the same time as the wrenches and ratchets at the end of WWII, however, if this was the case I would have expected to see one of these before. I can definitely say this is the first time I've seen a set of 240's with the pebbled texture.
Looking back at the 18-A catalog from 1940, the "pebbled" example matches the example here. A better image is shown in the 19-A catalog from 1942-43 here. Here, we can infer that the "Name-Nurl" design with pebbled textures on both handles made an appearance as early as 1940.
When compared to the 1939 17-B catalog, it certainly seems like the "Name Nurl" without the pebbled texture (and just the Plomb name) was the earlier design in 1939.
Going further back to the 16-B catalog from 1938, the same pliers (but using the part number of 2040 instead of 240) were available. Note the same basic shape of the handles compared to the 17-B catalog. Interesting enough though, the "Name-Nurl" advertisement isn't shown in the '38 catalog. I'd be curious if this wasn't an advertising point yet, or if the "Name-Nurl" grips were even being used yet.
Based on this information, I believe that we can narrow down further from the A-A sight and say that the "Name-Nurl" grips were available in 1939 (or '38 without them being advertised) but were soon replaced with the later double marked pebble version as early as 1940.
What's interesting is that while one 240 I have matches this with the recessed script Plomb on the top, the second pair has a recessed and pebbled Plomb on both handles. Plomb advertises this as "Name-Nurl" but as I am about to show, they used this advertisement across at least two different designs. The handles also have a slightly different shape to them. Searching through GJ, I cannot seem to find another similar set (although the archives here are enormous and I could have possibly missed one). My theory is that the above A-A example (and my rusty example) were an earlier transition period before the final pebbled texture.
A-A example matches the lower set. Side profile, note the different shapes of the handles and flat faces.
240 label. Note the "Made in USA" differences
Top profile clearly showing the non-pebbled and pebbled textures.
Bottom profile. Note that the non-pebbled version (lower) is missing the Plomb script.
If A-A dates the non-pebbled version to 1939, I would have to assume that the pebbled texture was added around the same time as the wrenches and ratchets at the end of WWII, however, if this was the case I would have expected to see one of these before. I can definitely say this is the first time I've seen a set of 240's with the pebbled texture.
Looking back at the 18-A catalog from 1940, the "pebbled" example matches the example here. A better image is shown in the 19-A catalog from 1942-43 here. Here, we can infer that the "Name-Nurl" design with pebbled textures on both handles made an appearance as early as 1940.
When compared to the 1939 17-B catalog, it certainly seems like the "Name Nurl" without the pebbled texture (and just the Plomb name) was the earlier design in 1939.
Going further back to the 16-B catalog from 1938, the same pliers (but using the part number of 2040 instead of 240) were available. Note the same basic shape of the handles compared to the 17-B catalog. Interesting enough though, the "Name-Nurl" advertisement isn't shown in the '38 catalog. I'd be curious if this wasn't an advertising point yet, or if the "Name-Nurl" grips were even being used yet.
Based on this information, I believe that we can narrow down further from the A-A sight and say that the "Name-Nurl" grips were available in 1939 (or '38 without them being advertised) but were soon replaced with the later double marked pebble version as early as 1940.
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