Rare klein and sons find???

[j6o6h6n]

I was at my favorite pawn shop looking for gold again today and I stumbled across these Klein and Sons diagonal cutters with a a date code of 1-30.
Which seems to mean Jan of 1930 (Alloy Artifacts)


Please let me know if that’s the case, and if so are these worth anything? I also have a pair of needle nose Klein and Sons Pliers from the same era also.

Thanks, John!

 

[Rileysan]

I was at my favorite pawn shop looking for gold again today and I stumbled across these Klein and Sons diagonal cutters with a a date code of 1-30.
Which seems to mean Jan of 1930 (Alloy Artifacts)


Please let me know if that’s the case, and if so are these worth anything? I also have a pair of needle nose Klein and Sons Pliers from the same era also.

Thanks, John!

In your case, value will be based on condition, and not so much the date - unless you found a pair 20-30 years older than that. Pre-war Klien lineman's pliers are still fairly common.

Brian

 

[thehorse13]

I wonder if this is another regional thing. I trip over old Klein lineman tools out here in the mid Atlantic. Most of the time they are on the dollar table.

 

[Man of Many Vices]

Klein switched to an alphabetic date code some time in the 1930s (?) I would consider anything with the numerical date code like yours to be collectible, with a value slightly higher than newer items.
In 2013 I was lucky enough to find a pair of lineman's pliers at the swap meet with a date code 4-4 from 1904. Klein Tool Corp. was conducting a contest for the "world's oldest pliers" that year. I submitted a photo of my pliers on the day before the contest ended. They asked to send my pliers to them for inspection, and called me back with the news that I had won the contest. They flew me from Palm Springs to Chicago, treated me really nice, and gave me a tour of their forging plant.... the best part of the trip. Even better than the $5,000 prize for winning the contest.
Yep. Klein tools are worth finding and hanging onto.

 

[Rabajohn]

I found a pair of M. Klein & Sons 6” diagonal cutters with a 1-15 date code. How rare are these? Pre WWI correct?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Jan 1915

 

[d42jeep]

I have a few pretty early ones.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found a pair of M. Klein & Sons 6” diagonal cutters with a 1-15 date code. How rare are these? Pre WWI correct?

Nice find, @Rabajohn. If you'd like to read more about your pliers, see examples of other users' pliers, how to date them, and their relative scarcity, including catalog excerpts, other references, and literature and examples from a cool 'Who has the oldest Klein pliers?" Contest that M. Klein ran a few years ago, we have a Klein thread here on the Vintage Tools Discussion forum. It is dedicated explicitly to posting photos of Klein pliers and discussing their history. You can find a link to it, under Klein, in the A-Z Index of threads located in the Sticky titled 'READ B4 POSTING!' at the top of this forum.

 

[Rabajohn]

Nice find, @Rabajohn. If you'd like to read more about your pliers, see examples of other users' pliers, how to date them, and their relative scarcity, including catalog excerpts, other references, and literature and examples from a cool 'Who has the oldest Klein pliers?" Contest that M. Klein ran a few years ago, we have a Klein thread here on the Vintage Tools Discussion forum. It is dedicated explicitly to posting photos of Klein pliers and discussing their history. You can find a link to it, under Klein, in the A-Z Index of threads located in the Sticky titled 'READ B4 POSTING!' at the top of this forum.

I will. Thank you for for your reply and direction info

 

[four.cycle]

@Rabajohn -

keep this link handy at all times!

and this one!

you'll be glad you did!

 

[lzenglish]

@Rabajohn -

keep this link handy at all times!

and this one!

you'll be glad you did!

Agree, If You Enjoy Some One Else Doing Your Own Homework For You!

The Most Enjoyable Part of My 30 Plus Years of Collecting, (Besides the Hunt), Has Been the Research.



LZ

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The Most Enjoyable Part of My 30 Plus Years of Collecting, (Besides the Hunt), Has Been the Reasearch.

You're not a reggler on the annual Garage Sale thread, but I KNOW you'll appreciate this anecdote, LZ. When I post my finds there, I have been known to occasionally hide the markings of rare or exotic or otherwise interesting but somewhat mysterious tools, putting them flip side up, or under each other, to foil the good-natured intentions of other Research Hounds, such as 4.c and @RTM, who in their alacrity may spoil my own fondness for research!

If I had to rank the activities associated with the Vintage Picking hobby, mine would look something like this...

1. Looking (I won't call it hunting, because that implies a specific prey, when the most enjoyable part of picking in the wild, as they say, for me, is never knowing what I might run into!)

2. Researching

3. Collaborating

4. Finding

5. Owning

Note: #3 is where a structured, efficient forum comes in handy, for me.

 

[four.cycle]

.... or there's always the alternative method of just sitting back and watching new members flounder their way through the process.

 

[exmaxima1]

The Anniversary pliers are the ones that hold their value. I sold mine a few years ago and regret it.

 

[lzenglish]

.... or there's always the alternative method of just sitting back and watching new members flounder their way through the process.

This is what is Called "LEARNING", Look it up. Stop Begging for "Praise and Rewards". Put it on your Sig line and let it go. "GIFTIE-GIE-US", "The Power to See Ourselves as Others See Us".

LZ

 

[BrandonV]

The Anniversary pliers are the ones that hold their value. I sold mine a few years ago and regret it.

Every time I hop on eBay these are more and more expensive.

 

[dchawk81]

Every time I hop on eBay these are more and more expensive.

Stop hopping on eBay and maybe the prices will start to drop.

 

[BrandonV]

Stop hopping on eBay and maybe the prices will start to drop.

Yeah I wouldn't pay those prices... just interesting to watch the market or potentially snag a pair at a fair price.

 

[dchawk81]

Yeah I wouldn't pay those prices... just interesting to watch the market or potentially snag a pair at a fair price.

I think it's the hopping that's doing it. Maybe try sauntering up gingerly.

 

[kmdodge]

In your case, value will be based on condition, and not so much the date - unless you found a pair 20-30 years older than that. Pre-war Klien lineman's pliers are still fairly common.

Brian

Hi, I just came across a pair of 1914 Klein Lineman Pliers and am looking for any kind of info on them to get a price on selling em. If u have any info please let me know. Thank you

 

[Ricky Joe]

Hi, I just came across a pair of 1914 Klein Lineman Pliers and am looking for any kind of info on them to get a price on selling em. If u have any info please let me know. Thank you

I think there are two major categories of collectors: those who collect to complete sets and those who collect to use. I fall into the second category. No matter how rare, old, or interesting a tool may be, if I can’t actually use it, I have little interest in it. I do have a strong preference for vintage tools, and prefer quality American or European. Some may be interested in your lineman’s because of the date solely. That collector may pay more based on rarity. I might would be interested if it is in useable condition. This is a long winded way of saying that your pliers don’t have empirical value, but subjective, and without giving more information your question is useless.