Some Vintage Pipe Wrenches, anyone collect them?

[don long]

I've posted these before but the picture went away so I'll put it up again.
Here are a few of the many adjustable wrenches I have

 

[d42jeep]

Nice displays, Don!
I pulled the 8” Erie Pipemaster that I got on Wednesday out of the evaporust today and it looks much better.
-Don

 

[MisterEd]

Walworth Company Walco Pipe Wrench 10 Inch Heavy Duty

Whether Johan Petter Johansson or Daniel Stillson actually invented the Stillson type wrench it seems Walworth employed bright, inventive people as Alphonse O. Brungardt, also employed by Walworth, invented an upgrade of the Stillson in 1932, patent number 1,862,002. “The object of the invention is to provide a forged wrench of exceptional strength and durability having relatively few parts; one which is of relatively light weight . . .”

This Walco has a removable jaw which according to information from Private Lugnutz vast store of rusty information would make it “heavy duty”. Can't say how much stronger or durable it might be, but it has lasted this long.

 

[don long]

Here is a few more that we have around the party garage

 

[d42jeep]

Nice display, Don!

Walworth Company Walco Pipe Wrench 10 Inch Heavy Duty

Whether Johan Petter Johansson or Daniel Stillson actually invented the Stillson type wrench it seems Walworth employed bright, inventive people as Alphonse O. Brungardt, also employed by Walworth, invented an upgrade of the Stillson in 1932, patent number 1,862,002. “The object of the invention is to provide a forged wrench of exceptional strength and durability having relatively few parts; one which is of relatively light weight . . .”

This Walco has a removable jaw which according to information from Private Lugnutz vast store of rusty information would make it “heavy duty”. Can't say how much stronger or durable it might be, but it has lasted this long.

The nice thing about the Walco pipe wrenches is that both the body and the jaw of the wrenches have date codes. I can make out the 4 but can‘t quite make out the second number on yours. Yours also has the jaw tensioning spring in place that is often missing. Here are the Walcos in my WW2 keeper sets.
-Don

 

[MisterEd]

We do not commonly clean things beyond what's necessary to identify them and we didn't know the significance of the numbering. The body is "43" and the jaw is "42". Appreciate the perspective . . . and nice Wrenches you have, d42jeep!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Picked up this unusual pipe wrench this morning at the flea market. Parmelee was making them in Chicago from 1907 to 1913, when they started showing up as a Walworth product branded Walworth-Parmelee. Not sure if they bought them out, licensed it, or what. I'll research that later. The concept is pretty straight forward, and the pictures tell the story, but once you grab the pipe (in this case, 3/4"), and have it hooked, you twist that collar, which locks it into place.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

A couple more pics, the patent info (c/o DATAMP), and some period ads for context.

 

[d42jeep]

I’ve been watching those on eBay to add to my Walworth tools, but they always end up going for more than I am willing to spend.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Weird 4 way design.

I've had the 10-inch model for a few years now. Not in very good condition and I could barely make out the /G\T/D\ logo. This morning I found an 8-incher at the flea to go with big brother, and it's in much better condition. See Pics below.

The patent (1,052,313) was granted in 1913, just before the inventor, Addison B. Carll, was granted a second patent (1,060,891) for pipe wrenches he had made under his own name by a couple different fly-by-night outfits, but not Greenfield, with a rotating head. I've never seen one, but d42jeep has its cousin, with a non-rotating head. Same patent, strangely. Don posted his CARLL in my Oddfellows thread, linked here. One of his attachments is the DATAMP page for that patent.

 

[four.cycle]

supplemental to posts #47 and #48 above:


Parmelee / Parmelee Wrench Co., 125 Jersey St., Harrison, NJ 07029 (formerly Chicago, IL) / https://parmeleewrench.com / patent 648706 patent 871436 / https://toolarchives.com/node/259 /

Fascinating design. The company is still making them. In (drum roll please) New Jersey.

 

[d42jeep]

My buddy dropped off some tools this morning and this early aluminum pipe wrench was a brand that I haven’t run across before.
-Don

 

[humber2]

Seeing Alcoa and the minimal use of steel I’d say that wrench was made for working on the pot lines of an Aluminum smelter where strong magnetic fields surround the busbars.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...this early aluminum pipe wrench was a brand that I haven’t run across before.

They were made and sold by a company called Schick Products, Inc, in Belmont, CA., in the late 50's and 60's. You may see wildly assured but apocryphal references to the iconic razor company (people seem to want to put the name and the aluminum together...), but there is absolutely no connection. I got into an double argument with someone about these once (person also claimed they were wartime!) and ran everything to ground. I'll post it after dinner if you'd like. They do have a bit of a cultish following (the first to go light weight, before RIDGID and others tried it...) and I wouldn't mind running into one in the wild. Nice friend! Yours look like they have the beryllium-copper jaws, which was an option.

 

[d42jeep]

Thanks for the info. It is quite light. I believe that the jaws are actually steel. Please pass along any details you dug up.
-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks for clarifying the jaws. They are often missing, so your friend hit a home run.

Here're few things from my file on these. Their TM notice in the 1958 USPTO gazette (see Pic 2) says first use (of "Schick") in 1953, but the earliest ads I can find for the aluminum pipe wrenches are also 1958, like this one from Popular Mechanics (see Pic 1).

I won't go into mythbusting the Schick razor claims unless I have to.

 

[Mintgrun]

I've got an 18" version


with beryllium-copper jaws that are held in place with b-c roll pins.



Even the spring inside is made of b-c.



Do you suppose the # 68 on the jaw and handle refers to the year they were made?



It doesn't say ALCOA anywhere and the other side of the forgings are blank. These things are shockingly lightweight. I do a doubletake every time I pick it up.

Tom

 

[d42jeep]

I suspect that mine might be very early. It doesn’t have any provision for tensioning the moveable jaw, which is quite loose in the body of the wrench.
-Don

 

[HMcM]

Concerning the Carll wrench; Thursday at an estate sale, I got this 6 inch adjustable wrench with reversible jaw, that turns it into a pipe wrench. I've never seen one before. I didn't know why it had teeth under the lower jaw until I looked it up on the internet and discovered that the upper jaw was reversible. I love it.

 

[d42jeep]

I posted my Carll adjustable on this thread.
-Don

The Ancient and Independent Order of Oddfellows (Adjustables, that is...)

Almost looks a logo, its neat 1.

www.garagejournal.com

 

[d42jeep]

Among the tools in the toolbox I found yesterday was this little red Ridgid pipe wrench. At first glance, I thought that it was a post 1950 model but after a closer look it turned out to have been made in 1945 and painted by a previous owner to resemble the more modern Ridgids.
-Don

 

[MisterEd]

It is possible to remain married to a woman who insists on buying a 24 inch pipe wrench for $10??

Hell yes!

 

[MisterEd]

Found a couple of Old Adjustables today; Trimo 18 inch and a Craftsman 10 inch that looks a lot like a Rigid. Or does it?

 

[MisterEd]

And the Craftsman.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

And the Craftsman.

Made by Erie. More than you will ever want to know on that subject here.

 

[MisterEd]

Made by Erie. More than you will ever want to know on that subject here.

Quite an effort by y'all.

Here I hoped my ability to identify a wrench was nigh, but no, an eerie quiet followed my mistake.

So, Erie in what time period? If I may ask.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Looks like 50s to me. No older.

 

[MisterEd]

I think I've almost gotten a handle on something and then there's a weird contract curve ball. I admire your diligence in tracking the Erie question.

Thanks, as usual.

 

[Larr991]

Two I have!

 

[d42jeep]

I picked up a forlorn looking 8” Trimo at an estate sale last Thursday. It looks a little better now. It has the ubiquitous asterisk on one side.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

"...the ubiquitous asterisk..."

okay... that does it... we need a list of manufacturers who've stamped the formerly understood to have been trademarked by Peck Stow and Wilcox symbol formerly known as asterisk - a trademark that obviously wasn't given much heed by other tool manufacturers - on various items.

 

[d42jeep]

I found this rusty and abused 14” Walco pipe wrench at a yard sale on Saturday. The body of the wrench was made in 1941 and the jaw was made in 1938. As often is the case, the jaw tensioning spring is missing. This one had to spend quite a bit of time in the evaporust.
-Don

 

[rustynbent]

I just acquired a slug of old tools and several are vintage pipe wrenches

Love the Brass and copper!

 

[HeelSpur]

Missing the 24incher.

DSCF1874 by wvwheaties, on Flickr

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's impressive, HeelSpur! Maybe even moreso because it's not THAT Craftsman!

 

[four.cycle]

A regular Cornucopia of Conneaut Craftsmans!

 

[may0naise]

I picked up this 24" Walworth stillson at goodwill for $7. I think it looks pretty good after the evaporust soak. Any mfg year knowledge would be much appreciated.

 

[d42jeep]

It’s really hard to date Walworth Stillson wrenches because they were made for so long. I have run across a couple of wartime examples that had date codes on the movable jaws but they are the exception rather than the rule.
-Don
Ad from 1910
Wartime dated wrenches

 

[four.cycle]

^ I think they made a lot of wrenches for a long time.


Walworth Mfg. Co. 706 Main St. 1876


1905 Motor Age magazine Walworth Stillson ad

 

[may0naise]

"

It’s really hard to date Walworth Stillson wrenches because they were made for so long. I have run across a couple of wartime examples that had date codes on the movable jaws but they are the exception rather than the rule.
-Don"

So does that mean that this is the date code and it was made in 1942?