The forgotten Girard Monkey Wrench

[AntiqueBen]

Hi All,

I've not seen much talk about Girard Wrench & MFG. Co on GJ. I didn't really know about Girard until I ran into this giant 18" monkey wrench at a flea market...so I had to get it. Cleaned up ok & has a massive oak handle. This thing is a beast! I've seen several smaller Girard wrenches on fleabay. I saw a thread from about 4yrs ago & four.cycle left the AA link on Girard. I read a short history on Girard, but there doesn't seem to be much specific info out there on their tools. I'm sure there is, I just haven't seen it yet. I know their plant suffered a huge fire in 1888 & wiped out everything. I think at one point they questioned if they would even continue after the fire. Looks like they did for a little while. Anyone know more about Girard Wrench & MFG Co??

 

[four.cycle]

1890 Simmons Hardware Co. catalog pp 269

1890s Dunham Carrigan & Hayden Co. catalog pp 630

1894 Simmons Hardware Co. catalog pp 262

1907 Hibbard Spencer Bartlett & Co. catalog pp 92

 

[four.cycle]

Girard did make a 5-inch bicycle wrench.
If my memory serves me correctly, Girard did not make the mysterious "Champion" branded adjustable wrench that bears a resemblance to a "Girard" model found at Alloy-Artifacts.org (but I cannot find my notes right now on this one.... I believe Stan told me it was made by a guy from ... Ohio... (?)...but that's a pretty vague memory so don't quote me on it.)

 

[humber2]

Bottom of page 262 quoted...

“One-twelfth dozen in a box.”

How would that be expressed converted to metric speak?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Snerk.

"One-hundredth of one hundred in a box"?

"One-half Dozen" (rather than "six") doesn't seem so bad. "One-third Dozen" (rather than "three") - higher up on same page, begins to strain credulity. "One-twelfth Dozen" (rather than "one") does seem like a torturously convoluted construction. But it was the standard shipping unit.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Awesome pics four.cycle! I find it odd that I cannot find any ads online for Girard Wrenches. I see the pics like you sent from hardware catalogs but no ads anywhere. I found a piece written about Girard Wrenches & there salesman said they were selling so many they couldn't keep up with the orders. Probably the words of every salesman. I guess they didn't see a benefit in advertising for them. Also, looks like the only differences between the Girard Agriculture & Standard versions are the weight & the Standard is Warranted. Agriculture version goes uy to a 15" & the Standard goes up to a 21".

 

[yatg]

"One-third Dozen" (rather than "three") - higher up on same page, begins to strain credulity.

A baker's dozen has 13 items.
So a New Jersey dozen has 9 items?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

So a New Jersey dozen has 9 items?

Snerk.

 

[MisterEd]

Girard 6 Inch

 

[Leviton]

I found this Girard "Special" 12-inch wrench at a garage sale last weekend. It has a "Union Pacific" stamping.
Afterward, I went on eBay to check their Girard listings. I found a Special like mine (except it is an 8-inch) - Coincidentally, it was also marked "Union Pacific".

For fun, using photo software, I outlined the stamping of my wrench in red and then outlined the stamping of the eBay wrench in blue. Then I overlaid the two outlines. They were virtually identical! I don't know what I was expecting, but I was not expecting them to be an exact match.

 

[AntiqueBen]

I found this Girard "Special" 12-inch wrench at a garage sale last weekend. It has a "Union Pacific" stamping.
Afterward, I went on eBay to check their Girard listings. I found a Special like mine (except it is an 8-inch) - Coincidentally, it was also marked "Union Pacific".

For fun, using photo software, I outlined the stamping of my wrench in red and then outlined the stamping of the eBay wrench in blue. Then I overlaid the two outlines. They were virtually identical! I don't know what I was expecting, but I was not expecting them to be an exact match.

Nice find. I've never seen a handle like that on a Girard wrench before. Railroad marked wrenches usually always have a steel handle instead of the standard wood handle.

 

[Provincial]

UP likely had a stamp made to mark their tools with.

Young Brothers and other stamp makers advertised this option.

 

[Leviton]

Some follow-up.
Below are a 1909 advertisement showing Girard's 4 types of wrenches (Standard, Agricultural, Special, and Bicycle) and a 1912 press release discussing them having "over 30 years" of experience at that time.

(I found Girard Wrench Mfg. listed in directories up until the late 1920's. The last mention I found was in the "Seventh Industrial Directory of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" published in 1931. )