Two big ugly wrenches - Original Purpose? (Pipe Tongs)

[LNKMK8]

Picked these two wrenches up at auction a few weeks ago. I cleaned them up a bit and put a quick coat of paint to prevent further rust, but didn't find any markings on them. They are both about 24" in length, one with teeth (early pipe wrench?) and the other with smooth jaws and a "hook" like jaw. I'm not sure the adjusting nut is original? Any idea who might have made these or what their original purpose was?

 

[four.cycle]

pipe tongs
look for a herald mark up near the pivot.
if they're not too terribly pitted you should be able to find a stamp.

possibles:

Ashcroft / E.H. Ashcroft Co., Boston, MA (see also Ashcroft Mfg. Co., Bridgeport CT) / "Brown's patent" pipe tongs / TM 4102 Nov 7 1876 Edward H. Ashcroft & patent 22157 Nov 30 1858 & 79724 Jul 7 1868 James R. Brown / http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=7337&tab=0 / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/ashcroft-pipe-tongs-the-forgotten-tool.524784/ / http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.com/2017/08/vanished-tool-makers-ashcroft.html / https://ashcroft.asia/about-us/at-a-glance/history/#history-tab-1 /

Beach / Allen Beach, 18 Bowker St., Boston, MA / "Brown's Patent" pipe tongs / patent 22157 Nov 30 1858 James R. Brown & 19842 Aug 6 1858 Henry H. Gilmore & 79724 Jul 7 1868 James R. Brown & RE2283 Jun 12 1866 Henry H. Gilmore / see also James R. Brown, see also E.H. Ashcroft /

Brown / "Brown's patent" pipe tongs see E.H. Ashcroft Co. / James R. Brown, 39 Front St., Chelsford, MA (1854) / patent 142143 Aug 26 1873 & 144253 Nov 4 1873 & 145929 Dec 30 1873 James R. Brown / https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ahgilbertson/genealogy/browndesc.pdf / see also Hazen P. Huntoon /

doubtful, but I will include it anyway just in case:

Huntoon / Hazen P. Huntoon, Cambridge, MA / "Pipe tongs" / patent CA 2923 Dec 10 1873 Hazen P. Huntoon / Huntoon's Canadian patent 2923 incorporates features found in James R. Brown's patents 142143 Aug 26 1873 & 144253 Nov 4 1873 & 145929 Dec 30 1873 /

see also:

US Patent: 22,157 - Pipe-Tongs

US patent 22,157 Pipe-Tongs was issued to James R. Brown of Boston, MA. It was granted on 11/30/1858. Brown's patent pipe tongs had the fulcrum point in a block which could be moved by an adjusting screw. Brown's Pipe Tongs (with later refinements) was

datamp.org

I am not able to find my notes on this one. Stan Schulz (datamp.org) and I went back and forth on "tongs" for a few weeks. Brown was issued the patent, but did not himself have any manufacturing capabilities. Ashcroft appears to have been the primary manufacturer, but from evidence Stan and I dug up, it appears Mr. Brown wasn't picky about who was making his tongs - anybody with a forge was good enough - that's where Allen Beach comes into the picture.

 

[LNKMK8]

Wow... excellent information, thank you! I did find the same "3" mark on the one pair that the poster in the other thread noted. They would appear to be the same manufacturer.