Vintage RIDGID Pipe Wrenches

[JjKk40]

1944.

I have a book published in 1946 by the War Production Board, entitled Cumulative Listing of Major War Supply Contracts, that others have seen me cite as a reference here on GJ quite often. Your wrench prompted me to look at the Ridge Tool Company entry again. They had twenty-four (24) contracts, from July 1942 through May 1945, totaling $2.7M. All of them were with the Ordnance Dept, the Air Corps, or the Navy, except for one (1). Ridge had a contract (TPS41700L) for pipe wrenches worth $66,000 with the Treasury Department. Not many people realize that the Treasury Dept administered the Lend-Lease program. Guess when it was awarded? October 1943, which coincided with the Third Protocol period of the so-called "Lend-Lease" (To Promote the Defense of the US) Act. There is a very high probability that your pipe wrench was made in 1944 under that contract.

Getting Lend-Lease items to Russia was a feat in and of itself, if you're not familiar. The Nazi threat from the north to the British position in Iraq in midsummer 1941 was the sole reason for American “neutral” aid to Britain in the Middle East – and the British aid was being used as a ruse to also aid Russia, which had not yet been approved for Lend-Lease by Congress, via ports in the Persian Gulf. A railway connecting the Persian Gulf via Baghdad with the Mediterranean at Tripoli and the Bosporus at Istanbul was British controlled. Some of the best preserved Willys MB jeeps in the world are in Russia, and the "Persian Corridor" is how many of them got there. Or the Arctic route, past German-occupied Norway. But we sent enough material through Persia to Russia to field sixty US Army Divisions.

If you'll indulge me just a little longer, you may be interested in knowing that Russian Lend-Lease model Willys MB jeeps are the only wartime jeeps other than USMC models that got the full tool and repair parts package in a large OD wooden crate. All QMC, Ordnance Dept, and Lend-Lease British and Canadian jeeps got the much smaller tool and repair parts package. The USMC got the bigger crate because it would be more expeditionary, operating without the advantage of mechanics close behind in mobile 2nd echelon depots. The Russian Lend-Lease jeeps got the larger crate because those would need to be totally self-sufficient, operating on the Eastern Front, without US support. Long story short, a lot of jeep guys over here are jealous of the jeeps with crates that jeep guys in Russia are driving!

Thanks for posting.

Coolest thing I have seen in awhile.

Wow I had no idea we supplied military stuff to Russia back then and that they have Willy's over there! Awesome info Lugz!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

You're welcome. Lend-Lease is most commonly associated with England by most people, for some reason. I guess because that's the ally and the side of the ETO the US is most popularly associated with. Funny, or not so funny, depending on ones perspective, how 70+ years of a Cold War and whatever you want to call what has happened since the dissolution of the USSR later, and the term is now being bandied about again with much different shoes on much different feet. And I'll stop with that simply factual and purposefully neutral statement (and ask that others not cross any lines either) so I don't get my own thread locked.

 

[four.cycle]

"...I had no idea we supplied military stuff to Russia..."

John Wayne did not win World War II.
The volume of material the U.S. supplied to the Soviets was mind-boggling. Without it, they would not have defeated the Wermacht.
Fascinating stuff for those willing to do the research.
That's as far as I'm going on that one.

So... there are "GMTK" guys in Russia? Or is it more along the lines of collecting the Jeeps themselves (sans tool kits)?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The volume of material the U.S. supplied to the Soviets was mind-boggling. Without it, they would not have defeated the Wermacht.
Fascinating stuff for those willing to do the research.

I won't bore you with the tonnage, which are the kinds of numbers that are so enormous they defy understanding without context, which is why I already mentioned a popular analogy above in the bit JjKk quoted: enough to outfit sixty (60) US Army divisions! The RIDGID pipe wrench that started this whole line of departure was very likely a pound or so of that total.

So... there are "GMTK" guys in Russia? Or is it more along the lines of collecting the Jeeps themselves (sans tool kits)?

The latter. Note that the GMTK is not the Jeep toolkit, though. The "GMTK" (Motor Vehicle Mechanics Tool-Set, then General Mechanics Tool-Set during WWII; technically, the GMTK name was not adopted until 1970's) was issued to every general mechanic at 2nd Echelon. That was the first line of maintenance for all vehicles in mobile or hasty fixed site depots just behind the front lines. On-board toolkits were much smaller and more basic for driver level preventive maintenance. For the most part, Jeep (and Dodge, GMC, etc) on-board tools were largely ignored if not discarded or lost altogether.

 

[four.cycle]

yeah.... I think we're on the same page... when I said "GMTK" I was referring to the "tool kit" aspect of it, but you figured that out.

I cannot imagine anyone trying to collect Soviet-era tools - I've gathered quite a few example photos and I'm sorry to say that their appearance does not impress me. The T-34, on the other hand, was quite an accomplishment.

I had to Google search "division" - I know zip about anything having to do with military stuff - per Wikipedia:
"A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers."

Even at the low end, that number multiplied by 60 equates to one hell of a lot of material.

 

[Shelbylex]

Four.Cycle, now since you mentioned the legendary T-34, you have to show us what's in the kit!!!

 

[four.cycle]

^ I was referring to the Soviet T-34 tank. Not a tool kit.
I don't want to clutter up this thread with Russian stuff. I posted a few a while back here.

 

[tamaraw]

Thanks for the information in this thread! I guess that would make mine a 28/29 model.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I guess that would make mine a 28/29 model.

Concur!

 

[AreBeeBee]

Found this at the weekend's Garfield Farm tool meet near St. Charles, Illinois. I got it because it's by Ridge Tool Co. and it has a Stillson pattern, not Ridgid's "streamlined" design. (Upon seeing it, my wife said, "What a cute little wrench!")

As for date, the forging says A1-3, which makes it January 1943 for manufacture. As you can see, the last digit in the code as stamped into the moveable jaw has been worn down, but with a magnifying lens it looks enough like a "3" to match the date code on the handle.

What surprises me a little is that the company was making 6-inchers when the country was well into wartime production for tools and everything else. But maybe little guys like this were useful or in demand during the war for some purposes.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

and it has a Stillson pattern, not Ridgid's "streamlined" design.

That is Ridge's "Improved Stillson" pattern, which they started making much later in parallel to their own design. They really weren't part of the focus of the original purpose of this thread, I've never had much interest in them, and consequently I really haven't delved into them very deeply in research, but if I had to guess, I would think they were trying to expand their market into the types of customers who preferred the Stillson pattern to the upstarts. The improvement implicit in the name, and the basis of the patent, granted in 1937, are a pair of conical springs to center and stabilize the dynamic jaw.

As for date, the forging says A1-3, which makes it January 1943 for manufacture. As you can see, the last digit in the code as stamped into the moveable jaw has been worn down, but with a magnifying lens it looks enough like a "3" to match the date code on the handle.

I can't confirm or help you with that. I never collected any data on the coded markings on Ridge's Improved Stillsons. But it does seem to match the same date coding principle as the RIDGID pattern. If you search the thread on "Stillson" you'll see a few examples from @d42jeep and @Joe Huld, who have PAT PEND models made between 1935, when the patent was applied for, and 1937, when it was granted. I don't recall if theirs had date codes or not.

What surprises me a little is that the company was making 6-inchers when the country was well into wartime production for tools and everything else. But maybe little guys like this were useful or in demand during the war for some purposes.

The wartime "GMTK" (it had a few different names unimportant to this topic), a toolset in a portable flip top box issued to every 2nd echelon general motor vehicle mechanic in the Army, initially had a single 10" pipe wrench. In October 1942, that was changed to two pipe wrenches, a 6" and a 14".

As for tool production, the limitation orders that the War Production Board issued were not all encompassing, they were very specific, and they evolved throughout the war. Many types of tools were still being made and sold to important industries, including those keeping certain other industries and manufacturing going. The "Steel Drives" that people know from popular history, with images of the government rounding up tools that citizens voluntarily turned over, were shortlived, and occured, ironically, just before late 1944, when the tide had turned from Emergency to Victory, and we started easing restrictions and limitations.

 

[AreBeeBee]

Well, issuing tool kits with a 6" in them would certainly call for producing them in large quantities. (That said, I have no idea whatsoever as to Ridge's production numbers across the various models and sizes.)

I wonder if Ridge met some market resistance to the new RIDGID design, perhaps from the older mechanics and shop workers. To me, even though I have several (as shown in this thread), the RIDGID pattern always looks just a bit weird, probably because when I was growing up all we had at home were Stillsons. (And those were from Walworth too, it being a local company.) I can imagine some older mechanics looking at the RIDGID pattern, shaking their heads and muttering.

It would be only good marketing sense for Ridge to make some in the classic Stillson pattern — and even better if they could tweak it to be "improved."

Thanks for the response.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well, issuing tool kits with a 6" in them would certainly call for producing them in large quantities.

Yep. Walcos are popular with GMTK collectors because they bear explicit forged-in dates. Literally "42", "43", etc. The main thrust behind this thread, which started on a military collectors forum, was to legitimize the interpretation of the numbers on RIDGIDs as date codes.

That said, I have no idea whatsoever as to Ridge's production numbers across the various models and sizes.)

I can tell you how many wartime contracts they had and their dollar values when I'm with my references next week. I'm on travel. But I can tell you just from empirical observation that they made a **** ton of them.

It would be only good marketing sense for Ridge to make some in the classic Stillson pattern —

Agreed. Exactly what I was getting at.

 

[MisterEd]

B-9-7
"fully knurled adjusting nut"
"rounded end on the threaded dynamic jaw"???

 

[d42jeep]

Made post 1948 but with a older solid knurled adjuster. A guess would be 1957 but it’s really hard to know for sure.
-Don

 

[AreBeeBee]

At a local ReStore I picked up a 10-inch March 1945 wrench with a curious marking on one side of the body. Just above the remains of the original RIDGID decal there's a stamped-in mark of a numeral two followed by a period: "2.". This may be related to the manufacture — or it could simply be an ownership mark or something similar.

I'm afraid that the decal, already fragementary, isn't going to survive any attempts to clean up the wrench, at least not where it is.

The "2." reminded me immediately of the date coding that Parker pens from the 1930s and 40s show. Parker pens and mechanical pencils from that era show the last digit of the year, and either three, two, one, or no dots next to the digit. A pen made in the first quarter of a year would have three dots, two dots means second quarter, one dot marks third quarter and no dots means the last quarter.

I'm posting it here out of curiosity — is this indeed a wartime wrench, and also does anyone have a firm idea of what that "2." signifies?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

does anyone have a firm idea of what that "2." signifies?

Not that I know of. Many stamped figures appear there, in that same location, especially on wartime wrenches for some reason. Don (@d42jeep) and I both have examples with the identical "2." marking. But I have others with other numerals and no period mark, and if you scroll through the photos on the thread you will see several numerals and the letter "D", "R", and an "Rx" monograph. I have never tried to correlate them with anything else because they seem like something arbitrary to the factory.

 

[d42jeep]

I don’t think there is any special significance to that marking. As Lugz says, there are lots of random markings in that area.
-Don

 

[AreBeeBee]

@Lugz & jeep — Thank you both. One can make a lot of guesses as to what it means, but —

Edit: Forgot to mention. I do want to get the rust off the wrench, so I think that tattered remnant of the decal will be lost before I'm done.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

One can make a lot of guesses as to what it means, but —

I've been noting the figures stamped into the center of the housing in an offhand way from the start of the survey, RBB, but pretty much ignoring them as unidentifiable and irrelevant to the original objective of this thread (verifying the Letter-Number-Number codes on dynamic jaws as date codes). I've been meaning to look into them a little more methodically, and just never got around to it.

To that end, I just went through the thread and gathered some data on them, which defies, as expected, any meaning or pattern. They do seem to only appear on wartime wrenches, but without an external reference, it's beyond our knowing whether they are factory (production line, die, mould, QC, etc) or after-factory (placed by a customer, Raritan Army Depot, just named for a contextual example, to track their distribution, just for one of many possible examples) and what they might signify.

(Note, just for further curiosity, that there are other marks, as well, which usually appear above the adjusting nut. A "7" was common, and it was forged in. This table does not record those.)

Housing Marks

Stamp	Date Code	OAL"	Post #	Type
A Rx	H-3-6	8	8	Straight
A Rx	B-11-5	18	13	"
7 Rx	B-9-5	14	31	"
D Rx	Not Reported	24	42	"
2	E-8-5	18	42	"
2	B-8-3	14	42	"
D	B-8-6	10	56	"
3.	B-14-2	10	89	"
7	B-1-1	6	105	"
6	B-11-3	10	116	"
2.	B-1-4	14	123	"
2.	Not reported	14	124	"
1	B-12-3	10	167	Offset
C.	E-4-11	6	201	Straight
2.	A-3-5	10	256	"

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It's a little interesting that my offset is the only one that has a unique number, but our sample size is not big enough to make that a distinction. There could be straight wrenches with that number we just haven't seen here.

 

[Grandpa's tools]

I just came upon this thread the other day, and wish I had seen it before my little "clean up" project.

Below is my 18" Ridgid that I recently freshened up. Am I correct to assume that with the trapezoidal swash plate and "Pat. Pending" mark that this wrench was made between 1/1/1928 and 9/9/1929? Also, the movable jaw is stamped "E 3-5"... with the squared off end, I assume it was likely a replacement made in 1935 or 1945?

Looks like I was incorrect in painting it... I gather that wrenches from this era were either natural or black.

Along these lines, if I were to refresh a later model, what would the most correct shade be? Based on a YouTube video, I went with a "Chevrolet Orange" engine paint, but most I've seen on this thread look more reddish than mine.

Thanks for any input

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Am I correct to assume that with the trapezoidal swash plate and "Pat. Pending" mark that this wrench was made between 1/1/1928 and 9/9/1929?

Yes.

Also, the movable jaw is stamped "E 3-5"... with the squared off end, I assume it was likely a replacement made in 1935 or 1945?

Yes.

Looks like I was incorrect in painting it... I gather that wrenches from this era were either natural or black.

Well, "incorrect" is in the eye of the beholder. If you mean that color was not factory in the late 1920's, you are correct. The red seems to have been introduced after WWII.

Along these lines, if I were to refresh a later model, what would the most correct shade be?

I'll let someone else take that one. I have never tried to paint chip it at a paint store, and I don't recall if others have.

 

[d42jeep]

The wartime wrenches were black that didn’t seem to last long. The post ‘50 wrenches were a little more red than Chevy orange in my opinion.
-Don

 

[AreBeeBee]

The wartime wrenches were black that didn’t seem to last long. The post ‘50 wrenches were a little more red than Chevy orange in my opinion.
-Don

Jeep: When I was making an initial cleaning of my March 1945 10-inch (post #256), I thought it had black paint originally. I'm glad to see your example (above) which shows what mine probably looked like when less worn. And yes, the black paint appears to weather badly; clearly with the postwar wrenches, Ridge found a really durable red.

 

[d42jeep]

Here is a blown up wartime photo of a military set showing the pipe wrench. Although the picture is black and white, it’s clearly painted black with the sticker still in place.
-Don

 

[AreBeeBee]

Lugz, here's another Ridge Tool 6-incher in the RIDGID design instead of Stillson. The moveable jaw says "B-2-4," so perhaps it was from one of those 6- and 14-inch combo wartime toolkits you mentioned up-thread.

And in the matter of mysterious stampings, on the RIDGID side there's a circle and a cap-R next to it. The photo shows it looking a bit like a cap-H or cap-B from some angles, but I checked with a hand lens with varied lighting and it really is an R. Once again, a mystery mark.

 

[d42jeep]

That is a nice 1944 wartime example. The Federal Stock Number would be 41-W-1660 Pipe Wrench 6" if it was used in a WW2 military set. The Ridgid pipe wrenches were not marked with the FSN.
-Don

 

[AntiqueBen]

Here is my only Patent Pending Rigid. It's an 18" in good shape. All my other ones have a patent number. Is this one 1928-1929??

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Yes. And a very nice example. That is clean.

 

[AntiqueBen]

Thanks Lugz. Fresh off the wire wheel. I always try to keep all my tools as original as possible. Cool thread by the way...

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not a fan of wire wheels, myself, to be honest. But to each his own, and you apparently have a nice light touch!

 

[mritchie77]

I won't bore you with the tonnage, which are the kinds of numbers that are so enormous they defy understanding without context, which is why I already mentioned a popular analogy above in the bit JjKk quoted: enough to outfit sixty (60) US Army divisions! The RIDGID pipe wrench that started this whole line of departure was very likely a pound or so of that total.

First time reading through this. This is crazy. I'm attached to the 36ID (as a 36A no less) and the sheer amount of material to outfit 60 divisions....

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It's safe to say that most Americans, even those a little more than casually interested in WWII, don't realize how much equipment was sent overseas under Lend-Lease. To really put it into perspective for those, unlike you, who can't picture the "size" of a division, the US Army mobilized a total of ninety-one (91) divisions during WWII. Which means we outfitted our own army, and sent about 65% of the equipment it would take to outfit a whole 'nother army that size, to the Brits and USSR during WWII.

 

[Clharris1]

I came across this thread the other day when I bought a bunch of pipe wrenches and was trying to date them. They were all after ‘55, but when did Ridgid stop crossing the “D” and “G” and just make them touch? Five of the wrenches have “B” codes. Three with the “D” and “G” crossing have “B•#•#” and the 2 that are touching are “B##”. Then there is one that is “F-030”.

Then, today my brother bought me one at a garage sale for $5 just because he knew it was a Ridgid pipe wrench. After looking for this thread again and joining the group, I believe it to be war production or at least from the 40’s. It was covered in rust, so I used a wire brush to clean up. The code on the jaw is B•2•6 and the light marking on the head look to be “8R”.

I think it’s cool that there are still so many of these old tools around and that so many people actually know about them. Just goes to show that good quality last a long time!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The code on the jaw is B•2•6 and the light marking on the head look to be “8R”.

We don't know what those markings are on the housings, but your wrench was made in 1946.

 

[Half-fast eddie]

I read through this thread, trying to date my 8” wrench by myself. How’s this: marked Elyria, 2 knurl rings on the adjuster, round end on the loose jaw, date code B.3.7 … March of 1957?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's the most plausible. It's possible that it could be 1947. My initial focus was wartime, and the postwar research was a little fuzzy, hence the "circa" 1948 hedge. At some point after WWII they went to a red finish and introduced that rounded **** end on the dynamic jaw and various features on the adjusting nut other than fully knurled. But I did not find detailed specific evidence of when beyond the 1948 and 1950 ads I cited.

 

[jeffmoss26]

found some 'restorations in progress' at a sale yesterday

 

[MisterEd]

Ridgid 6 Inch
E4-11?