Vise grips

[d42jeep]

I didn’t really do a deep study about how fast the decline in quality was but I tried using a modern pair and the teeth in the jaws immediately deformed, The original vise grips are high quality and readily available so I avoid the new ones.
Shiftless stopped by today with a 1942 patent date 10” pair. They have a bit of a greenish color like 4xdog’s pair posted upthread. They were much less rusty than some of my other early ones.
-Don
Here are all the ‘42 patent pairs together.
i straightened out the handle on the bottom set to be a closer match to the one above it.
-Don

 

[LNKMK8]

What I find interesting is that even though some of those are 80 years old, you still get that distinctive Vise-Grip "click" when you lock them down. A new pair of Irwin's just don't do that.

 

[Farmall450]

What I find interesting is that even though some of those are 80 years old, you still get that distinctive Vise-Grip "click" when you lock them down. A new pair of Irwin's just don't do that.

Quality will do that lol

 

[AntiqueBen]

Here's a few of my '42's. I'm intrigued on how some of the '42's are stamped differently as they made their way to the next version. I also like the Samson's version. Neat adjustment bolt. I found the Wizard pair at a flea market.

 

[AntiqueBen]

I found an unmarked pair of vise grips at an antique store yesterday. At first glance they look like a pair of '42 Peterson's. At closer inspection, they do have some differences. Like the shape of the inside tension piece, the opening below the jaws & the domed adjustment bolt. I've compared these to several other types & they are different from everything I have. Pics attached. The Peterson '42's are on top & the unmarked pair on the bottom. Anyone have any ideas??

 

[d42jeep]

If they aren’t marked I don’t have any idea who made them.
I found these Vise Grips Saturday at a moving sale located right on the bay. The unused Craftsman sockets were quite rusty from being so close to the salt water but these came out of the evaporust looking pretty good.
-Don

 

[AreBeeBee]

Does anyone know when the '42 patent models started being marked with the Vise-Grip-two-hands-shaking logo?

I picked up a 10-inch today, very heavily rusted with no markings visible. After wire-wheeling, the patent and name appeared but not the Vice-Grip logo. In Don's post above, you can see three '42 models with the logo and one at the bottom without. Mine looks like the bottom one.

The logo surely came after the basic, all-type marking, but when did the logo appear? And is that when the stamped-in model number also appeared?

 

[AreBeeBee]

Following up on my questions above, the Internet Archive tool catalogue site has flyers from 1939 and 1945 that show no stamped logos or model numbers. However they do show a decal or stick-on label on the frame at the main pivot point with the shaking-hands pattern seen in the later stamped logo.

The 1949 ad (from Hardware Age) does show model numbers and what appears to be a stamped logo on main frame side, but the quality of the scan isn't sufficient to be certain of the logo. The 1950 ad, also from Hardware Age, is even harder to make out. By 1955 (in Hardware Retailer), the images clearly show stamped model numbers in the lower jaw and the shaking-hands logo on the side of the frame.

So if one has a Vise-Grip with an all-type maker name on the spine of the frame and no model numbers and no stamped logo, then that V-G was probably made earlier than 1949.

It would be great if someone could post images of the earliest models and any catalogue literature, from the first models on the market through the early postwar years.

 

[vwtrey]

Wait, you guys are telling me I can buy a display like this and spend the next few months filling it up? I did not need to know that.

Vintage 1984 Petersen Mfg. Vise-Grip Display 11DB Made In USA 15” X 25” | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage 1984 Petersen Mfg. Vise-Grip Display 11DB Made In USA 15” X 25” at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[d42jeep]

Here are before and after pictures of a pair I found yesterday at an estate sale.
-Don

 

[winchman]

Has anyone an old catalogue? I do wonder how may different types they made?

 

[Mintgrun]

Here's a catalog from 1981.

Vise-Grip Tools : General Catalog 240 : Petersen Manufacturing Co. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

16 p., illus., 27.6 cm, trade catalog

archive.org

There are some others on this page as well.

Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine

archive.org

 

[winchman]

Thanks for that, I was at an Autojumble ( Swapmeet in the US) and I missed what I thought was a Visegrip with Jaws like a Clamp, didn't look home made but never seen another set?

 

[four.cycle]

"... how may different types they made?"

oh.... about a million.

Petersen cranked out no end of specialty "Vise-Grips" for private accounts - like "Thermocote" - and countless others. They show up here now and then. Some of them are very specialized - engineered to perform ONE task and ONE task only.

(* please let us know if you figure out what these green joberoos are supposed to be for... another member posted a set about a week back... blasting caps? wth? *)

Thermacote / Thermacote Co., Pasadena, CA / crimping pliers / pliers manufactured by Petersen Mfg. Co., Dewitt, NE and coated with non-spark coating by Thermacote /

 

[Mintgrun]

please let us know if you figure out what these green joberoos are supposed to be for

I posted a non coated pair like that and Provincial said they are for crimping oxy acetylene hose ends. Non sparking might make sense for that application, depending on the situation.

I shared them in the (larger) Holy vise grip Batman thread.

Holy vise grip Batman!

Petersen mfg model 318R. 17" throat! ::scared:: Never seen one of these before, thought it was pretty cool. Mark Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Oldtuleguy]

oh.... about a million.

Petersen cranked out no end of specialty "Vise-Grips" for private accounts - like "Thermocote" - and countless others. They show up here now and then. Some of them are very specialized - engineered to perform ONE task and ONE task only.

(* please let us know if you figure out what these green joberoos are supposed to be for... another member posted a set about a week back... blasting caps? wth? *)

Thermacote / Thermacote Co., Pasadena, CA / crimping pliers / pliers manufactured by Petersen Mfg. Co., Dewitt, NE and coated with non-spark coating by Thermacote /

The sticker says they are for tightening nuts and cutting metals

 

[Mintgrun]

The sticker says they are for tightening nuts and cutting metals

I think the corner of the sticker is folded over the word "not".

It looks like they're missing the spring.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That makes more sense. They look like crimpers

 

[isb cornbinder]

I have over 200 pair of the Real PETERSENS. My oldest pair was gift to me in about 1960.
The grips in the pictures is about half of the total.
I have a few over-center locking grips made by CRESCENT TOOLS.

 

[Sgtmac1965]

These are tough to find and worth some $$$. There's also the 9BN and 4BN. I have the 6BN and 9BN but need the 4BN.

I have an extra 4BN looking for a 9BN

 

[NYBODYMAN]

I have an extra 4BN looking for a 9BN

I don't have an extra 9BN. Let me know if you are looking to sell your 4BN and what you want for it. Thanks.

 

[winchman]

Looking for som Bn's in the UK never seen any before very useful

 

[3baygarage]

Probably the worst example around but I was happy to find this for a couple bucks. I believe these are 2nd version (1924 patent). Last year I saw two examples the same day, neither were great but they were priced through the roof and a collector paid up for one.

Unfortunately the name on the top is completely eaten away.