I kind of noticed the Vise Grip phenomenon. But I can't figure it out.
These earliest ones I understand, but there is a whole lot I don't.
Are there any research resources for these? Is anyone writing about it?
How does anyone know what to look for and what to sell for?
Is it just a crazy random fad like Beanie Babies that will crash in a few months?
yours Scott
Can't speak to the fad part. The company is now part of a multinational conglomerate & the original manufacturing plant is empty.
The first ones were made from drop forged parts; the family owned company gradually evolved them into stamped sheet metal bodies with forged jaws.
What motivates people to pay such prices? Some sense that "they aren't making any more of those." Most people have used a Vise-Grips at some time, so you have a much larger body of people whose personal experience combined with some sense of nostalgia & history might motivate them to want to own an "original."
As to the history & evolution .. I understand there is a company history display at the Nebraska State Historical Society, and some MVWC members have examples showing the gradual evolution of the tool during the 1930s.
