My Favorite Wrenches

[treelady]

I wanted to share my most treasured old tools with y'all.  These wrenches belonged to my grandfather who was a car dealer in the 30's-50's.  However, I think that they have been my great-grandfather's first.

I think they are beautiful and they still work so well!  They are only used for simple household tasks now and no one is allowed to use them but myself.  These are spoiled wrenches! LoL!

[Papaw]

Keep them for the memories!

[johnsironsanctuary]

Treelady, Those are very nice Bemis & Call specimens.  I have quite a few myself.  Here is what Alloy Artifacts has to say about B&C.

Bemis & Call (B&C)

Bemis & Call was an early maker of tools and hardware dating back to an 1844 partnership between Stephen C. Bemis and Amos Call. The company produced a variety of tools including pipe wrenches, monkey wrenches, and other adjustable wrenches, and was especially well known for their S-shaped adjustable wrenches.

The line of S-shaped adjustable wrenches was introduced in 1894 and proved to be very popular. The sliding jaw design was very similar to the 1857 E.J. Worcester patent #17,531, with a slotted jaw running in a rectangular keyed passageway.

In 1928 Bemis & Call acquired the rights to the wrench designs of the Coes Wrench Company, a well-known maker of adjustable wrenches operating in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1939 B&C was acquired by Billings & Spencer, which continued production of the B&C (and Coes) wrench models for some years thereafter. (See our article on Billings & Spencer for more information.)

http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/other-makers.html#bc

[Plyerman]

Nice ones treelady! I've only been looking at old wrenches for a short time, but most I've seen have had the "hammer" face mushroomed out in a gruesome fashion from years of use and abuse. Your's look to be in really fine shape.

[Nolatoolguy]

Plyerman, is right about the mushrooming. I know my grandfathers were all used as hammers as well.

Those ones just seem in great shape, deffinitly keepers.

[leg17]

The line of S-shaped adjustable wrenches was introduced in 1894 and proved to be very popular. The sliding jaw design was very similar to the 1857 E.J. Worcester patent #17,531, with a slotted jaw running in a rectangular keyed passageway.

Does anyone know how I can identify the early production of the "S" adjustables by B&C?
Is that what the photo at AA shows?

[scottg]

There is no replacement for family heirlooms.
I am so jealous!! My "in between" ancestors were uh, well, idiots. If it wasn't money, it was nothing, to these people.
There were family heirlooms galore around, they were not a big deal to them, and they just frittered them away.
  I have a few things, but no tools at all. Nada, zip, not a bent nail..... sigh
 yours Scott