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Author Topic: Antique European Adjustable Wrench??  (Read 1916 times)

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Offline Sunbeam500

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Antique European Adjustable Wrench??
« on: October 31, 2011, 02:02:51 PM »
Hope someone can help with this vintage adjustable spanner I found this weekend, (Carboot sale...Like a flea market; paid £1).

Guess it is French; but would love to know a bit more about it's purpose/ maker & age?

It is marked "michel despois", "qualite garantie", "agier extra" & "25". The other side of the adjustable is marked "61" on both jaws.

You guys always seem to know!

Thanks. Jon. GB
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Offline Branson

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Re: Antique European Adjustable Wrench??
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2011, 05:49:45 PM »
Quote from: Sunbeam500 on October 31, 2011, 02:02:51 PM
Hope someone can help with this vintage adjustable spanner I found this weekend, (Carboot sale...Like a flea market; paid £1).

Guess it is French; but would love to know a bit more about it's purpose/ maker & age?

It is marked "michel despois", "qualite garantie", "agier extra" & "25". The other side of the adjustable is marked "61" on both jaws.

You guys always seem to know!

Thanks. Jon. GB

Looks like the French ones we've seen here, and the markings are definitely French.  Take a closer look at  "agier extra" and I'll bet dollars to donuts that it actually reads "aCier".  Acier is French for steel,  acier foundu is cast steel, acier lame is laminated steel.  Acier extra must be high grade steel.
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Offline Papaw

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Re: Antique European Adjustable Wrench??
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2011, 06:35:15 PM »
The other words are probably "Marque Deposee"- kinda like trademarked, or patented. Quality Gauranteed is obvious.
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Offline Sunbeam500

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Re: Antique European Adjustable Wrench??
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2011, 02:43:42 AM »
Cheers for the information.
It does indeed read "Acier" rather than "Agier".
I have taken a couple of close-ups (rather poor!), for further clarification.
Thanks again
Jon GB
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Offline Papaw

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Re: Antique European Adjustable Wrench??
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2011, 02:55:48 AM »
I was wrong about Michel Despois- if it is not an owner's mark, it must be a manufacturer.
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Offline Wrenchmensch

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Re: Antique European Adjustable Wrench??
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2011, 03:52:51 PM »
These French carriage wrenches come in all sizes. I have 3 of them: a huge one(17.5 inches long) I found at an antique store in Chadds Ford, PA; a small one(6.25 inches long) I found at a flea market in New Castle, DE; and a medium-sized one (8.25 inches long) I found one Sunday at the Schauman Kai flea market in Frankfurt, Germany (WWII booty? a Rhineland artifact?). It's my belief that the French made these wrenches for a period of up to a century, ending in the late 19th or the early 20th centuries.

The largest of the wrenches has a steel cap over the end of the handle, and it is secured by a square nut; the other two wrenches are secured by a round nut with two opposing slots in the perimeter of that nut.  I wonder if the nature of the securing nut correlates to the age of one of these wrenches?
« Last Edit: November 03, 2011, 04:40:29 PM by Wrenchmensch »
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