Nancy and I went farther afield than normal, and came up several unusual wrenches, and a strange metal folding rule from LA (covered in another topical area per the rigors practice on this site).
One of the wrenches, a 6-inch pipe wrench with 1/2-inch and 3/4-inch square openings, is embossed with the brand "Roxco" on both upper and lower jaws. It also has a typical Trimo Mfg Co Roxbury Mass 6 boss on the handle. I have not seen the Roxco name before. On reflection, Roxco may have been a contraction of Roxbury and Company which was agreed upon by lawyers and owner(s) in some period of latter day organizational transition. Please shed light, if you have anything on the origins of the Roxco name.
The 6 3/4-inch Eberhard Mfg. Co. malleable cast iron s-wrench is more heavily built, with its center rib and jaw ribs, than are other Eberhard s-wrenches in my collection. There is no noticeable distortion in the square jaws on this wrench, a tribute to the degree of reinforcement built into the wrench. The first picture shows both the "circled E" Eberhard logo and the wrench's number, 7350B. The second picture shows the PATD stamp.
An unusual Henry .S. Zook wrench came in the mail today, the outcome of a successful eBay bid. Zook wrenches are of interest because, as far as I know, they are the only 19th c. malleable cast iron wrenches made in Chester County, PA. I have lived in beautiful Chester County, PA almost 35 years, so finding these wrenches is a plus. The wrench has PAT APL FOR. on it, and it has an uncommon 1-inch closed hex-shaped end. The patent for the Zook wrenches was granted May 2, 1893. James K. Byler was a co-Patentee, and the original "Z" logo embossed on earlier wrenches became "ZB" on wrenches including the patent date.
