Chicken or the Egg

[Lewill2]

Which one was made first? 2 different style Cincinnati Tool quick adjust wrenches, one 10 inch and one 12 inch. Which style is the earlier one?

I'm looking for help in trying to determine the answer.

[Plyerman]

Hmm, tough question. Just a wild stab here, but is it possible that the one on the left (with the more detailed cutouts) was made from a casting, and the one on the right was a drop forging? (if so then I would think the cast version would have been made first, and the stronger drop forging process came along later)

[Lewill2]

I believe the smaller one is cast because of all the recesses in the parts. It also appears to be Japaned in the recesses. The larger one is the more common style seen and I believe it is drop forged but not sure. The handle has been replaced on the smaller one.

[mikeswrenches]

I'm inclined to think the earlier one is on the left and that the bar and fixed jaw are forged as is the sliding piece.  Then some 'bean counter' looked at it and decided that while all the recesses were attractive, it cost more than the traditional one on the right.

Also, the solid bar shank would have been somewhat stronger than the recessed one.

Machining the oblong portion in the sliding section would have been time consuming and expensive if a forging.  A casting would be much cheaper.

My vote is for the smaller one as the older.  Much nicer looking too.

Mike

[Chillylulu]

Do they have to be from different eras?  It could be that the 10" was sold to a different market than the 12".

The 10" has an older feel to it.  It is nicer in my opinion.

Chilly

[lauver]

Gang,

I'm guessing that the wrench on the left is older.  Why?  It's more ornate and complex.  The general trend among tool makers has been to simplify their tools by eliminating ornamental features and reducing production steps, thus reducing productions costs. 

We all know why:  to sell more tools and increase profit margins.

[rusty]

But you could just as easily argue that the primitive one on the right is the best that early production could manage, and the ornate one on the left is the nicer one after making some money and buying better machines to cater to a higher end market....

Not everyone followed the standard Stanley product development theory...

The only way you are going to know for certain is to find ads or a pair of catalogs. Probably the latter, not much for ads seems to exist for those wrenches...