Vise Grips

[Ryan Cathey]

You know that little quick release lever thingy on Vise Grips? Well I didn't know that it wasn't always their. Turns out that it was added in the early fifties(according to the patent dates). I found a "in the box" pair of Vise Grips with instructions at a local Peddlers Mall and at five bucks I couldn't really pass it up. So, on to the question... Does anybody have an idea as to the value of this little piece of history? Thanks in advance.


-Ryan C.

[Bill Houghton]

I doubt that it's much, though you could try trolling eBay for completed auctions to see if there's a collector's market for those.

When we cleaned out my revered uncle's garage, I wound up with about four pair of the pre-release-lever Vise Grips; the only thing your pair would seem to have going is the box.

[Ryan Cathey]

Oh well...It was only 5 bucks like I said. I will try ebay. Thanks.

-Ryan C.

EDIT: Not sure on ebay link policy, but this is just for a reference. Here is the same thing I bought.http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-vise-grip-pliers-in-original-box_W0QQitemZ150061283168QQihZ005QQcategoryZ82252Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Tyler Howell]

I'm sure Vice Grip is a trade name.
There are many brands of "lock pliers" with and with out the thingy.
I recently dicovered a pair in my moms home that I grew up with.
Many memories;)

[Bill Houghton]

Vise Grip was the named used by William Petersen, the Nebraska blacksmith who developed this style of locking pliers. Googling on "vise grip history" will offer you the Irwin Industrial Tools website, with a bit of history on the pliers, as well as a more comprehensive history from the Wessels Living History Farm.

Petersen patented the design, and the company dominated this particular niche for years, for reasons explained in the second link I mentioned above; so, "vise grip" followed in the tradition of a trade name becoming the vernacular general term for the tool, just like formica, xerox, channellocks, skilsaw, and other names.

Wikipedia says they're also called "mole grip," which sounds suspiciously British to me, and brings up images of moles suffering in ways that seem kinda mean to me...but I digress.

By the way, Ryan, that same second link says the release lever was added in 1957 - so yours are 1956 or older.

In my humble, curmudgeonly, probably old and in the way opinion, the actual Vise Grips are still unbeatably the best. I own about ten, although I find I use them less and less often - a combination of having acquired enough tools to have the right wrench more often than I used to and owning vehicles and other machines that are a bit newer and less likely to have seized-up fasteners.