Well I'll be!

[papadan]

So when did Vice Grip and Channellock merge to make a Grip-Lock? Had a Dr. appointment this morning, and while sitting at a red light I thought I saw some kind of tool in the gutter on the other side of the road. After the Dr. I was headed home and stopped at the place. What I found is a pair of #910 Grip-Locks, Locking vice grips made by Channellock, in Meadville, PA. Below is a picture of the Pat #s. I spent 40 years working on all kinds of machinery and vehicles. I've got and had lots of Vice Grips and Channellocks, but never heard of a combined tool. Is it something new that a contractor lost or did they fall off a junk wagon? ;-)

[international3414]

someone threw it out the widow ,i have one seems very complicated to use???

[coolford]

I have had several over the years, and still have one in my plier collection.  It is a Channellock tool. and somewhat difficult to use.  Good find, paid to stop.

[Yadda]

Nice find!

[papadan]

Any ideas on the age of this thing?

[amecks]

I had one and gave it away (or traded or sold).  It is very well made, and will hold anything a Vice-Grip will hold, but it's a bear to use.  Very difficult to get it to grip the required tension, especially when doing repetitive work.

Oh yeah, If I saw one on the side of the road, I would turn around and go back for it!  I have found some really nice tools in the road - even a whole tool box.  Let's see - C-man hex pry bar, full size tire iron, die grinder, a bunch of C-man deep sockets, Stanley screwdriver, ......

[Papaw]

I once lost most of a carrier box of tools on the 610 Loop in Houston!

I had a 65 Ford pickup with a home made flat bed and rails that did't go all the way to the sides of the bed. I unknowingly left the tool carrier on the side outside the rail!
Weird thing was that it stayed there for over twenty miles!

I retraced my path and recovered a lot of the tools.

[Northwoods]

I didn't have such good luck with the heavy vise and Craftsman pipe cutters a couple weeks ago.
I figure it is a case of karma getting back at me for some of the misdeeds of my youth.

[mikeswrenches]

Any ideas on the age of this thing?

You can look the patents up here.  http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?number=2997903&typeCode=0

While it won’t tell you exactly when they were made, it will give you a time frame. Patents are good for 20 years and a manufacturer will usually quit marking things after the patent expires.

https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2701.html

Mike

[wvtools]

I have had a few of those, and the plastic handle is usually damaged or missing.

[papadan]

OK, according to the patents, I have the middle model. The latest pat. shows curved jaws and internal release handle. The middle pat. shows the straight jaws and external lock release. The oldest pat. shows nothing like these. so mine are 1941-50 age range. I've been playing with them and don't find them hard to use at all. Guess I'll just put them in my user box.

[lptools]

Hello, Papadan. Nice find!!! Those are often missing the pad at the end of the long handle. Regards, Lou

[amecks]

I wonder if they added the pad in later years to give it a more modern look. 

[d42jeep]

I bought a pair off of eBay for my Champion DeArment/Channellock collection just became I hadn’t seen any in person. When they came I realized why they are kind of rare. They are a bit of a pain to use. They will be a conversation piece only and I’ll use regular Visegrips on any project I need to do.
-Don

[Bill Houghton]

They look a lot more gizmotic than the original Vise Grips design - methinks someone was trying to get around the Vise Grip patent, or at least its design.