I've been corrupted, would not have bought anything like these before looking at this site. Went to a sale today and could have bought a dozen or more alligators. Problem is I don't know good from not so good so I just picked a few I liked. If anyone could give a small tutorial it would be appreciated. Large is Bonney vise & tool, next is V&B, next is B, and the small one is marked P S2 (what kind of wrench is it by the way). Thanks in advance.


By stormking3 at 2011-10-21

By stormking3 at 2011-10-21

The little P52 is a Whitman & Barnes lawnmower wrench identified from a parts list that was just posted to identified another small wrenh P123.

http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/index.php?topic=2001.msg11941#msg11941

When I read the "subject'  "what makes a good alligator"  I thought you were going to talk about cooking an alligator!!!! I must have been a chef for too long!
cheers, bird

>don't know good from not so good

Heh!, well, I would say you did pretty good then, the Bonney is hard to find, the W&B's are more common, but you found two nice clean ones, one with the nice pattern texture which is less common.

Go for clean, sharp teeth, and makers you don't see every day on ebay and you should wind up with a nice interesting collection....

Then you can start on the alligator combination tools.....

Papaw is far far down that road, and hopelessly lost.. ; P

To help estimate the date on the first one, according to AA, Bonney Vise and Tool Works moved to Allentown in 1906, and changed their name to Bonney Forge and Tool Works in 1921. I haven't seen too many bigger ones like that posted. Nice find.

You did well! The Bonney is a fine one, as are the other two.
Be careful, alligators are addictive!
Good, clean examples with good teeth are the ones to look for, and there are many to chose from, often low priced. One thing to look for is angled teeth rather than straight, this was an improvement that made the wrench work better.

Quote from: bird on October 22, 2011, 01:11:16 AM
When I read the "subject'  "what makes a good alligator"  I thought you were going to talk about cooking an alligator!!!! I must have been a chef for too long!
cheers, bird

And I thought, "They're better behaved if you keep them well fed."

Thank you all for the info, this place has a wealth of knowledge available. The alligator cooking and keeping them well fed is funny and timely. The news here in Portland has been running a story about a 3 to 4 foot gator in a pond they're trying to catch. If this keeps up our local football teams will be even more scared of the SEC.

Quote from: Branson on October 22, 2011, 08:35:39 AM

Quote from: bird on October 22, 2011, 01:11:16 AM
When I read the "subject'  "what makes a good alligator"  I thought you were going to talk about cooking an alligator!!!! I must have been a chef for too long!
cheers, bird

And I thought, "They're better behaved if you keep them well fed."

Probably true, so long as you aren't the person being "fed" to them!

I have found some nice alligator wrenches over the years: K & B,  American Saw, Roebling, Edmonds Metzel, Bonney, Hawkeye Wrench, Vaughn & Bushnell.  Some of the adjustable alligators are also interesting. I was initially baffled by them when someone wrote they were intended for use on square nuts.  The alligator wrench style seems to have been canceled.  Anybody know anything different?

I have a modern one that is adjustable nut one end and alligator on the other.

Some years ago I visited some friends in South Carolina.

They were quite proud of their public beaches and campgrounds.

A line I will NEVER forget was:

"Many of our lakes are alligator free"

My first and only alligator is a Volvo adjustable. I paid $20.00 for it, but it is in excellent condition. After reading about Papaw getting one years ago inspired me to get one.
EvilDr235----------------------------------------Gort 

>"Many of our lakes are alligator free"

LOL!

Yeah, sorta like "This product is mostly harmless"...

They caught the one in the lake near Portland Oregon. That is probably one happy gator, I'll bet that water would be a little cold by christmas.