I picked these up today at a flea market. The maker wasn't very proud of his tools and didn't leave a mark on it. I, on the other hand, couldn't leave it on the table. Can anybody tell me anything about them?

TIA
Randy

Very cool but I can't help with any history on them,hopefully somebody on this site can provide some info for you.
 

Great find. Those are GripLock pliers, made in Norfolk, Nebraska about a hundred years ago. I've been wanting a pair myself, but they don't show up very often.

Those things are well made and cool as all get out.  Not many tools came out of Nebraska.

Yup, that's them. I wonder why mine have no markings on them? The pictures I found on the Internet show some pretty heavy stampings. They are really cool and work like new. Do GripLock pliers have any value? Is there any info on the company?

Thanks again
Randy

Way cool, never seen them before.  How well do they work compared to modern grips?

They work surprisingly smoothly. There's no release lever, but it doesn't take much effort to release them. They are easier to release than the pre-lever Vice grips. Since the patent has long expired, I am surprised that someone is producing a knockoff today.

Randy

There is some interesting info about these tools on Datamp. Link: http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?id=22733

It is curious that the 1-22-24 date marked (on most examples) does not correspond to either of the Tull & Bristol patent dates.

Quote from: Plyerman on February 10, 2020, 08:21:17 PM
There is some interesting info about these tools on Datamp. Link: http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?id=22733

It is curious that the 1-22-24 date marked (on most examples) does not correspond to either of the Tull & Bristol patent dates.

As the guy who composed the DATAMP entry, I could go on about the GRIPLOCK -- the salient points were published long ago in the Missouri Valley Wrench Club Newsletter.  In a way I'm a Norfolk, NE product (was born there); dad took up farming in his home neighborhood after WWII & Norfolk was their nearest hospital.  As to value, the GRIPLOCK plier wrenches  always do well in collection dispersal auctions.  As to design, the GRIPSO vise pliers from Basford in San Franciso [1950s]  also used the "turnbuckle" size adjuster & some prefer them because the design enables one-handed operation including size adjustment.