I spent Friday in Muskego WI. It was about 50 miles from Cedarburg.  Following a tool sale lead, I met Jim Adamus, a member of MWTCA.  He was thinning his shop and I came home with some great stuff cheap. He identified a Whatsit for me from a wonderful book. The Dictionary of American Hand Tools by Alvin Sellens. I bought a copy on Ebay this morning. The Crafty driver, ice pick and the old claw hammer were from targets of opportunity garage sales.

THE HAUL

Eifel Plierwrench in great condition.
Very small pair of end nippers.
Blue and Clear WF Craftsman Phillips in as new shape except for some white overspray on it.
The COMBINATION HAMMER AND TACK CLAW PAT APPLIED FOR. The head looks like it might have been ammo.
A Wisconsin Ice And Coal Co ice pick.
3 lb machinists hammer.
JH BISHOP CINCINNATI OHIO back saw.
Unknown implement wrench.  Carl or Bus help?
3 very cool mini vises.  One is so cool I may make a mini workbench to bolt it to. Far left one- looks like a smiths vise.
Reinhard-McCabe Minneapolis Minn  PAT PENDING. Self adjusting plier-wrench. Very cool, but pretty badly damaged by an irate PO with a hammer.  Don't know if I can save it.
An early claw hammer.  Very thick claws and thick, blunt points on the claws. Anyone know why?

The vises are unique, the one on the right is a hand vise, and have a couple of them.  You made quite a haul.  The thick claws?   With the metallurgy of the day, am thinking they would break pretty easy if thin. 

 John, That pitman wrench looks like a IHC (M231). Can't read number in your photo,just going by shape.

+1 on the vises!!  They would have come home with me, no doubt !

Nice haul.

Brian

Those Eifel wrenches are popping up all over the place lately.

Good finds!

jimwrench, you are correct. It is an M231. No IHC logo tho.

Quote from: john k on September 14, 2013, 03:54:57 PM
The thick claws?   With the metallurgy of the day, am thinking they would break pretty easy if thin.

I don't know if the metallurgy of the day is the real explanation.  Some of the Roman  claw hammers had thinner claws than these, and some much later hammers had claws this thick and thicker.  I have several adze eye hammers whose claws are a good deal thicker.  These are a bit thicker than those on a hammer I have that dates from around 1830.   For smith made hammers, thicker claws is less work. 

I have a hammer much like the one in the picture.  I thought the claws were deliberately made blunt, but on closer examination, they had just been made blunt through use.  I see not a few modern hammers -- especially the straight claws -- that have been made really blunt. 

These non-adze eye hammers continued to be made long after the Maydole pattern became commonplace.  They were cheaper, and some times much more cheaply made.  That could be a factor, too. 

The vise on the left end is very interesting to me.  Technically, it's a "table vise," though this one looks very much to be blacksmith made.  I've not seen one quite like this before.  It definitely would have come home with me.