Parrot Wrench Company?

[Plyerman]

I brought a neat self-adjusting wrench home from the MVWC meet in York two weeks ago. It uses a thumb lever for opening the upper jaw in order to grasp an object. It is a dead ringer for Charles Fields patent 706,042. The markings are not entirely legible. It says ?ARROT WR???? PAT. AUG. 5 ????

Presumably the date is August 5, 1902 which corresponds to the patent above. But who made it? Maybe Parrot Wrench Co?

[Plyerman]

Searching online I found reference to two different Parrot Wrench companies. One was located in Syracuse, New York and produced a Stilson-type pipe wrench. They incorporated in 1903.

The other Parrot Wrench Co. was in Foxboro, Mass. They made the self-adjusting wrench pictured below. (Photos from an old eBay auction.) It looks comparable to the C.C. Fields wrench above. But I cannot find anything else out about this company. Has anyone ever heard of them before?

[lptools]

Hello, Bob. That is a neat looking wrench!! Syracuse is my hometown, but I have yet to come across anything from a Parrot Wrench Co. Regards, Lou

[Yadda]

Neat wrench Bob!  I assume you have some parrot head pliers too? You should get a group picture of the whole flock! 

[Plyerman]

Hello, Bob. That is a neat looking wrench!! Syracuse is my hometown, but I have yet to come across anything from a Parrot Wrench Co. Regards, Lou

Lou it is possible that the Syracuse firm never truly existed. I only find reference to it on Datamp, where it is listed with a wrench "Not Known To Have Been Produced."

Datamp link: http://www.datamp.org/patents/advance.php?pn=792560&id=52277&set=1


So I'm pinning my hopes on the Foxboro, Mass. firm. We know they actually did produce a wrench.

[lptools]

Hello, Bob. I am not an expert by any means regarding Syracuse manufacturerers from the early 1900's . Regards, Lou

[Bill Houghton]

I've heard of parrothead pliers - necessary for repairs on broken Jimmy Buffett fans - but I didn't know there were also special wrenches for parrot maintenance.  So, are there canary wrenches, too?

[mikeswrenches]

Bob, DATAMP says C P Wrench Co. in Bristol, TN as the mfg. Also, and I hate to point this out, Pat. no. should be 706,042.

Interesting wrench. It would follow me home too.

Mike

[Plyerman]

Bob, DATAMP says C P Wrench Co. in Bristol, TN as the mfg. Also, and I hate to point this out, Pat. no. should be 706,042.

Interesting wrench. It would follow me home too.

Mike

Oop, thanks for catching the incorrect patent number Mike. I have gone back and corrected it in my first post.

As regards the C.P. Wrench company, the old documents I find online suggest that the company was formed to produce the little pocket knife-wrench tool, patented in 1908. (see picture below) However the much larger wrench that C.C. Fields patented in 1902 does not have a manufacturer's name on it, only a patent date.

And now (in my first post) this very similar wrench comes along stamped (P?)ARROT WRENCH and I'm left a bit confused.

[Yadda]

Flat lower jaw and rounded lower jaw.  This is quickly becoming an interesting little puzzle.

[Twertsy]

I personally don't think that's the right patent for your wrench.  Of course things change from patent design to production, but there are quite a few differences.

[Plyerman]

I personally don't think that's the right patent for your wrench.  Of course things change from patent design to production, but there are quite a few differences.

Very true, very true. Dang, I just don't know though. I'm looking at that faded patent date through a magnifying glass and it just seems like it might say AUG 5 which would point pretty strongly at the Fields' patent. But I dunno, maybe it's just my eyes playing tricks on me.

[mikeswrenches]

I’ve played with it on my iPad and it looks like a 5 to me. I can also just barely make out 190x. Can’t see the last digit.

Mike

[Twertsy]

I believe August 5 is also a Tuesday in 1913 and 1919 so there are other possibilities.  I just haven't had time to go through them.

[Yadda]

Try a paper charcoal rubbing to see if that provides any further detail on the lettering.