How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

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How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Schultzd » Sun Nov 02, 2014 3:44 am

I see a lot of these, but am not sure how to date them. Patent #? Other methods? Thanks.

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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Wingnutt » Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:19 am

Hi Dan,

I can tell you why I totally punted on providing anything conclusive in the Whiz...

- There are many variations of markings on 14" and 6" RIDGID pipe wrenches. Some have "TRADE RIDGID MARK" on the shank and/or the moving head near the teeth, some just say “RIDGID”. Some have "PAT. PEND’G", some have the Patent number (1727623), and some have neither of these. Some have a ‘HARDENING’ mark, some don’t. Some say “HEAVY DUTY” and some don’t.

- Worse, some of the markings and the company history are actually ambiguous or downright contradictory.

For example, look at these photos:

Image

Since the patent was granted in 1929, and the company supposedly moved to Elyria, Ohio, in 1943, why would there be examples of RIDGID pipe wrenches marked "PAT. PEND’G" and "ELYRIA, O." on the same wrench?

I went so far as to send an inquiry about markings and vintage to the company and to the forum they maintain on their site, which is mainly concerned with new tools, but occasionally dips into vintage collecting. I got no replies from the company or the forum.

They used the interlocking D and G well into the 1950's so that's no help.

I use gut instinct, keep examples that look the part, with or without a patent, but I avoid red wrenches. They all look 1950's to me.
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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Schultzd » Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:57 am

Thanks. Maybe we can get some buzz going.

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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Silly's MB » Sun Nov 02, 2014 11:34 am

I agree with Wingnutt that the Black Ridgids are the ones to look out for and I think they should have the Patent number on them.

Snap-On Bluepoint were selling them from 1927 and the 1942 catalogue still shows them with Patent Pending but I guess they just did not update the catalogue picture.

The ones that I have seem to have a date code on them.
These 6" ones came in the Possible signal corps set that I found. They look to be unused and most of the tools look to be late 1930's.
The mark is on the adjustable section. The short ones are marked E4-9 (exact syntax) and still have the remains of the warranty Decal.
Ridgid 6 copy.jpg
Ridgid 6 copy.jpg (106.11 KiB) Viewed 8592 times
Ridgid code.jpg
Ridgid code.jpg (154.2 KiB) Viewed 8592 times
On one set of 14" that I have they have the code B-6-4.(exact syntax)

They all have the Patent Number 1727623 and are marked Ridge Tool Co. Elyria. I am not sure when they actually started using Elyria on the tools as it all seems a bit vague on the moving date.
Last edited by Silly's MB on Mon Nov 03, 2014 12:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by henry501 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 12:04 pm

All,

Regarding the seeming contradiction on wrenches that have patent pending and the Elmyra address. Could it be that another patent was applied for on this wrench? Perhaps there was enough of a change in its design from the 1929 model that a new patent was applied for. Anyone have photos of Rigid's earliest pipe wrench vs. a later era wrench? Might be helpful. Just a thought.

Thanks

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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Silly's MB » Sun Nov 02, 2014 12:11 pm

They did have some later Pipe wrench Patents but it seems they were for a different more traditional wrench.
http://www.datamp.org/patents/search/xr ... hp?id=2265
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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by mudbox » Sun Nov 02, 2014 5:38 pm

Schultzd wrote:I see a lot of these, but am not sure how to date them. Patent #? Other methods? Thanks.

Dan
Hi Dan. Do you have some pictures you can post? I'd like to see what yours looks like.
I have the 14" Ridged with and 'E' stamped into the handle by the hanging hole.
Image
Image
-Jason

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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Schultzd » Sun Nov 02, 2014 6:24 pm

I will check tomorrow. Then try to post a pic. Thanks.

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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Jim Moore » Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:52 am

Three things come to mind. First the hook. The end of the threads is squared off, post war are rounded. Second the handle is tapered all the way down, post war there is a slight bulge at the hole end. Third the nut was knurled solid and post war it has a groove in the center. This is based on some old Ridgid tool posters that I saw that was dated. I have been trying to find them but have had no luck so far. This is only my thoughts.
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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by mudbox » Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:15 am

Jim Moore wrote:Three things come to mind. First the hook. The end of the threads is squared off, post war are rounded. Second the handle is tapered all the way down, post war there is a slight bulge at the hole end. Third the nut was knurled solid and post war it has a groove in the center. This is based on some old Ridgid tool posters that I saw that was dated. I have been trying to find them but have had no luck so far. This is only my thoughts.
Jim.
Thanks Jim, sounds like the one I posted meets 2 of the 3 criteria here. The Knurling on the nut is not solid and has the groove, so perhaps the nut was replaced at some point? I know they used to sell replacement jaws for these things, maybe the nut was replaced along the way as well?
-Jason

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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Silly's MB » Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:44 am

I can see that if you are manufacturing a tool in North Ridgeville you may use Elyria on your tools as they are so close together, So Elyria may have been on the tools from day one.
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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by lt.luke » Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:25 am

henry501 wrote:All,

Regarding the seeming contradiction on wrenches that have patent pending and the Elmyra address. Could it be that another patent was applied for on this wrench? Perhaps there was enough of a change in its design from the 1929 model that a new patent was applied for. Anyone have photos of Rigid's earliest pipe wrench vs. a later era wrench? Might be helpful. Just a thought.

Thanks
spitballing... Would a company be required to re-apply for the same patent upon expiration of said patent?

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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Silly's MB » Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:25 am

Here is the image used for the 1927 Snap-on catalogue and is identical to the shape that Wingnutt showed earlier up-thread although this image is for a 14" wrench. Snap-On showed the same design up-to the war and beyond but we know it changed slightly at some time.
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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Wingnutt » Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:59 am

Silly's MB wrote:Here is the image used for the 1927 Snap-on catalogue and is identical to the shape that Wingnutt showed earlier up-thread.
Roger,
The RIDGID pipe wrench I shared upthread is actually slightly older than the RIDGID pipe wrench shown in the 1927 Snap-On catalog. It's not identical. Look again behind the adjusting wheelnut on both wrenches. The earliest RIDGID pipe wrenches (patented in 1925) don't have that forged-in stabilizer on the shank there. In a matter of two years they had already improved on the design. They would apply for a new patent, citing that stabilizer, as well as an internal mechanism that cannot be seen, in January 1928, and it would be granted in 1929.

As for wrenches with the codes, I've seen them with the two-digit middle numbers higher than 12 (if you're thinking that's a month). But it is an interesting theory.

I’m convinced the address is a red herring.

- The address is listed as North Ridgeville, OH on their 1940 patent. The address is listed as Elyria, OH, on their 1954 patent.
- That might suggest they moved, and support several on-line references, to include Harry Epstein and Wikipedia, to them moving to Elyria in 1943.
- The address is listed as North Ridgeville, OH in the CPA War Supply Contracts books, even for contracts let in 1944, but they could’ve moved in 1943 and the agencies never updated their records.

They appear to be making a big deal out of a "new home" in this ad…

Image

But here is a 1939 calendar that clearly indicates their address as Elyria.

Image

Bottom line for me on address is that it’s irrelevant. It can’t be used to identify vintage. Has anyone ever seen a RIDGID tool marked “North Ridgeville, OH”? If they’re all marked Elyria, regardless of vintage, it doesn’t help.

My hunch is that they may have had an adminstrative office in North Ridgeville where the company brass and the engineers worked, and a manufacturing plant in Elyria. But it doesn't really matter.

Based on other ads I’ve seen, Jim may be onto something on the rounded thread end. I never noticed that before.

But I’m not as sure on the knurling on the adjusting wheel. I’ve seen several classic pin-up RIDGID early 50’s ads, including the 1952 ad that Mudbox uses as an avatar, showing a solid knurled adjusting wheel.

Something I’ve noticed is that some of the wrenches with the D and G interlocked on the shank have a D and a G that are NOT interlocked on the floating jaw.

Image
Image

Putting that together with Jim’s other points might help with the postwar distinctions.

On the other hand, here is a red wrench with a square threaded moving jaw end, and a split knurled adjusting wheel, with a slightly bulging hanging hole end, and yet it has the interlocking D and G on both the shank and the moving jaw and a 1929 patent number on the shank, which most of the wrenches we’d clearly classify as post-war have dropped the patent number.

Image
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Re: How do you date a Ridgid pipe wrench.

Post by Silly's MB » Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:38 am

Good observation on the 2 pictures Greg I had missed that the stabilising section was missing from the original photograph you posted. I think we can safely discount the Elyria as only being post 43 as I have read on so many other threads/forums.

I suppose the red wrench with the patent number would of been one of the first red ones available as the Patent would last for 20 years from 1929 so they would of used it up to 1949.

Any thoughts on the possible Date code? It is very similar to the Danielson coding which is not 100% known. I shall post some more pictures of the other codes I have.

Sometime they changed the design cosmetically from the 1929 Patent to what we would consider the war time correct pattern.
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