Wineman

I'd like to thank you all for your help in identifying my post leg blacksmith vice and share what I've learned for the next person doing this search. 

WT.&F.Co stands for the Warren Tool and Forge Company of Warren Ohio. On my vice the lower horizontal bar of the F is so faint that I couldn't see it at first and mistook it for an R so I thought it was stamped WT.&R.Co. No one recognized that mark until Irondragon Forge and Clay chimed in and said it might stand for the Warren Tool Co. from Ohio. That led to further research that caused me to use a brass wire brush on the leg and reveal another stamp that said Quickwerk. 

Further research led to this question raised by another member.

"...What's the difference between Warren T&F and Warren Axe & Tool, if any?

Answer: Two different companies, at two different cities named Warren, one in Ohio and the other in Pennsylvania. Warren Tool & Forge started production in 1912, according to this History of Northeastern Ohio, page 1112

"George F. Konold, son of Christ Konold, entered the shops of the Iron City Tool Works, at Pittsburgh, at the age of 15 years. He became a helper, then a hammersmith, and by practical experience acquired a knowledge of every branch of the forge industry. At the time of his father's death in 1888 he was 24 years old, and well equipped and qualified to become his father's successor as superintendent of the plant. That post he filled for 23 years. It was in 1911 that Mr. Konold became identified with the industrial affairs of the city of Warren. He and his brother, M. J. Konold, and J. D. Robertson, of Pittsburgh, organized in that year the Warren Tool & Forge Company. Ground was broken in December of that year and the plant was completed and equipped with machinery of Mr. Konold's special design. The first shipment of products was made in June, 1912. George F. Konold was the practical man of the concern. He was treasurer and general manager of the company. The president was Mr. Robertson and the vice president was M. J. Konold. Both resided at Pittsburgh..."

This led to discovering another little gem (see attachment) that explains both the WT.&F.Co and Quickwerk stamps. 

So yesterday afternoon I posted my vice on eBay for $150 obo plus $50 for shipping and sold it yesterday evening for $170! 

Again, thanks for the help with identifying and selling my vice. This is another great forum that I'll enjoy browsing through a long time. 

And a special thanks to Glenn, for taking the time to call me personally and plant a spark for learning more about blacksmithing.

10 hours ago, Glenn said:

We want you to succeed, so relax and enjoy learning about blacksmithing.

Hey Glenn, thanks for taking the time to offer some words of encouragement. As you can see from the way I removed most of your comment, I'm a fast learner.  

This is a very cool forum and I will be strolling through much of it just for the fun of learning something new. 

BTW, I use 2 n's in my name too.

Glenn

Shoot, I thought I could milk the new guy status for at least a month or two.

Frosty, yep, we're all good, as I said im open to any suggestions or criticism that make forums a better place for everyone. No problems here.

ThomasPowers, I enjoyed your experiences with forum's. To answer your question, I don't really have any "smithing" interests at this time. But as I wander around the site I can see how it would be easy to get hooked.

Irondragon Forge & Clay, I've been a member of numerous forums for over 20 years and never received a warning for anything so you can see my surprise at getting one in less than 24 hours after joining IFI. But it's really no big deal, more educational than anything. My wife says I'll probably survive.

Frosty, it certainly wasn't my intent to degrade this forum in any way as I've already benefited from the knowledge of a few members here. My only point in bringing up the Arborist site was to to explain what I'm used to on other forums. In hindsight I can now see the need to thoroughly read the rules carefully and not assume that all forums follow the same format as I did when I skimmed through the "read this first" portion of IFI. I think forums like this are invaluable for people like me with practically no knowledge of certain trades like blacksmithing. And I'm fine with any suggestions or criticism others may offer to keep the site running smoothly. Thanks for the background information about what it takes to to do that here.

Well , now I have 2 pictures. How do I delete the larger one?

Never mind I right clicked the picture and hit delete. Thanks again.

53 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

 I would expect it to go lower than US$150.  

Thanks, prices on ebay are all over the place. I did some more cleaning and found this. Hope I won't get another warning for posting a picture. The moderator said something about large pictures, is there a way to make them smaller?

22 minutes ago, Steve Sells said:

reposting everything eats hard drives fast

Not a problem, see my comment above.

15 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

Around here if the screw & screw box are in good working condition that vise would sell for around $150 U.S.

BTW this forum has members from all over the world and many of them have to depend upon dial up internet or pay additional for excessive band width.

Thanks for the $ information, that will help when I sell it. I'm not planning on taking up a new hobby but Blacksmithing looks like it would be a lot of fun.

Regarding world wide membership, I belong to the Arboristsite (dot) com forum and communicate with people from New Zealand, Canada, England and follow one guy in Japan. They can't get enough pictures and we frequently quote the entire message. So I was kind of shocked when I received my first Moderator warning this morning. But, no problem it's not that restrictive and I'll be happy to follow the rules.

Thanks again for your help.   

10 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

I'm going to take a stab at the ID. When researching another vise, I ran across the Warren Tool Co. from Ohio.

I think you nailed it. Viewed from different angles, what I thought was and odd looking R appears to be an F. So WT.&F. Co. would be the Warren Tool and Forge Co. Can't thank you enough for that. This should help when I sell it. I'm seeing prices from $60 to $600 for this type of vice, any suggestions on what would be a fair price?

15 hours ago, Frosty said:

Worse it might annoy the Admin staff.

Frosty The Lucky.

You were right. I received my first, in 15 years of belonging to 9 different Forums, moderator "warning" for not trimming quotes and surprisingly  too many pictures. Apparently I read the "Read this first" too fast so now I'm watching my P's and Qs. (Pictures and Quotes)

Because you just quoted another post then added the same photo as your first post in this thread, only much larger. wasting bandwidth

10 hours ago, SLAG said:

p.s.   I suggest that you add Hickory Hills, Ill. to your profile situated just below your name and "newbie".

Thanks, will do. Any idea who WT&R Co is or when they were in business?

12 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

 Have you read this yet? READ THIS FIRST That will help you get the best out of the forum.

Yes I did read that and said I live in Illinois. If I need to be more specific I'm in Hickory Hill's.

12 hours ago, Frosty said:

Posting the SAME question in different sections of the forum wont do you any good at all.

Sorry about posting in 2 areas, most of forums I belong to have told me the introduction thread isn't the place to search for answer. Here's some more pictures. If this isn't the place to post them please let me know where I should.

Hi, I'm trying to identify a blacksmith vice that I inherited from my Father. He was born in 1905 and worked most of his youth with my grandfather on a farm in Penfield IL. He died in 1998. The vice may have been my grandfathers. It weighs 35 lbs, has a 4 inch jaw and a triangle 3 hole mounting bracket stamped WT.&R.Co. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated. 

Hello, I'm not a blacksmith but I did enjoy watching our local blacksmith when they had one at the Navistar plant in Melrose Park IL. My purpose in joining your forum is to try to identify a blacksmith vice that I inherited from my Grandfather through my father. I know this isn't the place to start that thread so hopefully I'll find the right link. You guys are amazing at your craft! I wish I had the time to learn. I see there is a place to add a picture so I'll include it here. May as well mention that it weights 35 lbs, stands 42 in and has a 4 inch jaw.