May 31, 201115 yr I just purchased this vise and need help with the identification. It is a 5" vise and apparently a 55lb. vise hence the 55 on the front jaw. The markings above the 55 appear to be RENTON and above that it looks like the lower part of Wright and then about that it appears to be Cleveland (maybe)?? The part that attaches to the bench on the underside it has a large 2 then under that Dec. 2? 1906. Does anyone have any ideas? I went ahead and purchased it because it was in really good shape. Here are the pictures. Any help would be appreciated.
May 31, 201115 yr The mounting bracket is not indicative as they seem to have often been switched from vise to vise over time. The legs are not beveled so it's not a Peter Wright Columbian vises have un-beveled legs and were made in Cleveland. Seems like too many markings... However your vise will work just as well no matter what it's stamped! Many hardware stores had vises made for them by factories and marked with their own name; there are probably hundreds of makers of such vises and they were originally sold by the pound---a commodity.
May 31, 201115 yr Author Thank you Mr. Powers. As I indicated in the original post, I purchased the vise because of it's condition. The threads are in very good shape as well as the rest of the vise. I just like to know the history of my vintage tools just for conversation sake if not for any other. I am a novice knife maker and have been doing stock removal and I wanted to get into the original aspect of knife making, obviously forging. I a currently acquiring the tools to do just that and the only thing that I seem to be having trouble finding is an economical source of coal. I live in west central Arkansas and it was covered up with coal mines years ago, but like I said, I'm not have much luck now. Thanks for the information. Andy
May 31, 201115 yr Author If anyone has a vise like this and is interested, I have found out what all the stampings on the face of the jaw are.Mr. Powers pointed me in the right direction. It says Columbian Cleveland Ohio Original Trenton 55 (for 55lb.) It was made in 1906 but I still don't know what the 2 is for on the underside. I have provided a pic of the underside.
June 1, 201115 yr Sorry but original knifemaking was all stock removal---chipping flint and grinding bone and wood... I fixed the typo where I had said anvils and not vises. I'm from NW AR and still have 13 acres near Cedarville (up 59 from Fort Smith) There's a good grou[p of knifemakers in AR not to mention the ABS school down near Texarkana. Sometimes folks fixate on their tools rather than on *using* their tools; good to hear you are not one of them!
June 1, 201115 yr Author You are absolutely right Mr.Powers. I wasn't thinking in the form of stone or bone, more in the line of metal. If you live in Cedarville then I probably live about 2 or 3 miles from you as the crow flies. Small world. I'm north of Uniontown.
June 1, 201115 yr Right close; except while I own that land and my cousins own a bunch around it, (My great Grandfather was the smith in Cedarville and died with 960 acres) I'm currently living in Lemitar NM working for the Very Large Array as a bit herder. (software engineer) I was born in Fayetteville, my father in Fort Smith, we both graduated from U of AR for our first degrees; spent a lot of summer time at Natural Dam; etc. Have to look you up next time we make a visit that-a-way!
June 2, 201115 yr Author I look forward to the visit. I live on Lee Creek north of Uniontown at old town Barcelona. Where was your Great grandfather's shop in Cedarville? Maybe I'll have my shop set up by then and you can give me some pointers.
June 4, 201115 yr A few Columbians had chamfered legs. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools
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