Does anyone recognize this nice working vice that was purchased in Carson City, NV? Trying to determine it's approximate age. It was purchased from a Carson City blacksmith a few decades ago by a very close friend of ours, Robert Pendleton, who has since passed away. There are no markings on it as far as we can tell.

~V~

Reminds me of an Indian Chief post vise I had, with the unbeveled legs and  Bell shaped screwbox.  I'd check the the upper flats of the stationary leg looking for a trademark stamp. Cleaning it with a wire brush may help.

Please note that postvises were made by a lot of different companies and not all stamped them so it may not be able to nail down the brand. As to age  I'd say 1880-1920 is a good guess.

Most of the value in a post vise is how good a shape the screw and screwbox are in.  The screw should have sharp square threads|_| , if they look more like V then they are extremely worn.

These are my opinions.

Thank you, Thomas!

Unfortunately the best fellow I know for Post Vises was Frank Turley who recently deceased.  He identified my oldest vise as being pre-1800 and probably came over as part of an immigrating craftsman's tools.

Was Frank based in Carson City? And do you know if he advertised as being a blacksmith? Trying to locate the Carson City shop from where this vice came. It's likely trying to find a needle in a haystack. 

Amazingly, the screws on this vice are still in excellent condition. I don't think it was used very much.

 

Edited May 24, 20215 yr by Mod30
Remove excessive quote.

Another determination of value is the width of the jaws, a six inch vise would go for more than a four inch one.

Frank Turley forge and school was in Santa Fe NM

No; Frank Turley was a blacksmith and opened a blacksmithing school in Santa Fe New Mexico in 1970 and ran it until recently when his health got bad and he had to let others teach for him.

Have you check the census data for people in Carson City who listed their occupation as blacksmith?

Looks like Thomas & I were typing at the same time.

I had no idea so much gratitude for that info.

The more the merrier, even at the very same time! 

2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Have you check the census data for people in Carson City who listed their occupation as blacksmith?

I have no idea how to check census data for people in Carson City, or anywhere else for that matter. Can you point me in the right direction?? 

Edited May 25, 20215 yr by Mod30
Remove excessive quote.

Just a note... You might want to edit your last post and remove the quotes. No real reason to quote posts just prior to your reply. We have members world wide and a lot of them have to pay for data and quotes use it up.

I'll have to double check the width of the jaws on this one.

Edited May 25, 20215 yr by Mod30
Remove excessive quote.

Dear Vicky,

The best place to get census date is Ancestry.com which charges a subscription fee.  It is a very cool site if you have an interest in geneaology.  You would also have to search occupations for "blacksmith."  The 20th century censuses that are available are 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940.  The 1950 census should be released in 2023 because they are kept confidential for 73 years.

Also, you might want to check Carson City directories and phone books which would probably be available at the CC public library or possibly the Nevada State Library or the state or local historical society.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

 

www.archives.gov/files/research/census/   If you live in the United States your local public library may have access to census data and may even have free access to ancestry.com.  Go ask!  

Also check if there is a local historical society in Carson City; they may have direct access to local materials.

2 hours ago, George N. M. said:

The best place to get census date is Ancestry.com which charges a subscription fee.  Also, you might want to check Carson City directories and phone books which would probably be available at the CC public library or possibly the Nevada State Library or the state or local historical society.

Thank you, George! Will be on a mission.

SLAG, Here,

The above search suggestions are good.

Also,  the local historical society, library, newspaper archives, old city directories, and genealogy society may be of further help.

Cheers folks.

SLAG

Woops,

Mr. T. P. suggested some of my suggestions before me.

 

Vicky: Check with the Carson City, office of the . . . (I forget) Heck the receptionist will be able to direct you to who and where to check public records. Check business: licenses, tax records, permits, etc. City utilities will have records if there was: electricity, telephone, gas, water, etc. available, subscriber records are archived forever. Marriage records, medical, hospital, etc. are kept. 

Depending on how serious you are, you might call a detective agency for a little advice about where to look. I watch real crime type detective shows and some cases are a primer in finding public information about private individuals. 

Heck, it just occurred to me, The Ponderosa Ranch of "Bonanza" film set fame holds huge amounts of historic artefacts including some serious blacksmithing and mining tools, equipment, machinery, etc. I haven't been back since the 80s but there was a historian on staff and a staff of preserving and restoring some pretty amazing stuff. There was a steam traction engine that pulled a land train with some crazy number of wagons across the plains to take advantage of the gold rush but got stopped in or near Lake Tahoe and sits at the Ponderosa Ranch in enormous majesty. 

Carson City was the state capitol and a major busy place, I'm betting there were a couple hundred blacksmiths working, the mountain under the city is literally honey combed with mines. 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

1 hour ago, SLAG said:

Also,  the local historical society, library, newspaper archives, old city directories, and genealogy society may be of further help..

 

Thank you, Slag!

Edited May 25, 20215 yr by Mod30
Trim quote.

Ms. Vicky,

You are welcome.

SLAG.

Judging by the mounting plate I say it’s a Peter Wright vise, they are the only ones I’ve seen that have that shape with four mounting hole instead of three.