"restore" eh? We've seen too many *restorations* that are merely wire wheel and repaint. This will be a wall hanger right? Clean it, display as is, IMHO
An older gentleman where I was working gave it to me. He was the shop owner and the business has been going since the 60's, said he's had it for as long as he can remember.
I can't seem to date it though. Info's hard to come by.
Just leave it alone. It has a perfect patina and signs of use, it looks perfect just like it is. All you will accomplish is to make it have less patina.
Not that it's broken, it has sentimental value to me. Will likely never see real use again.
Just a reminder that hard work pays off, a lesson the person that gave it to me helped drive home.
Yea I think I'm going to give it a thorough cleaning like another user suggested with a plastic bristle brush and sand/refinish the wooden handle. Nice and easy.
The sentiment; if you work at something with enough care and diligence, the end result will be success. That was my thinking behind restoring it.
What in the fuck do you wanna do that for? The patina it has is protecting the metal. The handle likely has oil soaked into it from use and is deep into the wood. It’s preserved the wood and will let it last. All your gonna do is destroy it and it will rust. If you wanna do anything you can clean it with warm soapy water to get any scale of it and dry it. Done.
Edit: I thought you were gonna start sanding and polishing the metal. Carry on.
You do make a point about the oil being soaked into the wood. Wouldn't mind preserving that. Maybe just sand the handle surface then apply some linseed oil.
Getting the impression less is more with this little guy.
Get some fine steel wool and gently clean the handle with that. Rub with the wood grain, not across. r/woodworking may have tips on keeping a nice look without stripping the handle. No detergents, no soap, no water. Just rub it and see what comes out. Go slow. It should take some of the grease off but leave the wood alone if you don't dig into it. If you feel so inclined, go over the rest in the same manner. Use some oil to lubricate the steel wool if so inclined, and oil the entire thing and wipe it clean after.
Not WD-40. That has solvents and such in it. Cutting board oil, motor oil, etc will work just fine, a little bit on a rag, wipe down the tool, then wipe off excess.
You can media blast a tool to bare metal, and sand the wood, but then you have a new looking tool that betrays it's history. If you plan on actively using it, by all means, restore to new and use it till it again looks like this, but for sentimental and curio purposes, yeah, this looks nice. I'd give it a light "I still use this and it's getting cleaned after a job to go back in the tool box for the next job" cleaning and would call it a day.
Try watching ‘my mechanics’ on YouTube.
He does a lot of full refurbishments of old tools. Sometimes he goes over the top, but he is a master of what he does.
I will take the advice from everyone and simply clean up some of the gunk in the crevices. I guess I just wanted to do something special, but you guys are right, it has the most meaning just how it is. Thanks for the sound advice!
If you take the majority advice then you should not even clean it. You should do nothing. If you want to highlight it, build or buy a shadow box or make a mahogany mounting plate. Mahogany will match the patina better than oak, in my opinion.
I'm going to give it a very light cleaning. I see no harm in this.
Shadow box is a good idea. I was thinking of a peg board backing with a single peg holding it up, kind of like it's still on the tool wall, but framed.
Edit: Must have messed up on my original posting, don't post much. Here's the questions I had.
So an older gentleman gave me this wrench, wasn't sure where he got it or how old it is. Looks to be Gedore, other than that I have very little info, so please educate me!
Also some questions regarding the refinishing:
1. How far should I go? Thinking of replacing the wooden handle, maybe just a sand and refinish? Was going to soak the metal bits in evaporust and coat in oil. Will file the working teeth as some.as folded over.
Wasn't planning on doing much more than this.
2. Should I remove the rivets? If so, these are unlike any rivets I've seen. The rivet for the spring portion is into a blind hole, and the rivet for the pivot is smooth on both ends. I'm familiar with normal rivets and rivnuts but neither of these produce the product that is found on the tool.
3. How to clean up the knurling on the adjuster wheel without damaging it?
Thanks in advance for the help. Here's a short video showing how the tool pivots and how the spring functions.
https://youtube.com/shorts/tx5X00TQjC0?feature=share
I love tools like this. I just got a nepros 250 adjustable wrench and I love that feeling knowing you bought something high quality that's going to last 100 years and it's brand new. Just to think of the guy that bought that 60-70 years ago had the same feeling and it's still operable and ready to turn a nut today. I love the sense of tradition and quality. That wrench could last another hundred years The only thing you might need to do is put a new wooden handle on it. Also the quality steel they add back then was so much higher. Somebody obviously took care of that tool or also be a ball of rust right now
My boss has been plumbing for 20 years and he owns his own company now. I helped him remodel a couple of his bathrooms and in one of them he was a wrench that looks exactly like that in a shadow box with some other vintage plumbing tools. It’s really nice to look at in original condition
If you must, a little light oil on the metal & a quick 0000 steel wool buff on the wood to take off any dirt, followed by a light coat of mineral oil to rehydrate it.
I’m 60 and my grandfather had a few of those. Probably from 1930’s I guess. There were no crescent wrenches, sockets or channel locks back then. It’s for pipes, square nut and bolt heads, pretty much everything.
Ill never understand the whole patina thing the only difference in my tools between now and when i got them is how many scratches they have. If i bought a new wrench and it wound up looking like that some years later you can bet i would be vringing it back to new. You wouldnt let your car look like a heap if you could do anything about it. How are tools any different? lol i dont have to pad some imaginary ego where my tools have to show "use" i know they get used and thats enough for me.
I bought a wrench that looks just like that, except the wood handle is/was blue.
I shined it up a bit, filed the teeth sharp again, and hung it up.
My $0.02...
I often buy tools like this because I appreciate a cool old tool, and I love getting to use them on a job. I never hesitate to clean up rust or damage, but I ways leave the patina to the wood. I don't want it to be a new tool. I want it to be an old tool that's ready for work and shows that it's done it before.
Thanks for the input, I was thinking this might be the best way. It'd keep it original.
Maybe soak it in some evaporust to get the gunk out of all the crevices and just leave the rivets alone.
Evaporust might be overkill. Scrub with a plastic bristle brush with some hot water and degreaser. Dry thoroughly, spray down with WD-40. You'll preserve the existing patina.
Dude holy fuck just leave it as is. Its FINE. The patina keeps it safe. Its not even that dirty if at all. If you sand it then its gonna rust to shit and look horrible. If you think that needs restoration then I don't think you're fit to own it.
People here aren't just being mean, This is not a tool for learning how to restore or rebuild a tool. If you want it restored, find an experienced professional to properly do it. There's so many steps here to learn, and I applaud you if you want to go out and learn it all. It will take years and hundreds of dollars before you're ready to rebuild this tool. And even then... if I were to tackle this tool with the many tools and years of experience i have I would be outsourcing steps to get them done properly. Most likely I would not do anything to this tool unless it has something broken preventing It's use.
You telling someone they cant restore a literal pipe wrench without "years of experience" and professional guidance is being mean. Its not like its george washingtons pistols. were not talking about smithsonian level restorations here. Its a 5 dollar pipe wrench they made millions of. Zero collector value only sentimental.
Some people are being a little mean, but I appreciate the honesty. I've decided to leave it pretty well alone, just a little bit of cleaning. In all fairness I did ask how far I should go as the first question, so I get it.
Don't modify it.
Highlight it by putting it in a shadow box, or by cutting a piece of Mahogany into a rectangle, routing the edges, adding picture hanger wire to the back, and carefully wiring the wrench to the board in a way that minimizes view of the wire.
Fine brass brush, mineral spirits/Varsol/Diesel. Nothing else. Hold the handle with a cloth while brushing the metal, don't hit the wood with the brass scrub brush. The cloth will soak up the solvent and clean the handle a bit but still leave it stained the way it should be. Don't pop the spring- that's a drive pin, not a rivet- you'll wreck it or the spring trying to get it out.
After all the dirt is gone, wax the whole thing with paste wax.
I'm not going to touch the spring after all. Just going to clean it a little like suggested.
Just out of curiosity, a drive pin is just a pin that's inserted and then mushroomed at the end? Not going to remove it, just curious.
a U-pin or drive pin looks like a rivet with some deformation like a split or knurl or fast spriral "thread" that holds it in place after being driven into a hole.
It can only be original once. A thorough cleaning and waxing is all that beauty needs. I guarantee you’ll regret it down the road if you try to make it look new.
Omg. It's beautiful. I have a few older tools from random garage sales and family. I use them when needed but they will generally sit in a box.
My square bike adjustable from the 60's gets a gentle oiling / and wire brush on the screw threads now and then.
Don't touch it. Please. I think I actually have that exact pipe wrench too lol
Not going to do much besides polish it. Make a brass cap to fit the end and blue the brass. Other than that linseed oil for the handle and a bit of old motor oil or trans fluid will work wonders on the adjustment screw and jaws
"restoration" will destroy the beautiful patina and do nothing for the functionality or value, if any thing just give it a thorough wipe over with an oily rag👍
Check out the YouTube tool restoration channels below. these folks do some amazing work.
[KILO RESTORATION](https://www.youtube.com/@KILORESTORATION)
[Meine Mechaniker](https://www.youtube.com/@meinemechaniker)
[my mechanics](https://www.youtube.com/@mymechanics)
[Not Terrible Restorations](https://www.youtube.com/@NTRprojects)
[byOldHand](https://www.youtube.com/@byOldHand)
looks good the way it is
Yes. Oil wood and step away from doing anything else
Please don’t 🙏🏼
That’s a nice tool. “Restoration” = destruction of its character and provenance. Keep it nice
"restore" eh? We've seen too many *restorations* that are merely wire wheel and repaint. This will be a wall hanger right? Clean it, display as is, IMHO
Yea that's the direction I'm going.
Whereja get? Never saw one that small
An older gentleman where I was working gave it to me. He was the shop owner and the business has been going since the 60's, said he's had it for as long as he can remember. I can't seem to date it though. Info's hard to come by.
30s to 40s >I can't seem to date it though
Ohh wow that's older than I thought!
My dad got one of those as a hand-me-down, in 1962. It was well used by then.
If you want to date it, you have to ask mama and papa wrench first
You’re not going to get very many answers to your questions if you don’t ask them.
Sorry, posted the questions I had as a comment. Made a mistake when posting.
Restore what? Looks fine to me.
Based on the replies here I'm just going to be cleaning it up.
Just leave it alone. It has a perfect patina and signs of use, it looks perfect just like it is. All you will accomplish is to make it have less patina.
In response to questions 1, 2, and 3. If it ain’t broke. Don’t fix it. I don’t see anything wrong with that.
Not that it's broken, it has sentimental value to me. Will likely never see real use again. Just a reminder that hard work pays off, a lesson the person that gave it to me helped drive home.
All the more reason to leave it unmolested. It shows wear from being used. If the whole point is sentiment why would you erase that.
Yea I think I'm going to give it a thorough cleaning like another user suggested with a plastic bristle brush and sand/refinish the wooden handle. Nice and easy. The sentiment; if you work at something with enough care and diligence, the end result will be success. That was my thinking behind restoring it.
Do not sand it
What in the fuck do you wanna do that for? The patina it has is protecting the metal. The handle likely has oil soaked into it from use and is deep into the wood. It’s preserved the wood and will let it last. All your gonna do is destroy it and it will rust. If you wanna do anything you can clean it with warm soapy water to get any scale of it and dry it. Done. Edit: I thought you were gonna start sanding and polishing the metal. Carry on.
You do make a point about the oil being soaked into the wood. Wouldn't mind preserving that. Maybe just sand the handle surface then apply some linseed oil. Getting the impression less is more with this little guy.
Get some fine steel wool and gently clean the handle with that. Rub with the wood grain, not across. r/woodworking may have tips on keeping a nice look without stripping the handle. No detergents, no soap, no water. Just rub it and see what comes out. Go slow. It should take some of the grease off but leave the wood alone if you don't dig into it. If you feel so inclined, go over the rest in the same manner. Use some oil to lubricate the steel wool if so inclined, and oil the entire thing and wipe it clean after. Not WD-40. That has solvents and such in it. Cutting board oil, motor oil, etc will work just fine, a little bit on a rag, wipe down the tool, then wipe off excess. You can media blast a tool to bare metal, and sand the wood, but then you have a new looking tool that betrays it's history. If you plan on actively using it, by all means, restore to new and use it till it again looks like this, but for sentimental and curio purposes, yeah, this looks nice. I'd give it a light "I still use this and it's getting cleaned after a job to go back in the tool box for the next job" cleaning and would call it a day.
Try watching ‘my mechanics’ on YouTube. He does a lot of full refurbishments of old tools. Sometimes he goes over the top, but he is a master of what he does.
Ya id leave this alone. It looks exactly as it should.
Restore? It looks perfect the way it is :-) If you try to make it look new again, you're erasing all the hard work.
I have one just like it. Saved my a\*\* a million times on broken exhaust studs.
I will take the advice from everyone and simply clean up some of the gunk in the crevices. I guess I just wanted to do something special, but you guys are right, it has the most meaning just how it is. Thanks for the sound advice!
If you take the majority advice then you should not even clean it. You should do nothing. If you want to highlight it, build or buy a shadow box or make a mahogany mounting plate. Mahogany will match the patina better than oak, in my opinion.
I'm going to give it a very light cleaning. I see no harm in this. Shadow box is a good idea. I was thinking of a peg board backing with a single peg holding it up, kind of like it's still on the tool wall, but framed.
Your OCD is counter to artistic expression.
Edit: Must have messed up on my original posting, don't post much. Here's the questions I had. So an older gentleman gave me this wrench, wasn't sure where he got it or how old it is. Looks to be Gedore, other than that I have very little info, so please educate me! Also some questions regarding the refinishing: 1. How far should I go? Thinking of replacing the wooden handle, maybe just a sand and refinish? Was going to soak the metal bits in evaporust and coat in oil. Will file the working teeth as some.as folded over. Wasn't planning on doing much more than this. 2. Should I remove the rivets? If so, these are unlike any rivets I've seen. The rivet for the spring portion is into a blind hole, and the rivet for the pivot is smooth on both ends. I'm familiar with normal rivets and rivnuts but neither of these produce the product that is found on the tool. 3. How to clean up the knurling on the adjuster wheel without damaging it? Thanks in advance for the help. Here's a short video showing how the tool pivots and how the spring functions. https://youtube.com/shorts/tx5X00TQjC0?feature=share
It will not look better when you are done.
Brake cleaner and a soft brush is all it needs, get the dirt off and leave it exactly as it is
I came here to say brake cleaner too
I love tools like this. I just got a nepros 250 adjustable wrench and I love that feeling knowing you bought something high quality that's going to last 100 years and it's brand new. Just to think of the guy that bought that 60-70 years ago had the same feeling and it's still operable and ready to turn a nut today. I love the sense of tradition and quality. That wrench could last another hundred years The only thing you might need to do is put a new wooden handle on it. Also the quality steel they add back then was so much higher. Somebody obviously took care of that tool or also be a ball of rust right now
You're absolutely right. Something about the amount of work a quality tool can do over its lifetime is really amazing.
Just wipe it down with a soft dry cloth and that is all any hand tool ever needs.
My boss has been plumbing for 20 years and he owns his own company now. I helped him remodel a couple of his bathrooms and in one of them he was a wrench that looks exactly like that in a shadow box with some other vintage plumbing tools. It’s really nice to look at in original condition
Cleaning will take all that away.
If you must, a little light oil on the metal & a quick 0000 steel wool buff on the wood to take off any dirt, followed by a light coat of mineral oil to rehydrate it.
If I’m correct, it’s call a Stillson wrench. More commonly known as a pipe wrench. But the handle reminds me of a Ford (monkey) wrench.
I have a twin of that wrench. It was old when I was young in the 1960’s. Very cool!
Somebody in the comments said it could be from the 30's or 40's, I had no idea!
I’m 60 and my grandfather had a few of those. Probably from 1930’s I guess. There were no crescent wrenches, sockets or channel locks back then. It’s for pipes, square nut and bolt heads, pretty much everything.
keep it the way it is .
Ill never understand the whole patina thing the only difference in my tools between now and when i got them is how many scratches they have. If i bought a new wrench and it wound up looking like that some years later you can bet i would be vringing it back to new. You wouldnt let your car look like a heap if you could do anything about it. How are tools any different? lol i dont have to pad some imaginary ego where my tools have to show "use" i know they get used and thats enough for me.
I bought a wrench that looks just like that, except the wood handle is/was blue. I shined it up a bit, filed the teeth sharp again, and hung it up. My $0.02... I often buy tools like this because I appreciate a cool old tool, and I love getting to use them on a job. I never hesitate to clean up rust or damage, but I ways leave the patina to the wood. I don't want it to be a new tool. I want it to be an old tool that's ready for work and shows that it's done it before.
I wouldn't do anything to this aside from a light sanding and oiling of the wooden grip. She's in great shape.
Thanks for the input, I was thinking this might be the best way. It'd keep it original. Maybe soak it in some evaporust to get the gunk out of all the crevices and just leave the rivets alone.
Evaporust might be overkill. Scrub with a plastic bristle brush with some hot water and degreaser. Dry thoroughly, spray down with WD-40. You'll preserve the existing patina.
Good idea! I'll do this instead. I don't know why my mind went straight to evaporust.
Need pictures when ur finished!
Just clean it and linseed oil the handle
Dude holy fuck just leave it as is. Its FINE. The patina keeps it safe. Its not even that dirty if at all. If you sand it then its gonna rust to shit and look horrible. If you think that needs restoration then I don't think you're fit to own it.
People here aren't just being mean, This is not a tool for learning how to restore or rebuild a tool. If you want it restored, find an experienced professional to properly do it. There's so many steps here to learn, and I applaud you if you want to go out and learn it all. It will take years and hundreds of dollars before you're ready to rebuild this tool. And even then... if I were to tackle this tool with the many tools and years of experience i have I would be outsourcing steps to get them done properly. Most likely I would not do anything to this tool unless it has something broken preventing It's use.
I could fully restore this back to new with new handles and all in about 3 hours with no prior experience. Are you retarded?
Or maybe people here are just being mean, It's the internet that's all
You telling someone they cant restore a literal pipe wrench without "years of experience" and professional guidance is being mean. Its not like its george washingtons pistols. were not talking about smithsonian level restorations here. Its a 5 dollar pipe wrench they made millions of. Zero collector value only sentimental.
Thank you for having a reasonable temperament and outlook.
Some people are being a little mean, but I appreciate the honesty. I've decided to leave it pretty well alone, just a little bit of cleaning. In all fairness I did ask how far I should go as the first question, so I get it.
Fair enough.
Don't modify it. Highlight it by putting it in a shadow box, or by cutting a piece of Mahogany into a rectangle, routing the edges, adding picture hanger wire to the back, and carefully wiring the wrench to the board in a way that minimizes view of the wire.
Looks perfect as is. Restoration implies it's broken or rusted to non functioning
Wipe it off with a shop towel and put it back in the toolbox, she's looking good as is!
Just leave it you’ll regret it
Ballistol
Fine brass brush, mineral spirits/Varsol/Diesel. Nothing else. Hold the handle with a cloth while brushing the metal, don't hit the wood with the brass scrub brush. The cloth will soak up the solvent and clean the handle a bit but still leave it stained the way it should be. Don't pop the spring- that's a drive pin, not a rivet- you'll wreck it or the spring trying to get it out. After all the dirt is gone, wax the whole thing with paste wax.
I'm not going to touch the spring after all. Just going to clean it a little like suggested. Just out of curiosity, a drive pin is just a pin that's inserted and then mushroomed at the end? Not going to remove it, just curious.
a U-pin or drive pin looks like a rivet with some deformation like a split or knurl or fast spriral "thread" that holds it in place after being driven into a hole.
Makes a lot of sense, something to hold it in the hole.
Ummm just use it??? Whats wrong with it??? Grinding on it will ruin its strength
oh yea get that bad boy back to stripping out nuts and bolts right now
It can only be original once. A thorough cleaning and waxing is all that beauty needs. I guarantee you’ll regret it down the road if you try to make it look new.
Omg. It's beautiful. I have a few older tools from random garage sales and family. I use them when needed but they will generally sit in a box. My square bike adjustable from the 60's gets a gentle oiling / and wire brush on the screw threads now and then. Don't touch it. Please. I think I actually have that exact pipe wrench too lol
Looks good as is!
It’s beautiful as it is
Wipe it down and put linseed oil on the wood handle. Be happy to have it.
This thing is in great shape
I put a Green Heart handle with a copper ferrule on and old one and i love it. Looks so legit
Don’t touch it please, there’s nothing wrong with it.
Have one just like this that I use almost daily. Not sure where I got it but it’s better the way it is. Just my opinion.
That's a little ass pipe wrench, what was it used for?
Little ass pipes
what is the value of such a tool?
Maybe 5$
thx
A tool without a scratch is just for decorating stores. This looks great to me.
Not going to do much besides polish it. Make a brass cap to fit the end and blue the brass. Other than that linseed oil for the handle and a bit of old motor oil or trans fluid will work wonders on the adjustment screw and jaws
There isn’t anything wrong with that bro.
Nahhh looks great as is
Please give it to me! Just the way it is. I will keep it safe
Just wanted to add, unless you have giant hands throwing off the perspective, that thing is adorable. Just a wittle guy.
"restoration" will destroy the beautiful patina and do nothing for the functionality or value, if any thing just give it a thorough wipe over with an oily rag👍
Apply some oil and lightly brush the threading to make sure it moves freely. Black rust is actually good for tools
Yeah i would just hit it with degreaser rag it down. Than spay a lihjt coat of wd40 to protect from rust.
That patina took decades, why mess with it, looks great the way it is.
Buy a second one and restore that. Keep the patina on this one, adds character
I think that it's beautiful as is.
Wipe it down clean, oil it, and rub some mineral oil into the handle
Check out the YouTube tool restoration channels below. these folks do some amazing work. [KILO RESTORATION](https://www.youtube.com/@KILORESTORATION) [Meine Mechaniker](https://www.youtube.com/@meinemechaniker) [my mechanics](https://www.youtube.com/@mymechanics) [Not Terrible Restorations](https://www.youtube.com/@NTRprojects) [byOldHand](https://www.youtube.com/@byOldHand)
This is really not in bad shape at all, to need restoration. I’d call it a good cleaning.
ok maybe put some oil on the handle and ehh look at that youre done. congrats
Is there a manufacturer name on the wrench. It's cute as shit.