Possible Civil War Tool

[Turborick]

Good evening all, I need a little help the the probable date/era of the tool in the picture. It was found a few feet from some of the bullets in the picture and all were dug today from a local civil war camp site. I would normally not think about a wrench as a camp relic so the question is whether this wrench is a part of the later farm operation or would it be reasonable to keep it with the other camp site relics? Thanks in advance for any help. HH.

Rick

 

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[BuckleBoy]

OMG I've dug that EXACT relic! And I don't know where it is! I'll look for it, but it's the same thing. And I have no clue on this one, unfortunately.


-Buckleboy

 

[EdleBrock]

I'm pretty sure this is commonly referred to as an "Alligator Wrench". There are several different versions and I haven't been able to track down the exact model pictured above but here's a pic (upper left) from : http://www.wrenchingnews.com/nail-auction-2007/catalog.html.

There's also a similar one on e-bay at: http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Bulldog...VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

As far as if you can date it to the CW. In searching around, I ran several patents for a similar wrench dating from the 1850s to 1920s. So...it's feasible, but more research would be needed to narrow it down.

Hope this helps.

Jim

 

[Turborick]

Hi guys thanks for the replies.

EdleBrock, it looks alot like the wrenches in the upper left of the picture you posted. My wrench measures 7" long and between 1" and 2" wide. I think you are dead on with the id now I just need to establish an age.

Rick

 

[EdleBrock]

Hi Rick, I was updating my previous post while you wrote your last one. Basically, I ran across patent dates from 1850s to 1920s. I'll see if I can reproduce that search that link the patents.

Jim

 

[Turborick]

EdleBrock, I had not thought of being able to use a patent date to establish an age. Great idea! Maybe tomorrow night i will try to clean it up and see if I can find any markings.

Rick

 

[EdleBrock]

Hope you can find the number. You might already know this, but you can search it on the following site.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/

Good luck,

Jim

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Good ID Edlebrock

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Google is showing these alligator wrenches from the 1860's

 

[ashleysflyr]

bottle opener

~Tom

 

[Turborick]

I finally got a chance to work on the rusty wrench that I found at the civil war camp site. For lack of a better idea I hit it with a wire brush on my angle grinder and as you will see in the photos my idea was too aggressive for the condition of the relic. I am now certain that no identifiers will be found on the wrench and so I will not be able to confirm the age.

Thanks for the replies and the help. HH.

Rick