- Joined
- Aug 23, 2004
- Messages
- 382
The ABCo tool discussed in Chapter 1 was not the only early multi tool imported from the famous German cutlery city of Solingen. From the 1940s (maybe earlier?) through the 1970s, there was a steady stream of what we call German Fishing Pliers produced by Solingen craftsman that were targeted for the American sportsman. Again, with no market at home and hungry for United States dollars, the German cutlers did a brisk business with importer/distributor firms such as the Overland Import Company of Los Angeles and the Hoffritz Company of New York.
The Overland Company was by far the most prolific of these distributors. Fred MacOverland, or MacOverland, or just Overland logos appear on most of the various German Fishing Pliers encountered today. In addition to Overland and Hoffritz, there were a host of other distributors for these tools. ABCo, Hollmo, Roos Brothers, Pyramid, PYRCO, Henley Company, and even Montgomery Wards are logos I have seen. There are no doubt others.
These German Fishing Pliers are by no mean rare. Produced over a period of thirty or more years, and distributed far and wide across this country wherever fish and fisherman are to be found, they could almost be considered common. The fact that these tools remained in production for so many decades is again, in my opinion, a testimonial to their functionality and usefulness. Ruggedly built, yet delicate enough to do the job they were designed for. Fisherman apparently thought so, because they bought enough of them to justify decades of production.
At first glance, there seems to be little change over the years. Upon closer examination however, one notices a baffling number of variations. Look closely at the pictures, and you will find sharpening stones on the edge of the plier handle, then on the face of the plier handle, even in the edge of the plier jaw itself! And the cap lifter; it too can be found in a number of different locations on various tools. The shape of the jaws vary. The shape of the handles vary. Almost everything varies!
In this modern age of mass production and identical manufacturing, it is bewildering to note the amount of variation in these tools. Each change would have required significant re-tooling expense, yet the changes themselves could hardly be considered worthwhile improvements. And yet still, dozens of minor and major variations do exist. (Far more than I have room to show you here!) It is indeed puzzling to me.
Speaking of these variations, some are not as subtle as others. Take for instance the version called Sportsmans Pal. It has fatter jaws, fatter handles, and a pivoting fish scaler device that doubles as a guard for the sharpening stone. Variations of the Sportsmans Pal include smooth instead of wrinkle finish, and an awl blade instead of the more common corkscrew.
The most outrageous variation of the German Fishing Pliers is this one, known as the Fishermans Pride. Using a cast aluminum housing riveted to the chromed steel chassis, the craftsman from Solingen made the handles thicker, allowing room for both the knife blade and the fish scaler/hook disgorger/cap lifter blade to be located in just one of the plier handles. In the other plier handle resides a fully functional fish weight scale, and a 36 inch tape measure! (Neither of which features has yet to be offered from the multi tool moguls of Portland, Oregon!)
In addition to the obvious needlenose pliers, they offer an impressive array of additional functions; screwdriver blades, shot splitters, hard-wire cutters, soft-wire cutters, awls, corkscrews, fish scalers, hook disgorgers, sharpening stones, rulers and more.
Produced before the widespread availability of stainless steel, German Fishing Pliers were either nickel plated or chrome plated for rust resistance. (Only the very earliest tools were soft nickel. Examples Ive seen from the mid-1950s onward are chrome.) All came with a well-made leather belt sheath with snap enclosure.
Generally measuring a bit over 7 in length, the plier heads did not fold up to a more compact size like a modern Leatherman. Yet the fact that each tool was designed to accomplish a wide range of tasks, in one handy package, is why I consider them to be forerunners of the modern multi tool.
~Bob
The Overland Company was by far the most prolific of these distributors. Fred MacOverland, or MacOverland, or just Overland logos appear on most of the various German Fishing Pliers encountered today. In addition to Overland and Hoffritz, there were a host of other distributors for these tools. ABCo, Hollmo, Roos Brothers, Pyramid, PYRCO, Henley Company, and even Montgomery Wards are logos I have seen. There are no doubt others.
These German Fishing Pliers are by no mean rare. Produced over a period of thirty or more years, and distributed far and wide across this country wherever fish and fisherman are to be found, they could almost be considered common. The fact that these tools remained in production for so many decades is again, in my opinion, a testimonial to their functionality and usefulness. Ruggedly built, yet delicate enough to do the job they were designed for. Fisherman apparently thought so, because they bought enough of them to justify decades of production.
At first glance, there seems to be little change over the years. Upon closer examination however, one notices a baffling number of variations. Look closely at the pictures, and you will find sharpening stones on the edge of the plier handle, then on the face of the plier handle, even in the edge of the plier jaw itself! And the cap lifter; it too can be found in a number of different locations on various tools. The shape of the jaws vary. The shape of the handles vary. Almost everything varies!
In this modern age of mass production and identical manufacturing, it is bewildering to note the amount of variation in these tools. Each change would have required significant re-tooling expense, yet the changes themselves could hardly be considered worthwhile improvements. And yet still, dozens of minor and major variations do exist. (Far more than I have room to show you here!) It is indeed puzzling to me.
Speaking of these variations, some are not as subtle as others. Take for instance the version called Sportsmans Pal. It has fatter jaws, fatter handles, and a pivoting fish scaler device that doubles as a guard for the sharpening stone. Variations of the Sportsmans Pal include smooth instead of wrinkle finish, and an awl blade instead of the more common corkscrew.
The most outrageous variation of the German Fishing Pliers is this one, known as the Fishermans Pride. Using a cast aluminum housing riveted to the chromed steel chassis, the craftsman from Solingen made the handles thicker, allowing room for both the knife blade and the fish scaler/hook disgorger/cap lifter blade to be located in just one of the plier handles. In the other plier handle resides a fully functional fish weight scale, and a 36 inch tape measure! (Neither of which features has yet to be offered from the multi tool moguls of Portland, Oregon!)
In addition to the obvious needlenose pliers, they offer an impressive array of additional functions; screwdriver blades, shot splitters, hard-wire cutters, soft-wire cutters, awls, corkscrews, fish scalers, hook disgorgers, sharpening stones, rulers and more.
Produced before the widespread availability of stainless steel, German Fishing Pliers were either nickel plated or chrome plated for rust resistance. (Only the very earliest tools were soft nickel. Examples Ive seen from the mid-1950s onward are chrome.) All came with a well-made leather belt sheath with snap enclosure.
Generally measuring a bit over 7 in length, the plier heads did not fold up to a more compact size like a modern Leatherman. Yet the fact that each tool was designed to accomplish a wide range of tasks, in one handy package, is why I consider them to be forerunners of the modern multi tool.
~Bob
No problem, as that's the "Capitalist Way."