Vise Grips

William Petersen, Danish blacksmith, tinkerer, and inventor, living and working in the small town of DeWitt, Nebraska, revolutionized pliers use with the invention of the little honey known as Vise Grips. The locking mechanism enables the user to crunch down. Hold tight. Let go. Hands free, he can comport about an engine compartment. Squeeze that hose shut. Crimp a flange. Or flambé a pipe joint held in place in the turgid jaws. A sort of hemostat for the serious do it yourselfer home and auto repairer.

The US Patent Office issued Petersen a patent for the locking jaw mechanism in 1924. The idea came upon a conflation of the locking features of a vise, and the maneuverability of pliers. With the advent of the War Effort during America’s involvement in WWII, Vise Grips saw new uses and applications. Welders found that a series of Vise Grip pliers down the spines and ribs of a ship served as excellent tacking devices during the fabrication of the metal hulls. WWII era ships had thousands of Vise Grips welded permanently into their substrates and structures. No doubt, giving archaeologists of the future pause and wonder.

The Vise Grip was a featured device in the first ever National Hardware Show in 1945, and held favor with a cohort of new and soon to be homeowners.

Story, Billy Comparetto