Day 18, Bolt cutter
Today's gem is a tool I actually have very little need for, but was too cool pass up. (I think I may have a problem. But I'm ignoring that for now.) It's a pair of "compound-leverage clippers", which most people would refer to as bolt cutters. They are "Champion DeArment" manufacture, which later would become famous for patenting the Channellock plier, and later changing their name to that. I believe that these are #99 model, made from iron, and probably were used for cutting fence wire and the like, rather than bolts. Their jaws are in good pretty good shape, with only minor knicks. I did (like most of the tools I get) disassemble, derust, and clean the tools before reassembly. They work well for cutting thick wire (the one time I did use them was to cut some lengths of thick aluminum wire for a radio antenna project).
I'm uncertain as to how old they are. I did see the #99 utility clipper listed in the No. 353 catalog which was published in 1953. The overall style and size (about 17") matches my pair pretty precisely. Interestingly the handles on mine are flattened, where as the catalog illustration shows them as simply round. Perhaps this modest change in design could help narrow the dates further, but I am (as I have said before) hardly an expert. My guess is probably seventy five years old or so.
Hope you all have a good Saturday.