The Story of Vlchek

Vlchek Logo on an Open-End Wrench

The Vlchek Tool Company (pronounced "Vel-check") started as a small blacksmith shop and grew to become the largest maker of automobile tool kits. Founded by a Czech immigrant, the company built a reputation for high-quality tools as well as efficient production. In this page we'll look at the company's interesting history and examine a selection of its tools.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Vlchek Tool Identification
• Early Production and Carbon Steel Tools
• Alloy Steel Tools
• Contract Production
• Ersatz Vlchek
• References and Resources
• What's New (Last Updated July 4, 2008)
  Recent changes to this page:

  • 07/04/2008: Added a Vlchek 1725B Open-End Wrench.
  • 05/12/2008: Added a ChromeXQuality W1820 Open-End Wrench.
  • 04/11/2008: Updated patent table, added a Vlchek 1725 Open-End Wrench.
  • 03/29/2008: Added a Vlchek 81B S-Shaped Open-End Wrench.
  • 03/12/2008: Added a Vlchek "Star" S-Shaped Wrench Set.
  • 03/09/2008: Added a Vlchek 75B S-Shaped Open-End Wrench.
  • 03/07/2008: Added a Vlchek 83B S-Shaped Open-End Wrench.
  • 02/10/2008: Added a Vlchek W2830 Open-End Wrench.
  • 02/07/2008: Added a Vlchek WBM1820 Half-Moon Box Wrench.
  • 12/13/2007: Added a Wizard HR2201 Offset Box-End Wrench.
  • 12/06/2007: Added a Vlchek 21 Open-End Wrench.
  • 11/04/2007: Added a Vlchek U.S.N. 1-3/16x1-5/16 Open-End Wrench.
  • 10/12/2007: Added a Vlchek WJ1416 Ignition Wrench.
  • 10/09/2007: Added a Vlchek W1820 Open-End Wrench.
  • 09/21/2007: Added a Vlchek Panel Bar Offset Box Wrench.
  • 09/18/2007: Added a Vlchek W0608 Open-End Wrench.
  • 09/11/2007: Added a Vlchek 33C Open-End Wrench.
  • 08/13/2007: Added a Vlchek Early Hub Wrench.
  • 06/04/2007: Updated description of forged-in marks.
  • 06/02/2007: Added a Vlchek WBH1214 Box-End Wrench.
  • 04/25/2007: Added a ChromeXQuality WBE18 Combination Wrench.
  • 02/20/2007: Added patent table.
  • 02/04/2007: Added a Vlchek 731A Open-End Wrench and a Vlchek WBA2425 Offset Box Wrench.
  • 01/08/2007: Added a Vlchek 3B5166 Tee Socket Wrench.
  • 01/07/2007: Added a Vlchek WBH2628 Box-End Wrench.
  • 01/02/2007: Added a Vlchek 1033C Open-End Wrench.
  • 12/20/2006: Added a Vlchek W2225 Open-End Wrench.
  • 12/19/2006: Added a Vlchek ND-32 Nut Driver.
  • 12/15/2006: Added a Vlchek 723 Open-End Wrench.
  • 12/13/2006: Rearranged WBH figures for clarity, add a Vlchek W2526 Open-End Wrench.
  • 12/12/2006: Added a Westcraft HR2080 Open-End Wrench.
  • 12/11/2006: Added a Vlchek WBC1618 Box-End Wrench.
  • 12/08/2006: Added a Vlchek 11 Inch Auto Wrench.
  • 12/03/2006: Added a Westcraft W1416 Open-End Wrench.
  • 12/02/2006: Added a Vlchek 94 Tappet Wrench.
  • 11/22/2006: Added a Westcraft W2526 Open-End Wrench.
  • 11/20/2006: Added a WBH3032 Offset Box-End Wrench.
  • 11/09/2006: Added a V-Shield 9 Inch Auto Wrench.
  • 10/25/2006: Added a rare WSS331 1/2-Drive Socket.
  • 10/19/2006: Added a rare Early WSLR6 3/8-Drive Ratchet.
  • 10/10/2006: Added a 11 Inch Auto Wrench.
  • 10/03/2006: Added a 1A1442 Tappet Wrench.
  • 09/30/2006: Added a WBL2425 Round-Shank Offset Box Wrench.
  • 09/29/2006: Added a WBH2024 Offset Box Wrench.
  • 09/18/2006: Added a WBL2628 Round-Shank Offset Box Wrench.
  • 09/07/2006: Added a 28S Open-End Wrench.
  • 09/03/2006: Added a 32xx 1/2-Drive Sockets.
  • 09/02/2006: Added a 3800 1/2-Drive Ratchet.
  • 08/26/2006: Added a SW Open-End Wrench.
  • 08/18/2006: Added a Vlchek 9 Inch Auto (Monkey) Wrench.
  • 08/17/2006: Added a Vlchek 1023 Open-End Wrench.
  • 08/12/2006: Added a Vlchek 3/4x25/32 Short Panel Bar Wrench.
  • 07/08/2006: Added a ChromeXQuality W1012 Open-End Wrench.
  • 05/26/2006: ChromeXQuality has been found! See details at Vlchek Chrome X Quality.
  • 04/30/2006: Added a Vlchek 31 25/32x7/8 Open-End Wrench.
  • 04/08/2006: Added a Vlchek 89 3/8x7/17 Tappet Wrench.
  • 04/04/2006: Added a Vlchek 1/2x9/16 Short Panel Bar Wrench.
  • 04/03/2006: Added a Vlchek 909 Check-Nut Wrench.
  • 03/20/2006: Added a Vlchek Bearing Scraper.
  • 03/18/2006: Added a Westcraft WBE20 Combination Wrench, W1820 Open-End Wrench, and 3/8x7/16 Panel Bar Wrench.
  • 03/12/2006: Added a Walden 2156A Wrench and Cotter-Pin Puller.
  • 03/05/2006: Added wrenches WBE18 Panel Combo Wrench and Speed-Hed Wrench.
  • 02/24/2006: Added info from a 1953 Western Auto catalog showing Vlchek-made wrenches.
  • 02/18/2006: Added a Vlchek 1800 1/4-Drive Ratchet.
  • 02/15/2006: Added a Vlchek W3236 Open-End Wrench, plus information from a 1957 catalog.
  • 02/12/2006: Added an Open-End S-Shaped Wrench.
  • 02/10/2006: Added a Tubular Socket Wrench.
  • 01/28/2006: Text mostly complete now.
  • 01/27/2006: Added two wrenches, a Vlchek 731A and a Vlchek WBC1214.
  • 01/22/2006: Added a ball-peen hammer, valve-spring tool, and another Westcraft.
  • 01/21/2006: Filled in section on Ersatz Vlchek and added photos.
  • 01/19/2006: Photos now mostly complete, still working on text.
  • 01/15/2006: First release, not much content.

Introduction

Company History

It's sometimes difficult to find information on the early history of tool companies, but the present case is a happy exception. The founder of Vlchek Tool was thoughtful enough to write his autobiography, suitably titled The Story of My Life and published (in Czech) in 1928. Now available in English translation, the book offers an interesting look at immigrant life in late 19th and early 20th century America, and provides many details on the development of the Vlchek Tool Company.

Vlchek Tool began in 1895 as a small blacksmith shop founded by Frank J. Vlchek, a Czech immigrant who had settled in Cleveland, Ohio. For the first few years his business operated as a typical blacksmith shop of the time -- making and repairing metal items, sharpening tools, and even shoeing horses. But Vlchek was constantly pushing himself to improve his skills and learn new techniques, and this lead to the purchase of a power hammer and then a drop forge. Both tools were powered by an old gasoline engine he had purchased inexpensively and then rebuilt by hand.

The power hammer enabled Vlchek to improve both the production rate and quality of his tools, and the business expanded rapidly. By 1903 the operation had outgrown its original quarters, so Vlchek built a new larger shop at 1537 Central Avenue, with a sign proclaiming "The Vlchek Tool Manuf'g Co." on the front. As the business grew, Vlchek started selling hammers, chisels, and punches into the wholesale market, and soon raised the notice (and ire) of some long-established hardware makers.

On Feb. 24, 1909 a fire destroyed much of the new building, and this disaster threatened to close the business permanently. By this time though, Vlchek had established an excellent reputation for hard work and quality products, and so was able to gain the financial backing to set up a new operation. Vlchek and a group of investors formed the Vlchek Tool Corporation, with Frank Vlchek as President and major shareholder, but answerable now to a board of directors. The company built a new factory on East 87th Street and was back in business by May of 1909.

The new company prospered and continued to expand, chiefly due to the rapid growth of the automobile industry. Vlchek had for some time been making automobile tool kits, the collections of essential tools that were shipped with every automobile of the day. Automobile companies ordered thousands of tool kits at a time, and at one point Vlchek Tool claimed to sell to 85% of the automobile makers. (There were many more auto companies in those days.)

The tool kit business was profitable but challenging, as the automobile makers were constantly trying to reduce the price, and the production contracts specified large volumes and tight delivery schedules. Vlchek responded by improving the production efficiency and material workflow of the factory, so that raw steel moved efficiently from the loading dock through the various forging and finishing steps. Visitors of the day (frequently including competitors) marvelled at the smooth and efficient operations.

Vlchek was also a pioneer in cost analysis, and established a special Cost Department to keep up-to-date estimates of the costs of production. This move was prompted by Vlchek's observation that many of his competitors didn't know whether they were operating at a profit or loss until the books were closed at year's end; obviously, this would be a major problem in a period of fluctuating prices. The combination of efficient production and good business management allowed Vlchek Tool to expand its factory several times between 1909 and 1920.

In the decades after 1920 Vlchek Tool expanded beyond tool kits into general automotive service tools, offering wrenches, pliers, and striking tools in both carbon and alloy steels. A catalog from around 1929 shows a selection of open-end and tappet wrenches in chrome-molybdenum steel, generally regarded as the highest quality steel for tool making.

A few years later the 1934 catalog A2 shows that Vlchek Tool had greatly expanded its offering of automotive service tools. Included for the first time were sockets and drive tools, box-end wrenches, and a variety of automotive specialty tools. Another notable change was that the catalog was now divided into two parts, with the first section captioned "Quali-T-Tools" and apparently intended for the professional mechanic. The second section listed Vlchek's high-volume product lines intended more for occasional or casual use, but including some alloy steel tools as well.

For whatever reasons, Vlchek's venture into the full-service automotive market was short-lived, and by 1938 the product line had been reduced greatly. The socket tools had been discontinued, and the company apparently decided to concentrate on high-volume production items rather than specialty tools, so that its catalogs listed relatively few tools.

One interesting side line was the development of a plastic injection-molding operation around 1940, Vlchek being one of the pioneers in this area. (The Vlchek name is apparently still in use for some plastic floral containers.)

Vlchek Tool ignored the socket revolution for several decades, but in the mid to late 1950s finally started offering sockets and ratchets.

In 1958 Vlchek Tool was acquired by Pendleton Tool Industries, the parent company of Proto Tools, P&C, Penens Corporation, and other tool manufacturers. (The acquisition date comes from an article in the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, noted in our References section.) Under Pendleton the Vlchek brand remained in production, with the Vlchek factory continuing production of tools for the Vlchek brand, as well as contract production for Fleet Tools and possibly other Proto brands. In addition, other manufacturers in the Pendleton group contributed tools branded as Vlchek.

In 1964 Pendleton Tool Industries was acquired by Ingersoll-Rand, an industrial conglomerate. Under Ingersoll the Vlchek factory in Cleveland was finally closed in 1969, but it's not known whether the Vlchek brand continued in use after this.

Patents

Trademarks

Vlchek wasn't very active in the trademark arena, with the only known registration being for "Vlchek" itself. The first use was listed as 1910.

Vlchek Tool Identification

Tools sold as Vlchek products are generally very easy to identify, as with few exceptions the company used only the markings "Vlchek" or "Motiv" for these items.

Norivell Open-End Wrench Set

One of the known exceptions are the carbon-steel wrench sets sold with a metal holder; these sets may have other brands marked on the holder, and sometimes no company marking at all on the tools. One such set marked "Norivell Wrench Set" is shown in Fig. 1 below; it was identified as a Vlchek product by the patent #1,808,190 (issued to F. Vlchek in 1931) stamped on the bottom.

Fig. 1. Vlchek Norivell Open-End Wrench Set

The individual wrenches in the Norivell set are marked "Made in U.S.A." and "Drop Forged", but have no company or size markings. The 1938 catalog shows an illustration for a set that looks very similar, but is shown as a "Checker Wrench Set". Both "Norivell" and "Checker" seem like a word play on "Velcheck", so that may be how the names were derived.

V-Shield Logo

Tools made for contract production may be much more difficult to identify. There is one simple case though, as some such tools were marked with the well-known V-Shield logo, a "V" and nested "T" inside a shield outline.

Fig. 2. V-Shield Design from a 1912 Catalog.

The V-Shield logo is based on the "Coat-of-Arms" design shown in Fig. 2, an example taken from the cover of a 1912 Vlchek catalog. The small figure forged into the tools is much less detailed of course, but on a good forging the small "T" inside the "V" will be visible. An example can be seen in the Vlchek 19/32x11/16 Wrench below.

Some contract production may have been intentionally unmarked at the request of the customer, in order not to reveal Vlchek as the actual producer. The high efficiency of the Vlchek factory gave them a much lower cost structure than many competitors, and in some cases erstwhile competitors gave up production in favor of purchasing goods from Vlchek and branding them as their own.

In other cases the contract customer may not have cared whether the tools were identifiable as Vlchek. For example, the Western Auto Supply buyers may have been happy to have customers recognize their Wizard and Westcraft wrenches as Vlchek tools. The examples in the section on Contract Production show that a number of such tools are easily identifiable as Vlchek production.

Design and Production Characteristics

Vlchek tools have a number of characteristic features that may be helpful for identification in the absence of markings.

Forged-In Numbers

The first of these is the frequent presence of a forged-in number on one end of the wrench, an example of which is shown in Fig. 3 below. (Additional examples appear in many other figures in this article.)

The meaning of these forged-in numbers is not known, but they might indicate a particular drop-forge used in production, or possibly a generation number for the forging die. (Vlchek perfected a technique for forging its dies from a master copy, rather than having to make each by hand. This would have saved them a great deal of time and money for items made in sufficient quantity to wear out the forging die.)

Asterisk Mark

Fig. 3. Asterisk Mark on WBC1618 Wrench.

Vlchek box-end wrenches typically included a forged-in mark resembling an asterisk, usually opposite the forged number on the reverse. This detail is seldom (if ever) seen on other makers' tools.

An example can be seen on the WBC1618 wrench in Fig. 3, with the asterisk at the left of the raised panel.

Sharp Radius on Box Ends

Another characteristic of Vlchek production is the use of a relatively sharp grinding radius on the box ends of wrenches. This can be readily seen in a profile view of the box ends, as shown in Fig. 4 below.

Fig. 4. Box Ends of Vlchek Wrenches Showing Sharp Curvature

Other manufacturers commonly provide ground and polished box ends on wrenches, but usually with a much larger radius of curvature. Vlchek open-end wrenches also exhibit rounded edges on the wrench heads.

Early Production and Carbon Steel Tools

Vlchek produced a relatively small number of different tools, preferring to make only those items that it could sell in large quantity. A look at the 1938 catalog shows a reasonable line of carbon-steel open-end "engineers" wrenches, a smaller selection of alloy-steel open-end wrenches, a small number of box-end wrenches, and lots of punches, chisels, and hammers. Most notable is the absence of combination wrenches, already very popular at this time, and the lack of ratchets and sockets.

The 1952 catalog reveals a somewhat expanded product line that included more models of box-end wrenches, as well as (finally!) combination wrenches. In addition, a line of economy tools branded "Motiv" had been established. There were still no ratchets and sockets though, making it clear that Vlchek Tool had decided to sit out the socket revolution.

The 1957 catalog No. 10 finally offers a line of sockets and drive tools in several drive sizes. (However, these tools are rarely seen, so it appears that Vlchek may not have sold very many of them.) This catalog also shows a number of tool display boards intended to assist retailers, showing that the company was apparently shifting to serve the retail market, after selling primarily to large companies up to this point.

The examples of tools shown below are arranged roughly chronologically based on the capability of production, but the actual age of particular tools is not known. Vlchek is not known to have had any date code marking system, though it's possible that the forge numbers may have some relationship to production date.

Striking Tools and Pliers

Punches, chisels, and hammers were among the first tools produced by Vlchek Tool, and pliers would have been made as soon as the automobile tool kit business started to develop.

X872 Pin Punch

Fig. 5 shows a pin punch of size 1/8, marked "Vlchek Standard" and "Made in U.S.A.". The model number isn't marked, but the catalog identifies this as model X872.

Fig. 5. Vlchek [X872] 1/8 Pin Punch.

The overall length is 5.0 inches.

Ballpeen Hammer

As a former blacksmith operation, you would expect Vlchek Tool to be an expert in hammers, and hammers were in fact one of their earliest products. The hammer shown in Fig. 6 is a ball-peen model marked "Vlchek" and "Made in U.S.A.", and is probably from an automobile tool kit.

Fig. 6. Vlchek Ballpeen Hammer.

The length of the head is 3.8 inches; the handle had been shortened, so the original length is not known.

PHC208 Hose Clamp Pliers

Fig. 7. Vlchek PHC208 Hose-Clamp Pliers.

Fig. 7 shows the Vlchek model PHC208 pliers, marked "Hose Clamp" with "Forged in U.S.A." on the handles.

A careful look at the handle shows a forged-in number "18". The finish appears to be cadmium plate over the rough forged steel.

Specialty Tools

Valve Spring Compressor

Fig. 8. Vlchek Valve-Spring Tool.

Fig. 8 shows a specialty tool for compressing valve springs, marked "Vlchek Cleveland". The overall length is 10.2 inches.

The tool is finished with black paint over the rough forging.

Although no patent notice is marked on this example, this tool is covered by patent #1,159,626, issued to F.J. Vlchek in 1915.

51 Tubular Socket Wrench

Fig. 9. Vlchek Model 51 Tubular Socket Wrench, ca. 1916.

Fig. 9 shows a Vlchek model 51 tubular socket wrench tool, bent to form an L-shape and marked "Vlchek Cleveland". The hex openings at each end have the same size and were measured as 1/2 (or possibly 17/32) inch. The overall length is 6.5 inches.

The wrench has a cross-bar hole for additional leverage. The construction is from seamless steel tubing, hardened after forging, and with a plain steel finish.

These wrenches were apparently made for early Ford applications. For example, an automotive supplies catalog from 1916 shows a set of five of these wrenches in a canvas roll, marked "Bent Socket Wrench Set for Ford".

Cotter Pin Puller

Fig. 10. Vlchek Cotter-Pin Puller, with Inset for Detail.

Fig. 10 shows a specialty tool designed as a cotter-pin puller and as a small pry-bar, marked "Vlchek Cleve O." as shown in the inset.

The overall length is 5.8 inches.

The finish is plain steel, although it may have been painted black originally.

Bearing Scraper

Fig. 11. Vlchek Bearing Scraper, with Inset for Detail.

Fig. 11 shows a bearing scraper with a wooden handle, marked "Vlchek Cleve O." on the shank. The overall length is 12.7 inches.

The finish was originally black paint, now mostly worn off.

Hub Wrench

Fig. 12. Vlchek Hub Wrench, Measured 2-1/8 (Hex) x 1-7/16 (Open).

Fig. 12 shows an early Vlchek hub wrench, marked only with the V-Shield logo. The hex opening was measured at 2-1/8 inches, and the open end is 1-7/16 inches.

The overall length is 8.7 inches. The original finish was black paint, but only a few traces remain now.

ND-32 Nut Driver

Fig. 13. Vlchek ND-32 1/2 Inch Nut Driver.

Fig. 13 shows a rarely-seen Vlchek ND-32 1/2 inch nut driver with a wooden handle, marked "U.S.A." on the shank. The overall length is 8.9 inches.

The wooden handle is finished with black paint, and the shank and socket appear to be plated with nickel.

3B5166 Tee Socket Wrench

Fig. 14. Vlchek 3B5166 7/16 T-Handle Socket Wrench, with Inset for Broaching.

Fig. 14 shows another rarely-seen tool, a Vlchek 3B5166 7/16 T-handle socket wrench, marked "Made in U.S.A." on the shank.

The overall length is 6.2 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

Auto Wrenches

Auto or "monkey" wrenches were one of the standard items in automobile tool kits, and Vlchek produced these tools in great quantities over the years. Auto wrenches were produced in several sizes, with the 9 inch and 11 inch models being the most common, but other sizes may be seen as well.

11 Inch Auto Wrenches

Fig. 15. Vlchek 11 Inch Auto Wrench, with Inset for Marking Detail.

Fig. 15 shows an early example of the Vlchek 11 inch auto or monkey wrench. The movable jaw is marked "Drop Forged" and "Cleve. O, U.S.A." with the Vlchek name in a fancy emblem (see inset), a mark often seen on earlier tools. The handle has additional markings "Made in U.S.A." and "11 Auto" in forged raised letters. The overall length is 11.0 inches.

The wrench is finished with black paint, the standard for tool kit items of this type.

Fig. 16. Vlchek V-Shield 11 Inch Auto Wrench, with Inset for Marking Detail.

Fig. 16 shows a similar Vlchek 11 inch auto wrench, marked "11-In-Auto" in forged raised letters, with the V-Shield logo on the reverse.

The overall length is 11.0 inches, and the finish is black paint.

9 Inch Auto Wrenches

Fig. 17. Vlchek V-Shield 9 Inch Auto Wrench, with Inset for Reverse Detail.

Fig. 17 shows one of the staples of an automobile tool kit, a Vlchek 9 inch auto wrench marked "9 In Auto" in raised letters. The inset shows the V-Shield logo on the reverse, near the fixed jaw of the wrench.

The overall length is 8.9 inches, and the finish is black paint.

The movable jaw of this relatively early model is a forging, the standard construction of the time. The next figure will show a later construction technique.

Fig. 18. Vlchek V-Shield 9 Inch Auto Wrench, with Inset for Reverse Detail.

Fig. 18 at the left shows a later version of the Vlchek 9 inch auto wrench, marked "Made in U.S.A." and "9 Auto" in raised letters, with the V-Shield logo and the number "25" on the reverse.

The overall length is 8.9 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

In this later model, the movable jaw is now made with a piece of sheet steel riveted to the hardened jaw piece.

Carbon Steel Open-End Wrenches

Carbon steel was used exclusively for wrenches until sometime in the mid 1920s or later, and Vlchek continued to produce carbon steel wrenches at least into the 1950s.

The earlier carbon-steel wrenches were frequently marked with a forged-in V-Shield logo, particularly those made for contract production. Sometimes the markings also included an industry-standard model number, or the least the opening sizes, but wrenches devoid of other markings are not unknown.

V-Shield 9/16x5/8 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 19. Vlchek V-Shield 9/16x5/8 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Reverse

Fig. 19 at the left shows an open-end wrench marked with the V-Shield and "Made in U.S.A.", with "Drop Forged" on the reverse. The sizes are not marked but were measured as 9/16x5/8 inches, a model 727 wrench in the industry-standard notation. (See our table of Industry-Standard Numbers for Open-End Wrenches for more information.)

The overall length is 6.1 inches.

The "95" in raised letters is one of the forged-in numbers often found on Vlchek wrenches.

V-Shield 19/32x11/16 Open-End Wrench

The wrench in Fig. 20 below is marked only with the V-Shield logo, without even the sizes marked. The sizes were measured as 19/32 by 11/16 inches, making it a model 27 by the industry standard. The overall length is 5.8 inches.

Fig. 20. Vlchek V-Shield 19/32x11/16 Open-End Wrench

This wrench may have been part of a tool kit, as the body appears to have traces of black paint remaining.

21 5/16x13/32 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 21. Vlchek 21 5/16x13/32 Open-End Wrench.

Fig. 21 at the left shows a Vlchek 21 5/16x13/32 open-end wrench, stamped with the Vlchek name on the face.

The overall length is 3.7 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

729 5/8x3/4 Open-End Wrench

Fig. 22. Vlchek 729 5/8x3/4 Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Reverse.

Fig. 22 at the left shows a Vlchek 729 5/8x3/4 open-end wrench, stamped with the Vlchek name and model number on the faces, with "Made in U.S.A." and "Drop Forged" forged into the shank.

75B 3/8x7/16 S-Shaped Open-End Wrench

Open-end wrenches with an "S" shape were a popular early wrench style, and Vlchek produced them in a range of sizes. The next several figures show examples of "S" wrenches from a Vlchek "Star" wrench set.

Fig. 23. Vlchek 75B 3/8x7/16 S-Shaped Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Reverse Detail.

Fig. 23 shows a Vlchek 75B 3/8x7/16 S-shaped open-end wrench, marked "Made in U.S.A." with "Drop Forged" on the reverse. A forged-in number "4" appears on the shank at the right, and the fractional sizes are also forged into the reverse side.

The overall length is 6.2 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

This wrench was part of the "Star" five-piece wrench set in a metal holder, shown as the Vlchek "Star" Set in a later figure. As was common for wrenches sold in sets, the individual wrenches are not marked with the company name.

79 5/8x11/16 S-Shaped Open-End Wrench

Fig. 24. Vlchek 79 5/8x11/16 S-Shaped Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Reverse.

Fig. 24 shows a Vlchek 5/8x11/16 open-end S-shaped wrench with the industry-standard number 79, marked "Made in U.S.A." with "Drop Forged" on the reverse. A forged-in number "6" appears on the shank at the right, and the fractional sizes are forged into the reverse side.

The overall length is 8.3 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

81B 3/4x13/16 S-Shaped Open-End Wrench

Fig. 25. Vlchek 81B 3/4x13/16 S-Shaped Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Reverse.

Fig. 25 shows a Vlchek 3/4x13/16 open-end S-shaped wrench with the industry-standard number 81B, marked "Made in U.S.A." with "Drop Forged" on the reverse. A forged-in number "5" appears on the shank at the right, and the fractional sizes are forged into the reverse side.

The overall length is 9.3 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

83B 7/8x1 S-Shaped Open-End Wrench

Fig. 26. Vlchek 83B 7/8x1 S-Shaped Open-End Wrench, with Inset for Reverse Detail.

Fig. 26 shows the largest wrench from the "Star" set, a Vlchek 83B 7/8x1 S-shaped open-end wrench, marked with "Made in U.S.A." forged into the shank, with "Drop Forged" forged into the reverse. A forged-in number "5" appears on the shank at the right, and the fractional sizes are also forged into the reverse side.

The overall length is 10.3 inches, and the finish is plain steel.

A careful examination of the end faces shows that they are very flat but not ground, with the appearance of a rough forged surface pressed flat. This is likely the result of finishing using a "coining press", an operation using extreme pressure to produce tools with flat surfaces and tightly controlled thickness. The use of coining presses for tool making was one of the many production innovations introduced by Frank Vlchek.

"Star" Five-Piece S-Shaped Wrench Set

Now that we've seen some of the individual "S" wrenches, it's time to show the wrench set.

Fig. 27. Vlchek "Star" Five-Piece S-Shaped Wrench Set, with Inset for Marking Detail, ca. 1930s.

Fig. 27 shows a Vlchek "Star" S-shaped wrench set in its metal holder, stamped "Star S Wrench Set" with "The Vlchek Tool Co." and "Cleveland, O." on the bottom of the holder (see inset).

The wrenches have models and sizes 75B (3/8x7/16), 77B (1/2x9/16), 79 (5/8x11/16), 81B (3/4x13/16), and 83B (15/16x1 Inch). The set as acquired was missing the 77B wrench, so we have substituted a model of the same size from another maker to fill out the holder.

The bottom of the holder is also stamped "U.S. Patent 1808190", a reference to patent #1,808,190, issued to F. Vlchek in 1931. Note that this is the same patent seen on the Norivell Wrench Set described previously. (The wrench holders don't look very much alike, but the patent was written to provide a lot of "wiggle room".)

The Vlchek catalog No. 13 from around 1930 offered the Star wrench sets in three finish options, at prices ranging from $1.55 to $2.00.

909 Single-Open Check-Nut Wrench

Tools marked with the V-Shield logo were most commonly (double) open-end wrenches, but the next figure shows a less commonly seen single-open style.

Fig. 28. Vlchek 909 1-1/8 Check-Nut Wrench, with Inset for Reverse.

Fig. 28 shows a Vlchek 909 single-open wrench marked with the V-Shield logo. The size is not marked but was measured as 1-1/8.

The overall length is 7.5 inches.

The wrench is fairly thin for its opening size, and may have been intended as a "check-nut" wrench, a wrench used to tighten a locking nut.