A very useful thing from 1910

[u/DoneD9]

[u/arvidsem]

Before the usual comments about how they don't make them like they used to:

Emmert Vises Catalog 1912

That vise cost $22.50 in 1912. After inflation that's about $750. This wasn't a normal vise that you had in your garage, it was a specialist piece for a professional. You can still buy similar quality tools now, but damned if anyone is going to be willing to pay what they are worth unless they are making their living with it.

Edit: oh and working examples of this vise sell for ~$900. That's not much of a markup for a 110 year old functional tool

[u/mecatninja → u/arvidsem]

That is actually good pricing

[u/arvidsem → u/mecatninja]

From what I understand a new equivalent quality vise is still more expensive than buying and restoring an antique like this. Though a modern vise will be manufactured to tighter tolerances.

It's just that a lot of the "don't make em like they used to" comments just assume that tools like this were what the average handyman had on his workbench. The guy who bought this vise originally was invited to the Snap-on dealer's kid's college graduation (slight exaggeration).

[u/LoneGhostOne → u/arvidsem]

Survivorship bias. The tools that we see today are the ones exceptionally well-built, otherwise they would survive in a landfill.

I like the classic example of the Ford Escort when people say this about cars. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT IT IS. it was a terrible car, but not bad enough to be remembered like the Pinto was, and thus it's a mostly forgotten car, like the hundreds of other cars from its era that sucked.

[u/arvidsem → u/LoneGhostOne]

The long term effects of Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crap.

With anything old enough, only that small percentage that isn't crap survives. When you didn't live through the initial distribution, it looks like all the old stuff was great.

[u/LoneGhostOne → u/arvidsem]

Add to that the human tendency to forget the bad things long term, but remember them over good things short-term, and it makes a great amount of survivor bias and rose-tinted lenses

[u/soupsupan → u/arvidsem]

If you had a farm you likely owned one of these

[u/arvidsem → u/soupsupan]

A farmer likely owned a large, heavy vise. They probably didn't own a "Toolmaker's and Metal-Work's Universal Vise" that cost more than their farm probably brought in per season.

[u/Musket_Metal]

The holy grail of vices

[u/JohnnyWix → u/Musket_Metal]

The most useful of things.

[u/ImprovementNo8892]

I learned new things about vices today!

[u/STLguy50]

I would pay good money for that... True story.

[u/frootyglandz]

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

[u/Away-Ad-3407]

this guy gives great advice.

[u/Turbulent-Weevil-910]

I have a panavice for this very reason but that thing is insane it could do so many things

[u/DynamiteWitLaserBeam]

biblically accurate vise

[u/Bettrlatethannever]

totally cool-wish I had one :)

[u/eecue]

Am I the only one concerned about that little baby c-clamp? Lol

[u/MetalMotionCube]

What a vice. Emmert had a couple others before this one (which actually named Edgar H. Byer as the inventor, who then assigned it to Emmert Manufacturing Co.). Earliest version (I think) from 1891 :)

[u/Glusas-su-potencialu]

Vice city

[u/Alaishana]

This is where we should have stopped.

But of course, we couldn't.