Just for the heck of it, here is my old "brought back from the dead" Vise-Grip pliers alongside a new model -- their latest and greatest version of the venerable tool. I said "their," but of course it's a little more complicated than that. Some changes in the cast of players has occurred over the past 87 years. This, from the Irwin Tools history website, summarizes the evolution: 1924 - Bill Petersen granted basic patent for locking pliers 1934 - Petersen Manufacturing Co. formed to manufacture and market Vise-Grip locking tools 1938 - First official Vise-Grip tools plant opens in an old DeWitt, Nebraska drug store with a staff of 37 1945 - First National Hardware Show; Vise-Grip tools are there 1957 - Modern-design 10WR Vise-Grip locking pliers go on the market with curved jaw and wire cutter 1962 - Petersen Manufacturing opens a plant in Cumberland, Wisconsin for manufacturing twist drills 1978 - Petersen Manufacturing workforce expands to 637 people 1979 - Gorham, Maine plant opens, manufacturing Hanson and IRWIN branded tools 1985 - American Tool Companies, Inc. is formed by the Petersen family and acquires Petersen Manufacturing 1993 - American Tool acquires The IRWIN Tool Company, a revered manufacturer of power tool accessories and cutting tools 2002 - Newell Rubbermaid acquires American Tool 2003 - American Tool name officially changes to IRWIN Industrial Tool Company What's missing from the chronology, though, is that manufacturing of Vise-Grips was outsourced to China at some point, presumably in the last 10 or so years. This did not sit well with some of the long-time users and fans. Here's a typical comment, from "Hotrodders Bulletin Board": "i have 4 pairs of vice grips made in China. they really are GARBAGE, i didnt realize they were made in china,or i wouldve never bought them.im very curious,how can someone (China) take a very simple tool,and screw it up? i try to buy american made tools at flea markets also.i have made some great buys there also." Someone else complained that ... "I was in a 'store' and held a pair of the china-grips in my hand. May as well go buy HF (Harbor Freight). Vise Grip is now just a moniker. The fit and finish is JUST NOT THERE." Those guys and others suggest hitting the flea markets in search of the Real Thing, good old USA-made Vise-Grips. That's what my oldie is. Stamped into the metal is "Petersen Mfg. Co., DeWitt Nebr." The new one, with attractive cushioned handles, is "Made in China to IRWIN Specifications." I couldn't find "China" on the tool itself but the source disclosure is printed on the packaging. OK, here's my take. I must say, I wish a tool like this -- as well as a lot of other things we in America buy and use -- was still made here in the States. BUT, I would have to disagree with the guys who dismiss anything made in China as "garbage." No doubt they were saying the same thing (if they were old enough then) about imported cars, especially when the Japanese invasion really got going. But the reality is that back then, most of Detroit's output was shoddy by comparison. The Japanese automakers were eventually able to dominate the U.S. market, and force Motown's Big Three to wake up, smell the coffee, and start reinventing themselves. As for the made-in-China Vise-Grips, I haven't had a chance to put them to the test yet and see how they stand up under real world conditions. But, they look and feel well-made. The design has evolved, too. As you can see, the new one no longer has a separate lever for unlocking the pliers. This change allowed fitting the tool with cushion grips. You unlock it by just pressing on the inside surface of the lower handle. It's hard to say whether the cushion grips are a 100% improvement, though. They do give the tool a bulkier size and feel. Probably fine for guys with big hands, but for me the non-cushioned handles are a better fit. Anyway, it'll be interesting to use the new version, and for comparison change back and forth between it and my old ones. Time will tell.

This is a photograph of five Mississippian Era (800-1500, AD) flint scrapping tools that I found on my granddad's farm over the course of a few years during the 1980's. I located these on a steep hillside overlooking a small spring where my granddad had built a spring house years before. Every Springtime when he plowed the fields, I would go out to see what I could find. I found these, along with countless flint chips, flint drills, and broken scrappers in one concentrated area on the hill. (Notice the orange and the white flint of the two scrappers on the left.) From these finds, I hypothesized that this must have been a "butchering site" where game was processed. These scrappers were affixed to a wooden shaft and were used to scrap the hide off of small game, such as raccoons, possums, rabbits, et cetera. (The quarter is placed to give an indication of size.) The Mississippians were a mound building Native American culture that lived throughout much of the Eastern United States from about 800 to 1500 AD before vanishing. They settled, primarily, in fertile river valleys and established large cities and towns that were supported by massive corn crops. These cities and towns were heavily fortified and the people living in them worshiped the sun and believed that their chieftain was the reincarnation of the sun god. No one knows for sure what happened to the Mississippians because they were gone before the arrival of white settlers. One theory is that their populations were devastated by diseases which spread rampantly through their large, fortified cities. The Choctaws and Chickasaws claim the Mississippians as their ancestors.