Herbert Schick and the Aluminum Pipe Wrench - History & Lore

5 months ago
23

It turns out, Ridgid did NOT invent the aluminum pipe wrench.
A guy named Herbert Schick invented it, back in the 1950's, or maybe earlier.
Today we'll check out one of his wrenches, and try to dig into the story behind his company, Schick Products.
Shick's design even features more aluminum, and was 60% lighter than a traditional steel/iron pipe wrench.

Garage Journal Thread: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/schick-wrenches-razors-facts-fiction.485727/

1958 Pipe Wrench Ad: https://books.google.com/books?id=Qt8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA210&dq=schick+aluminum+pipe+wrench&hl=en&sa=X

1963 Pipe Wrench Ad: https://books.google.com/books?id=qS0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA174&dq=schick+aluminum+pipe+wrench&hl=en&sa=X

Herbert Schick Patents: https://patents.google.com/?inventor=herbert+schick&country=US

Schick Trademark: https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=72211105&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch

Schick Bought by SIFCO 1968, CA Plant Closed Down 1971: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Metals_Week/eLZNAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=sifco+schick&dq=sifco+schick&printsec=frontcover

SIFCO Company History: https://www.company-histories.com/SIFCO-Industries-Inc-Company-History.html

Alaska Pipeline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_System

1959 Schick Ads:
p96: https://archive.org/details/modern-metals_1959-10_15_9/page/96/mode/2up
p216: https://archive.org/details/sim_heating-piping-air-conditioning-engineering-hpac_1959-10_31_10/page/n215/mode/2up

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