Trimont Manufacturing Company

Table of Contents

Introduction

Trimont Manufacturing was a maker of pipe wrenches, plumbing tools, and nut wrenches operating in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1888.

Company History

An entry for the Trimont Manufacturing Company can be found on page 1818 [External Link] of the 1896 edition of the New England Business Directory, which states that the company was organized in 1888 as a maker of tools and wrenches. The capital was listed as $150,000 and the officers were given as E.L. Button, president and E.O. Ely, treasurer and secretary.

The Trimo Brand

The company's products were sold primarily under the "Trimo" brand.

Fig. 2. 1900 Listing for Trimo Pipe Tools. [External Link]

Fig. 2 shows an ad for Trimo wrenches and related products, as published on page 62 of the February, 1900 issue of the Journal of Railway Appliances.

The illustration shows Trimo pipe wrenches, chain pipe wrenches, combination nut and pipe wrenches, and pipe cutters.

Fig. 3. 1909 Advertisement for Trimo Tools.

The scan in Fig. 3 shows an ad summarizing the company's tools, as published on page 145 of the September, 1909 edition of Engineering Review.

The illustration shows the company's five most popular tools, a pipe wrench, chain pipe wrench, monkey wrench, auto wrench, and pipe cutter.

Fig. 4. 1911 Advertisement for Trimont Wrenches. [External Link]

Fig. 4 shows a later ad for the company's wrenches, as published on page 585 of the October, 1911 edition of the Automobile Trade Directory.

One of the company's popular products was an improved Stillson style pipe wrench based on patent 1,012,037, filed in 1911 by J.H. Vinton and issued later that year, with assignment to Trimont Manufacturing.

The patent specified a circular disk next to the adjusting nut, to prevent accidental changes in adjustment.

Trimo-Ferguson Auto Body Tools

By 1930 Trimont had established a Trimo-Ferguson division to make auto body tools, and the company placed advertisements for the tools in Popular Science beginning in April of 1930.

The company also offered an instruction manual on auto body repair called "Taking Profits out of Bumps".

By 1940 the Ferguson auto body division had been acquired by H.K. Porter.

Acquisition by Aetna Industrial Corporation

By 1948 Trimont had been acquired by the Aetna Industrial Corporation and operated as a division of the parent company.

The "Roxco" Brand

By 1949 Trimont was using the "Roxco" brand for a line of Ridgid-pattern pipe wrenches.

Acquisition by St. Pierre Chain Corporation

By 1955 Trimont had been acquired by the St. Pierre Chain Corporation of Worcester, and the company operated as a division of St. Pierre afterwards.

Patents

Trademarks

Trimont used "Trimo" as its primary brand and first registered it as trademark #63,620 on July 2, 1907. A later registration was issued as trademark #210,584 on March 16, 1926.

References and Resources

Photographs and observations of particular tools are based on items in the Alloy Artifacts Collection.

Catalog Resources

Currently we do not have any catalogs for Trimont Manufacturing.

Industrial Distributors

Trimont tools were widely available through industrial distributors.

• Chas. A. Strelinger 1895. The 1895 catalog from Chas. A. Strelinger & Company lists Trimo pipe wrenches on page 183 in sizes 6, 8, 10, 14, 18, 24, 36, and 48 inches.

• Chandler & Farquhar 1910. The 1910 catalog from the Chandler & Farquhar Company of Boston lists Trimo pipe wrenches on page 177 in sizes 6, 8, 10, 14, 18, 24, 36, and 48 inches.

• Pittsburgh Gage & Supply 1913. The 1913 catalog from the Pittsburgh Gage & Supply Company lists Trimo monkey wrenches on page 840 in sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 21 inches.

  Other listings include Trimo pipe wrenches on page 842, in sizes 6, 8, 10, 14, 18, 24, 36, and 48 inches, Trimo chain pipe wrenches on page 843 in model Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13, 13-1/2, 14, 15, and 16, and Trimo pipe cutters on page 847 in model Nos. 1, 2, and 3.

• H. Channon 1916. The 1916 catalog No. 80 from the H. Channon Company lists Trimo pipe cutters Nos. 1, 2, and 3 on page 39. Trimo pipe wrenches are listed on page 188 in sizes from 6 to 14 inches for wooden handles, and 6 to 48 inches for steel handles.

• Buhl Sons Company 1918. The 1918 catalog from the Buhl Sons Company of Detroit lists Trimo pipe cutters on page 255 in model Nos. 1, 2, and 3, and Trimo chain pipe wrenches on page 255 in model Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13, 13-1/2, 14, 15, and 16.

  Other listings include and Trimo pipe wrenches on page 256 in sizes 6, 8, 10, and 14 for wooden handles, and sizes 6, 8, 10, 14, 18, 24, 36, and 48 inches for steel handles.

• Cragin & Company 1921. The 1921 catalog No. 2 from Cragin & Company of Seattle lists Trimo monkey wrenches on page 201 in sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, and 21 inches. A narrow-jaw model was also available in a 12 inch size only.

  Other listings include Trimont narrow-jaw auto wrenches on page 204 in sizes 6, 8, and 10 inches, Trimo pipe wrenches on page 205 in sizes from 6 to 48 inches, and Trimo pipe cutters on page 224.

• Ducommun "G" 1926. The 1926 catalog "G" from the Ducommun Corporation lists Trimo monkey wrenches in sizes 6 to 21 inches on page 249, Trimo pipe wrenches with wood handles in sizes 6-14 inches on page 251, Trimo pipe wrenches with steel handles in sizes 6-48 inches on page 251, and Trimo pipe cutters Nos, 1, 2, and 3 on page 255.

• Waterston No. 25 1926. The 1926 catalog No. 25 from J.M. Waterston of Detroit lists Trimo pipe cutters Nos. 1, 2, and 3 on page 152, and Trimo pipe wrenches in sizes 6, 8, 10, 14, 18, and 24 inches on page 154. Note that this catalog is undated, but is referenced in the trade press in November of 1926.

Selected Tools

Trimo 12 Inch Monkey Wrench

Fig. 5. Trimo 12 Inch Monkey Wrench, with Inset for Back Side Detail, ca. 1910s to 1920s.

Fig. 5 shows a Trimo 12 inch monkey wrench, marked with "Trimont Mfg. Co." and "Roxbury Mass. USA" forged into the shank, with "Size 12" and "Pat'd 12-19-1911" forged into the back side, as seen in the inset. (The inset has been rotated for readabiity.)

The overall length is 11.4 inches closed and 14.0 inches fully extended.

The finish is plain steel.

The wrench also has a "Trimo" marking forged into the body near the jaw, and the movable jaw has "Drop Forged" forged into the shank, with "Trimo" forged into the back side (not shown).

The patent date corresponds to patent 1,012,037, issued to J.H. Vinton in 1911 with assignment to Trimont Manufacturing. This patent was originally issued for pipe wrenches and describes a circular disk placed next to the adjusting nut, in order to prevent accidental changes in the adjustment of the wrench.

Trimo 18 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench

Fig. 6. Trimo 18 Inch Pipe Wrench, with Insets for Back Side, Side View and Marking Detail, ca. 1916 to 1920s.

Fig. 6 shows a Trimo 18 inch Stillson-pattern pipe wrench, marked with "Trimont Mfg Co" and "Roxbury Mass USA" forged into the shank, with "Trimo Size 18" and "Drop Forged Pat'd" forged into the back side.

The carrier shell is also stamped with a "Pat'd. 6/20/16" patent date.

The overall length is 16.3 inches closed and approximately 18.8 inches fully extended. The finish is plain steel.

The patent date is a reference to patent 1,187,690, filed by A.J. Whitfield in 1913 and issued in 1916.

The raised tabs on either side of the knurl show that the older 1911 Vinton patent 1,012,037 was also used for this wrench.

The key innovation in the 1916 Whitfield patent 1,187,690 was the use of stamped steel for the jaw carrier, with a welded bridge to support the jaw and strengthen the assembly. Most Stillson-pattern wrenches at this time used a malleable iron jaw carrier, and the limited strength of malleable iron meant that the jaw carrier was the weakest part of the wrench. The use of steel for the jaw carrier provided greater strength as well as potential cost savings.

Note that in the Trimo design the jaw carrier does not wrap around the handle, but instead has flanges extending downward that butt against a raised land on the handle, which provides a hard stop for the movement of the carrier. The flanged design had been a characteristic of Trimo pipe wrenches from at least 1900, well before the Whitfield patent.

The Trimo design proved to be highly influential for Japanese pipe wrench makers. By the mid 1930s Matsusaka Iron Works was producing copies of the Trimo pipe wrench, and Trimo-pattern pipe wrenches continue to be one of the most popular styles in the Japanese market.

Trimo "Alloy" 10 Inch Stillson-Pattern Pipe Wrench

Fig. 7. Trimo "Alloy" 10 Inch Pipe Wrench, with Insets for Side View and Back Side Detail, ca. Mid 1930s to 1940s.

Fig. 7 shows a Trimo 10 inch Stillson-pattern pipe wrench, marked with "Trimont Mfg Co" and "Roxbury Mass USA" forged into the shank, with "Trimo Size 10" and "Drop Forged Pat'd" forged into the back side.

The carrier shell is also stamped "Trimo Alloy", and the movable jaw has "Cr Mol" forged in near the bend.

The overall length is 9.6 inches closed and 11.0 inches fully extended. The finish is plain steel.

The patent notice corresponds to patent 1,187,690, issued to A.J. Whitfield in 1916 with assignment to Trimont Manufacturing.

A review of published references found the Trimo alloy pipe wrenches first mentioned in 1934, with continuing references into the 1940s.