Tetting grippers with handles shorter than 95mm?

[Alex K]

Hello guys! A short while back I acquired a Tetting SE from the early 2000s (two bottom stamps, letter on each handle). Upon closer inspection I noticed, that it has shorter handles if to compare to my other Tettings. Here is a pic of the Tetting SE (left) and my Elite (right), which has the standard 95mm long handle.

It can clearly be observed, that the handle is shorter. The total length is 92-92.5mm for both handles. It's not as crazy of a deviation from the standard, but I am still surprised to encounter this. Has anyone ever seen this before?

[Cannon]

I can think of three reasons, all related to Warren being extremely thrifty. 

1) Warren commonly made mistakes. Wrong stamps, wrong springs, bad stamps that were very off-center or doubled, etc. Sometimes when he noticed the mistakes, he would try and rectify them in his shop. The shorter handles could be the result of him trimming off a wrong or poorly executed stamp. In this manner he could salvage the handle where otherwise it was just garbage. But usually in that case he put the bevel back on by hand with a file. It never looked very good. In your photo, that looks like a machined bevel. 

2) To my knowledge, "a local friend" made all Warren's handles. In a couple discussions with Warren I tried to dig at this a little. I never got more than it was a long-time friend who he kept busy with small jobs. But I know that Warren did not make his own aluminum handles (he did fabricate some of the steel stuff). The handles would come with the spring hole drilled, but Warren would drill the pin holes (all at once with the spring inserted) and stamp the handles himself. Given Warren's thrifty nature, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he passed bunged up handles back to this friend to be corrected (trimmed and new bevel).  

3) While cutting handles from raw bar stock, there was only that much left and it was "close enough". I honestly feel like this is the probable answer based on a cut lengths, material lost to cutting and machining, and commonly available bar stock lengths.

The first reason is the only one I have seen first hand. I know Warren commonly "tuned up" mistakes. The second two reasons are guesses, but especially the third one is a good guess I think.  

 

[Alex K]

12 minutes ago, Cannon said:

I can think of three reasons, all related to Warren being extremely thrifty. 

1) Warren commonly made mistakes. Wrong stamps, wrong springs, bad stamps that were very off-center or doubled, etc. Sometimes when he noticed the mistakes, he would try and rectify them in his shop. The shorter handles could be the result of him trimming off a wrong or poorly executed stamp. In this manner he could salvage the handle where otherwise it was just garbage. But usually in that case he put the bevel back on by hand with a file. It never looked very good. In your photo, that looks like a machined bevel. 

2) To my knowledge, "a local friend" made all Warren's handles. In a couple discussions with Warren I tried to dig at this a little. I never got more than it was a long-time friend who he kept busy with small jobs. But I know that Warren did not make his own aluminum handles (he did fabricate some of the steel stuff). The handles would come with the spring hole drilled, but Warren would drill the pin holes (all at once with the spring inserted) and stamp the handles himself. Given Warren's thrifty nature, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he passed bunged up handles back to this friend to be corrected (trimmed and new bevel).  

3) While cutting handles from raw bar stock, there was only that much left and it was "close enough". I honestly feel like this is the probable answer based on a cut lengths, material lost to cutting and machining, and commonly available bar stock lengths.

The first reason is the only one I have seen first hand. I know Warren commonly "tuned up" mistakes. The second two reasons are guesses, but especially the third one is a good guess I think.  

 

Thanks for the detailed reply! I am excited to find out if other GB members have similar Tettings as well. As you mentioned in your post, the bevels are machined, and the handles are mounted evenly, both being sub 93mm. Here's a quick picture of it with a sweet CPW tag :

Unless compared directly with other Tettings, this handle length difference remains quite unnoticeable. 

[slazbob]

10 hours ago, Cannon said:

I can think of three reasons, all related to Warren being extremely thrifty. 

1) Warren commonly made mistakes. Wrong stamps, wrong springs, bad stamps that were very off-center or doubled, etc. Sometimes when he noticed the mistakes, he would try and rectify them in his shop. The shorter handles could be the result of him trimming off a wrong or poorly executed stamp. In this manner he could salvage the handle where otherwise it was just garbage. But usually in that case he put the bevel back on by hand with a file. It never looked very good. In your photo, that looks like a machined bevel. 

2) To my knowledge, "a local friend" made all Warren's handles. In a couple discussions with Warren I tried to dig at this a little. I never got more than it was a long-time friend who he kept busy with small jobs. But I know that Warren did not make his own aluminum handles (he did fabricate some of the steel stuff). The handles would come with the spring hole drilled, but Warren would drill the pin holes (all at once with the spring inserted) and stamp the handles himself. Given Warren's thrifty nature, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he passed bunged up handles back to this friend to be corrected (trimmed and new bevel).  

3) While cutting handles from raw bar stock, there was only that much left and it was "close enough". I honestly feel like this is the probable answer based on a cut lengths, material lost to cutting and machining, and commonly available bar stock lengths.

The first reason is the only one I have seen first hand. I know Warren commonly "tuned up" mistakes. The second two reasons are guesses, but especially the third one is a good guess I think.  

 

Makes sense…I have a SE with a GE spring. At least it felt that way never measured. But obvious.

[Cannon]

10 hours ago, slazbob said:

Makes sense…I have a SE with a GE spring. At least it felt that way never measured. But obvious.

That’s the most common mistake. The last couple years especially he used the wrong spring frequently. Like we’d get 12 grippers and 3 would be wrong. 

[Florian Kellersmann]

Checked my grippers. All are good, same handle length and all my 3 SE grippers have the correct spring.