IRWIN

About four decades later there was another blacksmith with an idea, this one in the small town of DeWitt, Nebraska. William Petersen was a Danish immigrant who invented the first locking pliers in his blacksmith shop. He began selling them from the trunk of his car to farmers and people in surrounding towns. He patented his new idea and called it the Vise-Grip. It was the beginning of what would become two tool industry leaders, joining forces to create one industry giant.