Staff Answer
Aug 03, 2026 - 10:54 AM
For a Wilton C-0 (C0) vise, there are a few ways to determine the manufacturing date, depending on when it was made.
1. Look for the date stamp on the slide key (most reliable)
This is the standard method on most Wilton vises.
- Open the vise all the way until the movable jaw nearly comes off.
- Remove the slide key (the square steel key underneath the movable jaw that prevents it from rotating).
- Flip it over and look for a stamped date.
The stamp may look like:
- 4-53 = April 1953
- 9-945 = September 1945
- 6-30-60 = June 30, 1960
2. Watch for "GUAR EXP"
Some Wilton vises made in the mid-1950s were stamped with the warranty expiration date rather than the manufacturing date.
For example:
- GUAR EXP 12-31-60
- Since the warranty was five years, the vise was actually manufactured around late 1955.
3. For later C-0 vises (1980s–2000s)
Many later Wilton C-0 utility vises do not have the classic slide-key date stamp. Instead, you'll often find:
- Casting numbers
- Part numbers
- A sticker or metal tag with a serial number
These numbers generally are not directly decodable into a manufacture date by the public. If the original sticker or serial tag is present, Wilton customer service may be able to identify the production period.
