Utica Tool Co. TL-13-A Army Signal Corps Electrician Heavy-Duty Lineman's Pliers

A pair of 1944-56 Utica Tool Co. No. 1950-6 U.S. Army Signal Corps Electricians’ No. TL-13-A heavy-duty Lineman’s side cutting pliers with wire stripping grooves. In addition to carving his initials (“JT”) on the center pivot, the original owner also drilled a hole in one of the handles. While Utica tools are generally not marked with a date code, this pair does have an interesting marking of three hashes (III) inside the end of the handles.

CLARIFICATION: I was informed by a former user of a TL-13-A that the hole actually came from the factory. Also, these were used for telephone line, not electric line. The pliers were part of a kit as shown with sheath and folding knife, and were used to install, splice, and repair communications wire and telephone line. That is why the pliers are small and light duty (even though they were advertised as "heavy duty"). Signals guys in the military used them, still do for field phones. They have also been issued to use when doing demolition work, but were not designed for this purpose. Thank you, sir, for filling me in on these details!