Probably used a Ridgid pipe wrench for the first time in the 50's. I have used every size up to 60" of the steel wrenches. There is a difference in the old, I'm guessing at least 15 year old, Ridgid and new Home Depot type Ridgid. You can guess which is the higher quality one
. In aluminum alloy in my opinion there is not much of an advantage under the 18" size, but one thing I have seen is if you use a hickey (pipe extender to increase power) on a steel wrench you can actually bend the handle. On an aluminum one it will snap. I've seen some steel wrenches that had some amazing bends in the handle, and a few snapped aluminum ones. Believe me, having a wrench snap is not a good thing. I know you are not supposed to put a pipe over the handle, but I'll bet there aren't too many old plumbers who haven't. Oh, by the way, you have to hammer the end of the pipe out of round to fit over the end of the handle. Really old pipe wrenches had slightly tapered handles so you could easily use a hickey.
Just a small tip as an afterthought: always use the bigger wrench to back up (hold back on) what you are tightening and the smaller one to do the tightening. And if you are pushing toward an immovable object, keep your hand open while pushing. If the wrench slips that will save some smashed fingers. That's simple common sense that you gain after smashing your fingers
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Quick question: The old wrenches are Ridgid, made by Ridge tool. Are the HD ones spelled the same way? I noticed most people were spelling it Rigid.
Ken