I picked up this tool at a garage sale yesterday for a couple of bucks. The old gentleman that was having the sale was in his 70s or 80s and had a number of tools that were his father's - including a handsaw with a nib that just wasn't in good enough shape to turn back into a user, but was most likely over 100 years old. The pictures are of a tool that he couldn't identify, but that my eyes passed over until someone else asked him what it was. I had a guess at it & snagged it, just because it was a fun artifact. Other than lightly cleaning it I didn't do anything else to it. My teenage son used it successfully and quickly the very first time - the tool functions like new!
Of course I had to try it & was amazed that it works better than modern replacements. As you can see, it has a point on the end, and an adjustable double-sided cutter that is set with a thumbscrew. The thumbscrew locks the cutter to the shaft of the tool. The cutter isn't particularly sharp, and is an arc, coming to a single point. Frankly, I don't think the cutter was any sharper when it was brand new. I showed my parents thinking that there was a chance that they wouldn't be able to identify & my Mom said that her Grandmother had one that she used all the time. She also said that they fell out of favor after the war (WW2) and that she hadn't seen any since then.
So, my question to you is: what is it? Instead of giving the answer away, I thought I'd give you a puzzler. If you know the answer, please don't post as a comment.
email me with your guess and I'll send you a picture of it in use, or give you a hint if you are wrong - or heck, will just send you a pic / tell you if that is what you would prefer. Hope this is fun for you!
I picked up this tool at a garage sale yesterday for a couple of bucks. The old gentleman that was having the sale was in his 70s or 80s and had a number of tools that were his father's - including a handsaw with a nib that just wasn't in good enough shape to turn back into a user, but was most likely over 100 years old. The pictures are of a tool that he couldn't identify, but that my eyes passed over until someone else asked him what it was. I had a guess at it & snagged it, just because it was a fun artifact. Other than lightly cleaning it I didn't do anything else to it. My teenage son used it successfully and quickly the very first time - the tool functions like new! 
Of course I had to try it & was amazed that it works better than modern replacements. As you can see, it has a point on the end, and an adjustable double-sided cutter that is set with a thumbscrew. The thumbscrew locks the cutter to the shaft of the tool. The cutter isn't particularly sharp, and is an arc, coming to a single point. Frankly, I don't think the cutter was any sharper when it was brand new. I showed my parents thinking that there was a chance that they wouldn't be able to identify & my Mom said that her Grandmother had one that she used all the time. She also said that they fell out of favor after the war (WW2) and that she hadn't seen any since then.
So, my question to you is: what is it? Instead of giving the answer away, I thought I'd give you a puzzler. If you know the answer, please don't post as a comment. email me with your guess and I'll send you a picture of it in use, or give you a hint if you are wrong - or heck, will just send you a pic / tell you if that is what you would prefer. Hope this is fun for you!
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2 comments:
Hum, I have no idea!!! But I could probably use it somehow on foam :D Obviously, not its intended purpose :)
Cheers!
Yeah, you'd probably want to modify the tool somewhat, but it would probably work in nearly the same fashion on the foam you use.
For anyone puzzled by this "hint" take a look at Chris's Blog which I link to under "Favorite Links" to see what kind of foam she is talking about.
I think I'll edit the post next week to include the answer! Thanks for all the email though!
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