# Help me identify this tool, please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116 "2003-01-17T00:47:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/21 "2003-01-17T04:43:59Z")
NORM-MESS may mean “standard measure,” but I don’t know if that’s actually etched on German tools. ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Nickel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5fc32e/32.png) [@Doc\_Nickel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Nickel)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/22 "2003-01-17T04:51:24Z")
It’s not a wire stripper. There’s no sharp cutting edges, let alone circular or V-grooved ones for wires. It’s not a “plier”, as in it’s supposed to grip something on it’s own, since the jaws are not serrated or grooved. I don’t know what it is, precisely, but my first guess is it’s supposed to aid the installation of a split ring of some sort, like a large piston ring perhaps. Or maybe a spring-band type hose clamp, similar to the old wire band types seen on sixties Dodges. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/23 "2003-01-17T06:23:51Z")
When you squeeze the handles, the jaws spread, right? then when you release them, they are pulled back into place by the springs, right? My WAG is that it’s used as a clamp; you open the jaws, put it on whatever, and when you let go it holds on by itself. It probably was made for a specific skill, a specific occupation. wha that would be, I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/24 "2003-01-17T06:43:12Z")
I set my friend Kat on it. Her dad’s an old rancher & her grandpa’s an even older one. She’ll show them the pic, see if they’ve ever seen one. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/25 "2003-01-17T07:06:28Z")
My guess is its for the manufacture or installation of barbed wire. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/26 "2003-01-17T07:36:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jack@ss \* > \*\*When you squeeze the handles, the jaws spread, right? then when you release them, they are pulled back into place by the springs, right? > > My WAG is that it’s used as a clamp; you open the jaws, put it on whatever, and when you let go it holds on by itself. It probably was made for a specific skill, a specific occupation. wha that would be, I have no idea. \*\* It doesn’t work quite like that. It can’t hold onto anything by itself - you always need pressure on the handgrips. I’ve [uploaded a few new images](http://www.pbase.com/mhendo/tool) that give you an idea of how it works. When you pick the tool up, the jaws are open and the handgrips are spread wide - see the first two photos. Then: 1. The images entitled **rest** and **rest closeup** show the position of the jaws before any pressure is applied. This is the way the tool is when no action is being performed. 2. Images **action\_1** and **action\_1 closeup 1** show the position of the jaws when the handgrips are closed about 3/4 of the way. The only action so far if that each set of jaws has closed. 3. Image **action\_1 closeup 2** is the same, but taken from a slightly different angle to show the fact that the springs are still fully compressed. 4. The image **final action** shows what happens when the handgrips are closed completely. As you can see, the two sets of jaws stay closed and spread apart, away from each other. You can also see the expansion in the spring, which makes this last part of the action quite a strain on the hand. You can also see that this last action involves a very small range of motion - i don’t think the distance between the two sets of jaws increases by more than about 1/3 of an inch, or about 8mm. The tool will not grip anything unless you are press the handgrips. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/27 "2003-01-17T07:48:35Z")
Here’s my guess. Presuming you are right-handed, you hold your clampypliers in your left hand, palm up. You hold a pair of scissors in the right. You grab the unrolled cloth or paper in front of you with the clampypliers, and snip the goods with the scissors, cutting away from your body. Simple. What do I win if I’m right? ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/28 "2003-01-17T08:12:27Z")
I have to agree with **Doc Nickel**. It looks an awful lot like a piston ring expander. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/29 "2003-01-17T14:48:17Z")
I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t look like any piston ring expander I’ve ever seen. Typical ring expanders go inside the ring or its gap to pry the ring open, and are capable of a fairly wide spread. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/30 "2003-01-17T15:12:38Z")
If DRP really is the German patent office, then a search of their archives (assuming they are online) might turn up something. Whatever it is, I want one too. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/31 "2003-01-17T15:13:27Z")
I think it is the second tool down, Item #200-003 for $14.99 in this catalogue. _I.e._ an[Eclipse wire stripper.](http://www.starkelectronic.com/eclstrip.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/32 "2003-01-17T15:33:34Z")
It is definitely for clamping down on a pipe/wire of a standard gauge, and seperating two joined parts, both of which are probably spring loaded into place on the part you are clamping. The reason the sdevice’s prings want to return the device back to the closed position is because whatever is being clamped/seperated needs to be returned to it’s original position before and as you release the clamp. Most like a specialized tool for something electrical. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/33 "2003-01-17T15:42:20Z")
The tool is clearly for gripping something and then stretching/expanding it, isn’t it? - I don’t go for the wire stripper explanation (although it was the first thing that sprang to my mind), as the jaws are the same on both sides; there’s not one cutting set and one gripping set. I reckon it could be a tensioning tool for some sort of fabric/upholstery/leather work. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/34 "2003-01-17T15:42:54Z")
Okay, while I’m being a curmudgeon, it doesn’t look like any wire stripper I’ve ever seen. The jaws are not even remotely configured to deal with insulated wire, and they’re too far apart. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/35 "2003-01-17T15:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philster \* > **The reason the sdevice’s prings want to return the device back to the closed position is because whatever is being clamped/seperated needs to be returned to it’s original position before and as you release the clamp.** Could **mhendo** clarify; on release, do the jaws open in the reverse sequence to that in which they closed or do they open in the same sequence. i.e. is it: On Close: Jaws ‘A’ close, then Jaws ‘B’ pull apart On Open: Jaws ‘B’ Release, then Jaws ‘A’ open Or On Close: Jaws ‘A’ close, then Jaws ‘B’ pull apart On Open: Jaws ‘A’ open, then Jaws ‘B’ release ?? ---
**Author:** ![Jammers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@Jammers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jammers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/36 "2003-01-17T15:55:06Z")
Looks a bit like an eyelash curler… ---
**Author:** ![NotMrKnowItAll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/37 "2003-01-17T16:10:25Z")
Those springs on the jaws of that device, are they attached in any fashion to the device. It looks like they’re just there. I see there is a “return action” spring, to coin a term between the handles already. Could it be possible that those springs on the jaw were added later? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/38 "2003-01-17T16:19:56Z")
All I could think of when I saw this thread title is that it was going to be about either a politician or a pop star. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/39 "2003-01-17T16:21:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > **I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t look like any piston ring expander I’ve ever seen.** It doesn’t look like any piston ring expander _I’ve_ ever seen, either. I meant that it looked to me that that was what its function was. The jaws are flat and smooth, and so certainly aren’t for insulation stripping. Neither are they for gripping wire. They look to be for the purpose of stretching something flat and smooth. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116/40 "2003-01-17T16:25:05Z")
That “return action spring” as you call it may just serve to spread the handles apart and “open” the jaws. The other springs provide tension in the other direction, the “spreading” direction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-tool-please/149116.md?page=3)