A friend of mine collects antique tools, mostly from farming and logging operations. He acquired this strange object and doesn’t know what it is or what it is used for. Anybody have any ideas?
(The rope in the pic is not part of the tool.) It appears to be sharpened at the triangular end and fits a hand well on the other. It does not look like it was intended to be struck with a hammer, as the end is rounded. It is very heavy, solid iron, and approximately 10-12 inches long (I didn’t measure it, just going from memory).
Or if it’s not a tool, could it be a component part of something else?
Second question…anyone know of a good message board to communicate with other antique tool buffs? (Insert joke here)
It does look like a reamer, bit I don’t think it can be, as there’s hardly any way to apply torque.
It looks as though it is designed to wedge between some tightly fitting things, leaving a channel open for threading something through. On a much smaller scale, similar looking tools are used to make coiled baskets.
Awful heavy. And why would it have the triangular part? Why not just a pointy part?
Almost same shape, but not quite. It would have to be a very industrial pipe.
I think you’re the closest, since the other tools this guy has are from logging sources. But why would it be better to split a log 3 ways instead of 2? Just for kicks?
But if it’s a log splitter, I’d expect that the non-pointy end to be suitable for hitting with a sledgehammer and as said, that looks like it’s meant for a hand.
That’s what I thought, but it’s so beefy you could hit it with a sledge and not leave much of a mark. Maybe you just use it to start a 3-way crack, then use a standard wedge to finish the job?
Looks like some kind of chopping tool, for chopping something into smaller pieces. There are two of them, so one for each hand. Move them up and down like pistons.
Although what you would be chopping like that, I dunno.
Or maybe they’re for cleaning sawdust out of…something.
I like the log splitting idea and have a theory about why 3 and not 2. The biggest problem I have when driving a wedge to split a log is that it continues to tip sideways in the crack. But a 3 cornered splitter wouldn’t have that problem- it can’t tip in its downward motion!
The nubbin/point also is explainable as a “pilot hole” maker as it is starting.
Looks like a heavy-duty corner chisel. Probably for shaping corners on large hand-hewn beams. The flat parts were shaped with axe and adz, the corners were formed with this piece.
SS
Well I was thinking about a cornering or mortising chisel, but the back doesn’t appear to be shaped right. Possibly meant for that purpose to finish a mortise after a round hole has been augered out, but the handle appears to be better designed for a handgrip than for striking with a mallet. It may be made of iron, even cast iron, requiring much heavier construction than an equivalent tool made of steel.
The one you link to works on inside corners that are 90 degrees - quite useful.
The OP’s object would work only on outside corners of 120 degrees - very rare. It’s also made of a material (iron) that will not take an edge that cuts wood well. And note that on outside corners a standard flat chisel works just fine.
Looks like cast iron to me. You can see the seam where the two halves of the mold met. Cast iron is usually very brittle and does not hold up well to being struck with a hammer.
Musicat, is there really a center point, like it appears in the bottom photo, or is that a trick of the photo?
What about a tool for cutting a cylindrical hole? Pound it, rotate it a bit, pound it, rotate it, etc. and you could chip out a a rough cylindrical hole. That’s assuming you wouldn’t or couldn’t use a drill bit for that large of a hole back then. (IANACarpenter.) (On preview, IANAIroncaster either.)
I think is is meant to for processing some hard agricultural product or frangible mineral, swung by hand to split and break it up. I work with wood every day, if you were to try to split a log with this you wood injure your wrist. Maybe some soft pulpy wood product, but nothing like regular wood, unless it was only a few inches deep.
It is not a reamer, the striking surface is flat, and it is not designed to apply a torque, making it completely useless to ream a pipe. There would be no reason to build a reamer so heavy either. If you were to strike the end of a pipe with this it would create three indentations on the end of the pipe, but I cant imagine what that would be useful for, and striking a hard metal object with this would be very bad for your wrist.
The end is chiseled, like an axe or an adze. The three tined design suggests it is meant to strike a surface perpendicularly, not at an angle like an adze or chisel. The third tine would give it stability in this application as mentioned above. The tines are damaged in places much like an axe or chisel is when you hit something harder than its intended target.
I do not think it is a wedge meant for maintaining separation in something you are splitting, the three tined design would be bad for this unless the striking surface was tapered, not flat like it is.
The most similar modern thing I can think of would be a vegetable chopper. It looks to be pretty similar but intende for something a little more beefy than a carrot.
I’m thinking like FluffyBob, some sort of pestle for mashing up some sort of food substance (corn, maybe). If that’s the case, then there’s probably a matching bowl-like object made of similarly hard material to mash against (more iron, or maybe stone).
Usually cedar shakes are made by quartering the log with a froe. This tool would give you more wide shakes from the log than quartering would.
Started with a hand mallet, then one blow from a beetle to split it.
