# What is this mystery tool?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 7, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577 "2021-04-07T23:38:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/1 "2021-04-07T23:38:41Z")
It superficially resembles an offset screwdriver-
[https://ibb.co/KscXXtb](https://ibb.co/KscXXtb)
-only it’s not because the head is all wrong:
end-on view:
[https://ibb.co/QPHzJJ4](https://ibb.co/QPHzJJ4)
top-down view:
[https://ibb.co/VDhLNML](https://ibb.co/VDhLNML)
Any idea? I have no idea how to describe this and image searches don’t turn up any matches.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/2 "2021-04-07T23:46:25Z")
It looks a lot like a hand crafted seam picker for old wooden boats. But considering how many things got repurposed into seam pickers, I wouldn’t bet that, that is what it is.
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### Author:  [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)
#### Post date: [April 7, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/3 "2021-04-07T23:55:22Z")
I initially thought it was modified from a Phillips Head screwdriver by grinding down one of the flanges. However only the rear flange narrows and the others are flat and even thickness, so that seems unlikely.
I’d be looking at traditional tuckpointing and plastering tool sets. Each craftsman would make or modify a tool to fit their own hand and preferred method of working. The modern mass-produced stuff is pretty different, so its probably part of a bespoke tool kit.
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### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/4 "2021-04-08T00:29:44Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#):
>
> I initially thought it was modified from a Phillips Head screwdriver by grinding down one of the flanges. However only the rear flange narrows and the others are flat and even thickness, so that seems unlikely.
>
> I’d be looking at traditional tuckpointing and plastering tool sets. Each craftsman would make or modify a tool to fit their own hand and preferred method of working. The modern mass-produced stuff is pretty different, so its probably part of a bespoke tool kit.
Hmm… that’s intriguing because it was in my basement along with a lot of stuff that clearly _is_ for plastering/ painting/ stucco. Only so far nothing that looks close.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/5 "2021-04-08T00:36:57Z")
It’s a special tool used to assemble a [Strange Grid Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-strange-grid-ball/646989).
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### Author:  [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/6 "2021-04-08T04:06:37Z")
There’s an active forum at reddit dedicated to important questions such as this.
> **[r/whatisthisthing](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/)**
>
> r/whatisthisthing: If you have an object and you don't know what it is, this is the place for you to search for an answer. We may not know the "why" …
It usually gets good answers.
And it’s a fun place to browse.
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### Author:  [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/7 "2021-04-08T07:25:33Z")
I can only access the first image. Looks like it’s used for prying. Judging by the dimensions in that one photo, I’ll say it wouldn’t be strong enough for much more than cabinet making or upholstery. For purposes that require greater force (automotive, etc.), I don’t think it would hold up after repeated use.
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### Author:  [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/8 "2021-04-08T07:39:24Z")
It’s just an ordinary pry tool
[Here’s a similar one someone is selling on eBay.](https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-12-Prybar-Pry-Bar-w-Wooden-Handle-/223696489984)
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### Author:  [@Stana\_Claus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stana_Claus)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/9 "2021-04-08T14:50:40Z")
My dad had a similar tool with a small v-shaped notch in the blade that he used for removing & reinstalling the springs connecting brake shoes on vehicles with drum brakes. Worked like a charm!
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### Author:  [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/10 "2021-04-08T15:01:24Z")
I’ve seen a nearly identical tool used for removing the “burner” plates from wood burning stoves.
[ ](https://www.ourtinyhomestead.com/uploads/2/5/5/4/25543192/9993776.jpg?417)
See the little notch in each burner on top? You stick the tool in the notch to remove the plate without burning yourself.
I have no way of knowing if that was the original intended use for the tool or someone just being creative with an existing tool.
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### Author:  [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/11 "2021-04-08T15:21:53Z")
> [@alovem](#):
>
> I can only access the first image.
Ditto. The other two “don’t exist.”
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### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/12 "2021-04-08T15:45:30Z")
Sorry about that, I needed to click “don’t delete” for the host site to keep them. Here’s the new links:
> **[mystery-tool-top hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/HgJtW4j)**
>
> Image mystery-tool-top hosted in ImgBB
> **[mystery-tool-end-on hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/r6y2kKZ)**
>
> Image mystery-tool-end-on hosted in ImgBB
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/13 "2021-04-08T15:49:13Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#):
>
> I have no way of knowing if that was the original intended use for the tool or someone just being creative with an existing tool.
Can’t see any great detail in the first (and only) image, but there are a lot of tools made with an offset handle and many others that started out as something else and ended up looking like that.
I have some tools with similar shapes in different sizes, they all serve as pry bars and picks and spreaders and packing tools, or whatever use is needed at the end of an offset shaft.
So what we have here is a “5 in 1 Offset Multifunction Tool”. Which 5 functions were originally intended is hotly debated among tool enthusiasts.
ETA: The two other photos are now available. It does look like it was made from a Phillips head screwdriver. Purpose still variable.
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### Author:  [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/14 "2021-04-08T16:51:19Z")
The obligatory “marital aid”.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/15 "2021-04-08T17:06:08Z")
Man, I’d forgotten that thread. I really wanted to know the answer!
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-mystery-tool/939577/16 "2021-04-08T18:47:41Z")
Could even be a hand-made weeding tool for narrow spaces between garden plants, or for in windowboxes.