What is it? LXVIII

#390 Pneumatic tool of some sort #391 Fuel filter? #393 Hay knife?

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

388. The key ring of a man from Boringvania. 389. Steam gun for cleaning flight suits after really exciting maneuvers! 390. Ancient Inca cigarette filter. Petrified. 391. Shower shoes. See #389 for more explanation. 392. "Beerdriver" for the real mechanics. 393. Hard drive partitioner tool.

Is the Space Shutte made out of steel!? >>8-O

Nick

Of course not -- but a thin layer of steel on the walking surfaces could work with such shoes.

And it might not have been for the shuttle, but perhaps for one of the stations (SpaceLab, or one of its successors.

Enjoy, DoN.

I'm in. How much?

Ob. Puzzle: Did the previous poster check the links I provided?

Looks like they've all been answered correctly, but I'm not sure about 392:

388. Scratch test needles 389. Reaction propulsion pistol, this device was tested in zero gravity aircraft flights as a means of individual maneuvering in free fall. 390. Dart sharpener 391. Magnetic boots, these were used in experiments in zero gravity aircraft flights to determine their utility for space operations. 392. When I posted this set, I thought that this was a brake shoe retaining spring tool like the one shown in this link:

Others here seem sure that it's for knurled nuts, but I haven't found a link to see an example of one. This tool is marked "Blackhawk ZT1010", I did a search but couldn't find anything about it on the web.

392. Ulu knife or possibly a mezzaluna knife, they both look similar.

Rob

Thanks for the link.

O.K. Once others started guessing/identifying it as that, I decided that they were more likely to be right than I was.

[ ... ]

I just tried to find my examples to photograph them, but they are not in the toolboxes where I expected them.

I guess that the trick is whether the knurls form a straight cylinder or whether they are tapered. If a straight cylinder, it would be a knurled nut tool, if tapered, it could be to grip the edges of the disc-shaped retainers on brake shoes.

O.K. Those are names for them -- but what are they *used* for?

Enjoy, DoN.

A standard size switch knurled nut is about .590" diameter, although I think I've seen larger, less common ones.

The end opening on my K-D Tools pin retainer tool is about .833 diameter (and tapering inward). I didn't have a new retainer to measure.

WB ................

Older knurled dress nuts *are* tapered. They have a rather nice, rounded profile. More recent ones are straight in cross-section.

Neither nor, it was made for the MIR! Drop forged and riveted.

Nick

The one I have is about the same size with a slight taper, so I'll probably go with the "brake shoe retaining spring tool" answer unless I find some evidence that it's for something else.

Rob

According to an anonymous comment on my site:

"Cataloged as a "Mincing Knife". An exact image of this one shows up in an

1865 Russell & Erwin Hardware catalog."

Ulu knives are for multiple purposes, as mentioned on this site:

I use mine for cutting pizza.

Rob

Unfortunately they were displayed so that the bottom was not visible, you would think that they would mount them with one showing the top and the other one showing the bottom, maybe I'll suggest that to the museum.

Rob

Anything an Eskimo needs a knife for. Once on some "National Geographic"-type show I saw a clip of someone using one to split stick matches in two so they'd get twice as many lights per box.

Cheers! Rich