What is it? Weekend Edition 6

If you have any left

garden:

#23, my first thought was a dent puller or similarly functioning tool. Cork screw?

Sonny

In some ways it resembles a hood ornament from a car. Of course, one might expect a little more symmetry at the top for that.

Bill

#24 is a picture frame. It's intended to be carried in the pocket or luggage of a traveling man. Back in the days when traveling involved a train or a steamship or a dirigible, a quick business trip meant you might be away from your family for a month. It's a more manly version of the locket.

Paul K. Dickman

That's exactly what I was thinking it was for.

Rob

Or perhaps a frame for holding and displaying identication documents?

Concur.

The center hole appears to have the same volume as the others, about 4 cubic inches or 65ml. That's big enough for the contents of an egg, but who would want to cook eggs that way?

The 7 holes could be to ration something used daily for a week.

Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya, Use more, only if you dare, But watch out, The gals will all pursue ya,-- They'll love to put their fingers through your hair.

Was it made for Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd? He used so much Brylcreem that under the stage lights it would melt and run down over his face.

Rob H. wrote the following:

Bung remover for a wine barrel?.

Hair loss could be why Brylcreem should be used sparingly.

1. 3-1/2" long, someone found this underground in their garden:
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   CY: Somhow, the small hook looks like it's meant to hang on a rod or something.

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   CY: My sense is a halyerd (probably spelt that wong). On a boat, or side of building. You'd pilot hole and then screw this in. The dark part would be used for securing a rope.

2. The owner's description: It opens and closes and it has an attached brass square that flips down.It has two brass squares that are not attached.It is marked Made in Germany so it predates WWII.only about

1. 8" diameter:
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   CY: Nothing comes to mind.

Those who know the ropes usually spell it C-L-E-A-T, but when they tell you to secure a line to one they spell it H-A-L-Y-A-R-D.

Here's a picture of one.

One thing I noticed is that there appear to be finger-sized depressions on the top of one of the wings, giving me the idea that it is to be held in some way, but not used as a pull, or the depressions would be on the underside. Mouse

I think we have the correct answer for the picture frame, but I haven't been able to confirm any of guesses for the other items.

The last one, the wooden container with 7 compartments, slightly resembles a cobbler's nail holder, which is usually made of iron, has eight compartments and is heavy. This wooden container could be portable nail holder, both containers can be seen here:

Rob

Spelled it wrong, and got the wrong name. Is it obvious, I'm neither a sailor, nor a Navy man?

Thanks, I learned something.

Here's what the compartments made me think of:

The hole in the center of a star nail cup is for the spindle of a lazy susan. The compartments are apparently shaped to keep nails parallel so the cobbler can quickly judge their length. The compartments are shallow so the cobbler can see well. They are rounded to make it easy to pick up a nail.

The mystery item doesn't have these advantages. A traveling cobbler might do better to put an eye bolt through the hole, for carrying and to hold down a flat cover. Otherwise, he might use a rectangular tray with shallow compartments.

Pipe tobacco! A 65ml compartment would hold about 1/2 ounce or 15 grams. That would probably be 3 - 15 pipes, depending on the size of the bowl and the amount of tamping. A bored smoker might smoke more in a day, and it probably wouldn't be good for him.

A pound should last a month, but not if the smoker gets carried away. A sailor or rancher, for example, would have to plan his consumption. He fills his portable humidor for the week and starts on a new compartment each day. At the end of the week he's within his budget. He may have leftover tobacco in some or all compartments. He can use it to celebrate or to extend the time before he refills.

He could apply drops of water to the thick wood to keep the tobacco suitably moist.

Rats! I meant through the hole in a cast-iron star nail tray.

I don't know what to make of that, but there appears to be vegetation at the collar and dried mud in the threads. I don't know why anyone would screw it into the ground except to clean out holes in timbers or concrete.

If something were seasonally laid on concrete or timbers and pins kept it from sliding, could this item be a sort of awl to clean out the holes for the pins?