What is it? XLVI

On Thursday 27 Jan 2005 9:39 am, R.H. scribbled:

#257, bottle cap opener. My parents used to have one. At least, that's what we used it for.

Rob - what was the lovely brass contraption from a month or so ago.

254 - a very bicycle lamp

255,256 no idea

257 pan handle - for the camping billycan that come in a nest and you have the handle (that fits all) inside the smallest - although on second thoughts it is the wrong shape

258 is a knife sharpener - the blade sits tween the +ve and

-ve bits shown and it is pulled allong blade. the black metal guard is to stop the blade hitting fingers if you slip or get to the end of the knife and dont stop.

its a seriously bad design: you're meant to put knife on table and draw thing along blade (the black guard then hits the table and stops injuryif you slip) - but people tend to hold the knife in one hand and the sharpener in the other - this lead to the knife and the knuckles coming together ( once you have slipped the guard just diverts the blade onto another bit of the finger). use a wall mounted sharpener - or better still a steel.

259 a specialist key? (in the shape of a side arm batton) tell me it is not a police locker key! or is a peashooter?

thanks and regards

matthew

• Matthew Newell

A signal lamp? For boats or road workers.

255 shoemaker's tool?

256 a sewing machine?

A bottle opener?

Or a cloth cutter (aka scissors).

A silencer?

259 Hand Cuff Key

254 is a turns-counting helipot dial, made by maybe clarostat or bournes. 256 is a specialized sewing machine foot.

257 is a bottle opener

259 is a handcuff key.

Jim

254: Itty bitty shielded lantern 255: Stamping tool -- you held this over the die and hit it with a hammer. 256: Sewing machine part? 257: Bottle opener 258: Junk, given that it's from the "Creative Sales company" It would appear that they claim it's a knife and scissor sharpener. 259: Janitor's tool; opens paper towel and toilet paper dispensers

257 is a paint can opener

Agreed. For a ten-turn pot, with the first digit counting actual complete turns, and the other two showing tenths and hundredths of a turn.

The little tab at the bottom left is a friction lock to keep the setting from drifting or being changed casually.

I don't think so. It looks too massive and does not appear to be jointed in such a way as to work for that.

It looks, in part (left-hand end), like some sort of spring-loaded electrical contact -- perhaps for testing a rotor for a distributor or something similar.

Agreed -- for the broad mouth bottle lids like used to come on applesauce jars.

More that that -- it is a particularly large version. My guess is that it is the kind used in prisons when transporting prisoners. It is too big to hide away, and can be chained to the correction's officer's belt. The end near the ring is for double-locking the cuffs -- so they can't be made tighter or looser. Until that is done, they can be tightened just by squeezing them. The right-angle handle gives control for turning it at some distance from the hands of the person wearing them. With them this long, the person wearing them can't really get a grip on the key to unlock the cuffs even if he *does* get hold of the key. The standard keys are much smaller, and could allow someone to unlock himself.

255) A wrench for a bung plug for chemical drums, I think.

258) is a knife and scissors sharpener. I've got one resting on my lap as I type. Moulded into the black finger guard (and not readable in the image is:

BYERS' CREATIVE SALES & MFG. CO. WHITEFISH MONT. 59937 PAT NO. 4510824

The knife blade is sharpened in the V at the end, and the scissors blade is sharpened in the square notch on the side visible in the second and third photos.

Enjoy, DoN.

Multi turn knob for an electronic instrument. Digits show thru the 3 windows on top to indicate how many turns have been dialed. The sliding lever on the bottom locks it from turning.

Art

Along with answers to the previous set, which includes a photo showing the entire object seen in #248 and an explanation of the multi-tool in pic #249.

I was doing some research on the web and finally confirmed the answer to #237, which we had previously determined to be a modified Starrett nipper. It is actually a typewriter repair tool, used to nip the back or front of a typewriter bar. I found one just like it on ebay:

Based on this, I'm also changing my answer on #243 from "either a typewriter tool or a wire stripper" to definitely a typewriter repair tool, since it was found in the same tool box as #237. According to a typewriter expert on the web, #243 was used for adjusting the type bars by bending them one way or the other. Several people did post these answers correctly, but I had been unable to verify them until now, so thanks to them for pointing me in the right direction.

Rob

#259 is a handcuff key, um, keychain.

The end in the second photo is to open handcuffs (like you would expect) and the other end is to lock them in place, i.e., so they won't tighten up. The key ring part is for putting keys unrelated to handcuffs on.

-Phil Crow

Oops. Forgot to type #254.

Art

Along with answers to the previous set, which includes a photo showing the entire object seen in #248 and an explanation of the multi-tool in pic #249.

I was doing some research on the web and finally confirmed the answer to #237, which we had previously determined to be a modified Starrett nipper. It is actually a typewriter repair tool, used to nip the back or front of a typewriter bar. I found one just like it on ebay:

Based on this, I'm also changing my answer on #243 from "either a typewriter tool or a wire stripper" to definitely a typewriter repair tool, since it was found in the same tool box as #237. According to a typewriter expert on the web, #243 was used for adjusting the type bars by bending them one way or the other. Several people did post these answers correctly, but I had been unable to verify them until now, so thanks to them for pointing me in the right direction.

Rob

This one isn't a lamp.

Nope

Not part of a sewing machine

Correct

Sharpener was right.

Not a silencer.

Correct.

These aren't correct.

Yes

Correct, that's what they claim.

Nope

It would certainly work as a paint can opener, but that wasn't its primary purpose.

>

I don't think it's for an electronic instrument, but the rest of your answer is correct.

Correct, it's a counter, didn't know it was a helipot type. This one was made by The George W Borg Corporation, Janesville, Wis.

Nope, not part of sewing machine.

These last two are correct.

This one might be a little different than the one you have in mind, one complete turn (by hand) of the silver dial counts from 0 to 36, up to 999.

Yes.

I agree that it's not part of a sewing machine but I don't think it's for anything electrical.

I thought it was for soda bottles, I've never used an opener on applesauce jars.

Thanks for the info, I didn't realize the value of a longer key, thought it was more of a novelty. I got it from a military surplus store.

Wrench is correct, but not for bungs.

My husband *thinks* that it may be part of a specialized adjustable plane. More than that he's not venturing.

Barb