7 minutes ago, Gary Hanscom said:

I'm with Herb on this one. Looked everywhere with no success...coal mining, rock breaking, railroading, firefighting, everything! It looks like it is a very specialized tool, does one and only one thing. The flat sides appear to show little or no use...like one would see if it was used in pounding staples/nails/pins etc. The hooked ends combined with the worn "handle protector/strengtheners" ends seem to imply a rocking motion for pulling/prying something like rope/wire etc. And the metal pieces along side the handle appear to serve a dual purpose...strengthening of the wooden handle as well as providing protection against striking the handle on a hard object. I even thought of it being used in steel erection...something used to align rivet/bolt holes...or farm equipment pieces. Alas, nothing like it!!

Gary

Good job on the research Gary, these are fun aren't they!

The handle protectors also serve as "wedges" to hold the head onto the handle.  

 

The "hooks" are there to pry either a staple, or a loop of some sort. 

 

I doubt IF it was used as a "Boarding Axe"  sort of operation.

 maybe it's a can opener......

I give up whats next? Maybe it is related to the one before a morticians tool. Dr. Frankenstein's work bench and tool kit.

Herb

8 minutes ago, Dadio said:

I give up whats next? Maybe it is related to the one before a morticians tool. Dr. Frankenstein's work bench and tool kit.

Herb

Don't feel bad Herb, the folks at MWTCA can't get these either, and they are pro's. They live and breath this stuff and these are just some of the outstanding items they can't figure out either.

Starting the New Year off, if we don't get an answer to a What's It by the end of the month, we'll hold a random drawing for everyone who participated in that current months What's It, and the winner will win a one year membership to MWTCA. The whole idea and goal of this project is to raise awareness of the MWTCA, and convert our members, to MWTCA members as well. We have not been able to meet that goal this year, so next year, we'll start handing the memberships out if What's It mystery of the month is not solved.

I will say John these are educational in that you see tools you have never seen before just looking for this one.

Herb

Someone want to take a shot and contact this guy? Maybe he knows or knows someone who has an idea.

 

http://www.hammermuseum.org/

maybe it' not even a hammer...

John, Sorry to be so long answering your question and hit the tool into the lumber but you did not have to hit it into the lumber for with the sharp points all you had to do was to just hook into the corner of the piece of the wood to turn it over or on it's side. The same thing is on the idoit stick if you look.

26 minutes ago, Ralph Allen Jones said:

John, Sorry to be so long answering your question and hit the tool into the lumber but you did not have to hit it into the lumber for with the sharp points all you had to do was to just hook into the corner of the piece of the wood to turn it over or on it's side. The same thing is on the idoit stick if you look.

Now THAT would make sense! The peens (or points) have a barb to catch the edge of a board, and the straps would prevent damage to the handle. That would also explain why there are no scratches on the head, since wood is softer than steel!

John

It is a destruction hammer revenuers used during prohibition to bust up the whiskey barrels and pry the tops off.

 

1 hour ago, HandyDan said:

It is a destruction hammer revenuers used during prohibition to bust up the whiskey barrels and pry the tops off.

 

 

Oh, those lucky sewer rats...

When I saw the picture I thought they were looking for Jimmy Hoffa.

Herb

1 hour ago, Dadio said:

When I saw the picture I thought they were looking for Jimmy Hoffa.

Herb

....or disposing of him!

John

forgot to insert the quote

Edited December 8, 20169 yr by Chips N Dust

6 hours ago, HandyDan said:

It is a destruction hammer revenuers used during prohibition to bust up the whiskey barrels and pry the tops off.

 

 

There is probably someone down it the manhole with a bucket catching the product...

Just now, Chips N Dust said:

There is probably someone down it the manhole with a bucket catching the product...

Probably was just a big funnel hooked to a pipe and pumping it back into a storage tank a block down. Remember, Capone controlled "the underworld" too!

8 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Probably was just a big funnel hooked to a pipe and pumping it back into a storage tank a block down. Remember, Capone controlled "the underworld" too!

Too much trouble for just a barrel's worth of beer.....flat and warm, to boot. 

Edited December 9, 20169 yr by steven newman

This is one of the board sticks (which i'm guessing is what Ralph is talking about)...????

Edited December 10, 20169 yr by p_toad

Heres a lil knoledge for ya. This is an extractor. In the olden days it was used to knock out bad teeth and the the barbs were to snag and snatch you back up to your feet after passing out hahaha

I was thinking today that it might have been a shipwrights tool for removing the caulking from between the planking on a ships hull. However a search did not reveal anything.

Herb