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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: AntiquesOnTheSide on November 20, 2009, 09:58:48 AM
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My wife has been collecting antiques for a very long time but this one has her stumped. What is this!
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That is a good one, have never seen anything like it. Can't even come up with a good guess as to what it may have been made to use for.
With the pointed ends it looks like it may have been used to separate "layers" or "bundles" of something or to crush or grind something. ??? :-\
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How heavy is it? Is it hollow or solid? Where did it come from? It looks like some kind of old kitchen utensil but I can't imagine what.
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It is not heavy. It is hollow and made of tin. It is rough on the outside of the cylinder but not sharp like a grater. It remains a mystery.
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Maybe it was somebody's high school metal shop class project the object being to create these shapes and then solder them together. But it doesn't really do anything. Just a thought.
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This reminds me of something that was used in the cotton industry......
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to me it looks like a cornbread mold.
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I may have an idea of what this was used for .
I'd like to know if the bottom (roughed/punched) of this item is either fairly , or lightly worn down .
Perhaps an Image of this surface could be posted by you ?
Cool little item that Mrs. AntiquesOnTheSide picked up .
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This is a good one. Looks with the pointed ends like it would be swung from side to side to comb some kind of material (like cotton as suggested above) or maybe some kind of food like cotton candy. Hmmm... It definitely has the appearance of a kitchen tool, since the pointed ends are not bashed in, that to me would indicate it was something NOT done in a confined space like a tub, where you would hit against the sides. It's not rusty, so it wouldn't have gone into liquid.
LOL and I have to add it would double as a handy-dandy self-defense implement, should any undesirables invade the kitchen while it was being used!! :o
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I like the later definition....my grandmother could have wielded that sucker real well when all the grandkids barged in! LOL
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"YOU KIDS KEEP YOUR GRUBBY LITTLE FINGERS OUT OF THAT PIE!!!!!"
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do the ends have holes in the ends? i was thinking maybe some type of bee smoker. i have never seen one like it but it made me think of a bee smoker. just a guess
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No holes on the ends. No signs of wear at all on the bottom or anywhere for that matter. The bottom and both sides have dimples made from the inside that do not penetrate the tin.
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It has no "door" or opening in it either, right? I have been racking my brain on this one, trying to thing of what you could do with such a thing!
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HA, I got it. ;D ;D ;D
It was used for washing clothes.
That thingy would scrub the dirt right out of them and it wouldn't sink in a tub of hot soapy water.
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Very good! But was this back when clothes were washed by hand or when there were automatic washers?
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Prove it cogar!!! :O
Confused on why the pointed ends if it was for clothes!
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KC , maybe cogar was thinking of those Madonna torpedo-shaped thingies ....?
I'm pretty sure this is a kitchen item .
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Hmmm... Cogar m'dear, I'm gonna have to challenge that answer too. I think the punched tin would be too harsh on the clothing and the soapy water would rust it up in no time, then you'd have rust stains on your clothes.
Hey... here's a novel idea, could it be a tool that you would form ice cream cones around, and the cone dough would cool the way you form fortune cookies, they harden after they are baked? (Don't know, never made 'em. Off to google this one)
LOL KC!!
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Oooh!! I might be onto something here- turns out that ice cream cones date to 1904 and they are formed by grilling the batter on a flat iron, then formed into a cone shape, then the ends are pinched to seal them. Maybe, just maybe, this thing is an ice cream cone maker?!! Can anyone find one?
One other possibility, do you guys remember the old Victorian Christmas treat cones that you would fill up with treats and hang from the tree? Could it be for forming those?
History of ice cream cones source info:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/IceCreamCones.html (http://www.joyofbaking.com/IceCreamCones.html)
Good job for inspiring a search by suggesting "cones" KC!!! LOL!!!
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I make my own cones , using a krumkaka iron , as is common in "custom" ice cream shops .
The cooked 'dough' is removed from the irons , while hot , then wrapped around a tapered dowel .
You're getting real close to the use of this little tin item , though , talesof .
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Took the words right out of my fingers again regjoe!
Tales of they are formed on wooden dowels into the cone shape. Have done this many times!
This could have been a torture device! :) OUCH!
Could be used to split open coconuts! :)
Love these "what is it" posts!
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Hmmm... Cogar m'dear, I'm gonna have to challenge that answer too. I think the punched tin would be too harsh on the clothing and the soapy water would rust it up in no time, then you'd have rust stains on your clothes.
Uh, Tales, there were literally tens of millions of tin kitchen implements that the soapy dish water did NOT rust them up in no time and …. and …… and what can I say, to wit:
It is not heavy. It is hollow and made of tin. It is rough on the outside of the cylinder but not sharp like a grater. It remains a mystery.
Prove it cogar!!! :O
Confused on why the pointed ends if it was for clothes!
KC, look at this picture, to wit:
(http://livinghistorytx.com/Castroville/5washtub.jpg)
Now picture that woman holding that tin “thingy” rather than the washboard.
Having blunt ends would make it more likely to “snag” on the clothes one was scrubbing ……. and oval ends are not an easy thing for a tinsmith to be making unless it was mass produced and then a die would have had to been made to form them.
And if you look at the picture AntiquesOnTheS posted you can clearly see the “dimples” in the tin were “hand punched” and thus not mass produced.
And KC, I am not definitely stating that is a “clothes scrubber”, but it is a definitely possibility that that is what it was made for.
Cheers
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HEY!!! Who snapped that pic of me doing laundry?!!!
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Just messin with you cogar!
Have seen washboards for years...even used them a few times at grandma's - she said there were some things that new machines couldn't do! (Yeah, punish a kid for gettin too dirty! Ha!)
The item does have a "rasping" quality!
This is gonna drive me crazy.....gotta stick with this one and find out what it is!
What part of the country was it from?
Meat tenderizer?
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That's not Tales doin laundry, that's Sarah Palin doin laundry, Alaska style.
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:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
OMG I just totally burst out laughing in the middle of a restaurant!!!!!!!!!!
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WHAT IS SO SAD....WHEN I LOOKED AT IT AGAIN....I CAN PICTURE SARA! I laughed out loud too! She wouldn't be ashamed!
Showed it to several friends...they all agreed that it would snag clothes. wash board have wavy metal that has smooth surfaces.
It is more of a rasp/grater.
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Alright then ... here's what I think you've got :
a fondant tool .
My guess on it's age would be from the time/era when the use of dragees was a very novel/popular presentation .
This would also be handy for simulating citrus skin , and other textures ..
Let them eat cake !
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A what?
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A little disingenuous to be turning an antique forum into a liberal partisan podium.
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Liberally sprinkled with French Dragees .
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Having expertise in the culinary field I am sure it could have been used to decorate fondant....and the ends could have been used to roll it into shapes for flowers, etc. But....still don't think that is it.
Dragees were created in 13th Century by the French and were sugar lumps used originally for medicine dispensement. They later became decoration for confections. (More people are familiar today with the gold and silver dragees that adorn cakes and cookies.) So, RJ.....not for makding dragees. http://cache.fancyflours.com/fancyflours/images/items/dragees-multicolor-4mm.jpg (http://cache.fancyflours.com/fancyflours/images/items/dragees-multicolor-4mm.jpg) However, it could have made dimples for placement of dragees!
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KC ... had no idea that you are/were a Brother Rat in the food world !
Yes , the dimpling was what I'd referred to .
Former C.I.A. (upstate N.Y.) grad here , specific to French Cuisine .
A student chef there had a machine-made device that looked sim to this one , except it was a bisected cylinder with a cone on one end & was stainless .
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And just what do you all think this wooden implement was used for?
(http://www.plimoth.org/blogs/village/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/b_attledore_front098309485039845.jpg)
And when you get through guessing ……. then click on the following “hyperlink” to find out its real purpose.
My So-Called Pilgrim Life (http://www.plimoth.org/blogs/village/?tag=washing-machine)
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I agree this new one is a laundry bat...but I would use it also for making designs on shortbread cookies ! LOL
Sent this out to many friends and many thought it was a loom shuttle...but there no place for the thread to attach and the handle and dimpling would only snag.
Could have been used to rip sugar cane and mash it for the juice! Originally thought it was for flax but couldn't find anything similar!
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Interesting link! I think it also could double as a paddle to ensure that the children grew up to become upstanding members of pilgrim society!
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Would definitely leave interesting marks on hinneys!
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LOL as a reminder of what they had done to get in trouble!!!
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I have 2 images I wanted to upload with this, but to ease the suspense I will post what I can at this time, to wit: ........
Well, it appears there are a lot of them.
Thanks to my wife, the expert sleuth, …. and the good luck of having the right reference books.
To wit, the 1st picture below is:
Tin grater w/handle, 15” long, $65, Iowa.
Page 47 of:
Country Furniture and Accessories – Book II
by Swedberg - 1984
But sorry about that, ;D ;D …… it is not a “grater” either. But iffen you want to sing, someone could play you a tune on it according to, to wit:
“It is a musical instrument, Jamaican, Bermudian or West Indian, mid 20th Century.”
Exerted from Page 41 of:
300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles – 3rd Edition
by Linda Campbell Franklin
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Cogar I have the 300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles – 5th Edition
by Linda Campbell Franklin
never would have thought to look there great sleuthing !!! props to your wife!!!!
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A real good 'bingo' , (Mrs.) Cogar !
Something about the item just did not fit 100% with what I , and others were thinkin' !
We've all got a new one for the memory bank !
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Thank you Mrs. Cogar! I have that book and tried to find it but must have missed the description. Mystery solved. I will be posting another mystery that maybe you can help me with. Thanks again. Anne
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I even sent pics of it to old tool sites to see if they could figure it out!
Thanks for the info and look forward to seeing pics!
I just love these "what is it" thingies!
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Can you upload the pic from the book? I'd love to see it! I'd suggest using Photobucket since the forum is maxed. That's what I always use.
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OK, I uploaded the images to Photobucket and here they should appear as per Tales instructions.
To wit, the 1st picture below is of:
Tin grater w/handle, 15” long, $65, Iowa.
Page 47 of:
Country Furniture and Accessories – Book II
by Swedberg - 1984
(http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af315/SamC_40/tingrater.jpg)
But, it is really a musical instrument, Jamaican, Bermudian or West Indian, mid 20th Century as per, to wit:
Exerted from Page 41 of:
300 Years of Kitchen Collectibles – 3rd Edition
by Linda Campbell Franklin
(http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af315/SamC_40/Jamaicanmusicinstrument.jpg)
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Thanks you for taking the time to post the information and the picture. This has been a real fun one.
Anyone know what the topic/item of the longest running thread was? I bet this one is in on the running!!!
Thank you again Mrs Cogar and Cogar for making our days adventurous!