Mystery items

[jfgw]

1. What is this garden ornament?


2. Another garden ornament here but do you know what it really is?


3. What is this piece of plastic for?


4. Needless to say, these are needles but what are they for? ("Stitching" is not specific enough an answer!) Note the triangular hole left by one of them.


5. Not chopsticks for westerners!


6. A useful tool if you have a use for it.


7. You have seen this but you might not recognise it.


8. What is this?


9. And this?


10. Who would use one of these?


(Copyright note: all photos are mine.)


Julian F. G. W.

[staffordian]

No 8 - objective lens from a microscope?
No. 10 - Carpenter? It looks like the blade from a plane to me.

[jfgw]

No 8 - objective lens from a microscope?
No. 10 - Carpenter? It looks like the blade from a plane to me.

No. 8 is correct, it is an objective lens from a microscope.

No. 10 is not to do with carpentry, however.

Julian F. G. W.

[panamagold]

4) Leather stitching ?

6) Pipe or tube scriber/cutter ?

[Gengulphus]

3) Looks like a gauge to check whether letters meet the size requirements for 'standard letter' and 'large letter' postage. Knew I'd seen something very similar in action but took me a while to recall when - it was when posting a 'Signed For' letter at the Post Office counter...

Gengulphus

[Gengulphus]

9) A piece of old-fashioned metal type, used for manual typesetting before the introduction of more mechanised methods? The right hand end looks as though it would produce a letter 'C', and the groove in the middle would be part of the system for locking together all the characters so that the character-printing surfaces are all coplanar and so all do actually print when pressed against a flat sheet of paper.

Alternatively, possibly a metalworking stamp for impressing a letter into a piece of (reasonably soft) metal. I think that's less likely because I see no very obvious function for the groove, but that may just be a lack of imagination on my part!

Gengulphus

[AleisterCrowley]

7) looks like a mangled stapler

[UncleIan]

I think (4) are needles for whipping rope, or sailmakers needles.

[ReformedCharacter]

No. 10 Would be used by a beekeeper. It is a hive tool used for lifting frames out of hives and a few other tasks.

RC

[ReformedCharacter]

6. I think must be used for scribing lines around pipes, possibly to cut them.

7. I think this must be part of a window stay although I'm not sure!

RC

[jfgw]

Answers so far,

1.

2.

3. Correct answer Gengulphus, it is a "Helix Pricing in Proportion Ruler HP5" viewed from the back. I see that they are still available: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Helix-HP5010-P ... B000PIZAHA .

4. Correct answer UncleIan, those are sailmakers' needles.

5.

6. Nothing to do with scribing pipes.

7. Nothing to do with staples. Not a window stay but getting warmer.

8. Correct answer staffordian, it is a microscope objective.

9. Correct answer Gengulphus, it is a piece of type. I believe that the groove is purely to indicate which way up it goes otherwise letters such as "s" and "o" could easily be set upside-down, and "m" and "w", for example, could be confused. Type is mirror image so typesetters had to "mind their 'p's and 'q's". It is cast from a lead-based alloy so would be too soft for use as a metal stamp.

10. Spot on ReformedCharacter, it is a hive tool.


Julian F. G. W.

[paullidd]

7. Looks like the lead for stained glass windows.

[jfgw]

7. Looks like the lead for stained glass windows.

Correct answer paullidd, it is a piece of lead came.

Julian F. G. W.

[jfgw]

Let me know when you want some clues.

No. 5 is probably by far the most difficult if you don't know what it is. You may not even know that such a device is needed. Note that it springs open when released.

Julian F. G. W.

[AleisterCrowley]

Is #6 some sort of 'opener' ?
Looks to heavy to be a wine foil remover!

[staffordian]

Let me know when you want some clues.

No. 5 is probably by far the most difficult if you don't know what it is. You may not even know that such a device is needed. Note that it springs open when released.

Julian F. G. W.

A small slice of toast from toaster removing tool?

[AleisterCrowley]

It looks a bit food-related.
Snail eating implement?!

[jfgw]

Let me know when you want some clues.

No. 5 is probably by far the most difficult if you don't know what it is. You may not even know that such a device is needed. Note that it springs open when released.

Julian F. G. W.

A small slice of toast from toaster removing tool?

The plastic might melt.

Note that a key feature is that it springs open. It is not used like tweezers or pliers.

Julian F. G. W.

[jfgw]

It looks a bit food-related.
Snail eating implement?!

Not food related. Not snails, not any sort of fish, nor any other kind of food.

Julian F. G. W.

[PinkDalek]

Let me know when you want some clues.

No. 5 is probably by far the most difficult if you don't know what it is. You may not even know that such a device is needed. Note that it springs open when released.

Julian F. G. W.

Looks a little like a glove stretcher.