Calling All Detectives

[momma]

Lynn, I was trying to think of items that would be crushed, which made me think of vets. I didn't have much time to search though.
.....momma

[keykeeper]

Very Interesting. I was handed one of those tools a week ago. However, it was even older than this one, as the whole tool was made of what looked to be cast steel or iron. There was decorative holes in the handle area as well. However, there was a pat. date marked on the side. Patent date was May 3, 1881 I think.

I surmised at that time it was an old tool used to hold something flat. I further surmised maybe the tool was used in conjunction with another tool to hold old leather or rubber flat belting together while the ends were laced or glued to form a continuous belt.

I will have to search the patent date as time permits. There were over 300 patents for that date, I believe. If anyone else can view the patent pics, then maybe they will find it first.

Of course, I have been wrong before on my assumptions.

I will try to get some pics of the tool, if my friend still has it available.

[dowdstools]

I don't mind searching the patents if you can confirm the patent date.

Lynn

[bruce]

Well , my mom did't know either. She had seen one before too but couldn't remember. But she looked at it from the perspective of someone who has long collected and used kitchen gadgets. She thought as a squeezer it was out because it would take enormous hands to use effectively. Of course maybe the reason you don't see too many of them is because it isn't a very good design. Bruce

[dowdstools]

Thanks for checking, Bruce. She's right, it is kind of big for a squeezer. It would take two hands to operate.

Lynn

[keykeeper]

Lynn,

I'm pretty sure the patent date was May 3, 1881. There should be 326 patents listed for that date.

Aaron

[dowdstools]

Thanks, Aaron.

I'll go through them and see if I can find something that looks like this critter.

Lynn

[keykeeper]

Lynn,

I went through the first 100 patents for that date. Still haven't found it yet.
Any luck?

aaron

[dowdstools]

I went through all of them. Patent No. 240,858 was for a lemon squeezer, but it wasn't really the same tool. There were many more dissimilarities than similarities. Thanks for checking, though. I had fun looking at all the patent papers for horse tack, cultivators, plows, and such.

Lynn

[whitefork]

The object is a "Little Giant" nutcracker, patented in the US in 1881. I have this version: http://s802.photobucket.com/albums/yy302/whitefork/

I got the identification from the curator of the Nutcracker Museum in Leavenworth, KS.

Link to the only patent for a nutcracker I could find in 1881:
http://www.google.com/patents/about?...utcracker+1881