Has a patent date of 1881

[coolford]

Thanks to skipskip I have this item which he included with some items I bought.  At first I though it was blacksmith made, but it does have a patent.  First picture closed, second open.

[lptools]

Nice!! Looks like some sort of rope, or, cable grab? Just a guess!!

[wrenchguy]

Barbed wire?

[Northwoods]

Barbed wire?

That seems likely.

[coolford]

Probably barbed wire, as 1881 is around the time that a lot of barbed wire was being patented.  This item is unique in that I have never seen another wire grabber/puller that used a curved ring to close the jaw.  Something was attached to the ring, maybe a horse, block and tackle or ???

[Danks]

Looks like it could be a wire stretcher - US Patent 241,663, May 17, 1881 - M.A. HOWELL Jnr.


https://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=00241663&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526d%3DPALL%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.htm%

Cheers Danks