Found at work and no one knows what it is

[j@glenmore]

Found this tool at the distillery I work at and no one  knows what it is?used for.

[mikeswrenches]

It is a tool used to sharpen the cutting edge of a circular device used for cutting corks for bottles, back when they had corks.

Mike

[wvtools]

Here is a link to one of my Ebay items that shows the cork cutters.  These are hand style.  They also had machine bits that went into a hand crank machine.  Those look like shorter tubes with the same cutting edge.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-Piece-Set-Cork-Cutters-and-Cork-Cutter-Sharpener-Lab-Apothecary-Tool-/311262368110?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4878aed16e

[j@glenmore]

Thank you both for all the info. Not knowing what I had was kinda driving me crazy. 

[Bill Houghton]

Always kind of amazing when the old knowledge fades away.  You would think someone at a distillery would know what the tool is.

Digressing...the sidewalk down at the corner got reworked a couple of years back.  There used to be a mailbox at that corner, one of the little ones on a concrete post that, in my youth*, could be found every few blocks, it seemed like.  I asked the city** what its intentions were, and talked with the post office; no one knew what it had been or who owned it.  I even told the city what it was, so they could ask the post office if they still wanted it.  But no one followed up, and the contractor wound up leaving it in place.

I kind of appreciate that this little historical artifact is still there; and our sons know what it's for.  The concrete is spalling (you can see the rebar in several spots) and, at some point, someone's going to decide it's too ugly to keep; but it'll cost a lot more to remove it now.

*Granted, we were still getting our gasoline by pressing the oil out of fresh dinosaurs in giant versions of an olive oil press.
**"City" in this case means 7,500 people.

For those too young to know what mailboxes I'm talking about:

[Papaw]

I once tried to buy a couple of those and was told they were property of the Post Office and no one there would release them.
As an aside- Our town used to have concrete street markers at every corner, but they were replaced with modern signs a long time ago. The marker at our corner was knocked down by city workers and left in the ditch 20 some years ago. I let it stay there a week or so, then went and took it. It has stood by the corner of the porch since then.

[Aunt Phil]

Every year trainloads of tax money is spent on Official Thinking by Government Employees making the Country a better place.

Friend's grandfather was a sidewalk contractor back in the day when the contractor stamped his work every so many flags of sidewalk so the City could come back to him with future problems.  When the City replaced old sidewalks my friend offered 20 bucks to the contractor doing the work for a flag with the stamp.  NO WAY, the City inspector on the job made sure the contractor shattered that stamp with a sledge so nobody could profit from something headed for the landfill. 

Another friend decided to replicate the date stamp in the wall of a WPA concrete bridge that was being demolished for a replacement bridge so heavier trucks could destroy the road.  He's casting a positive to use making the replica when the cops show up.  Mr Neighbor called the cops because he was damaging the closed off bridge.  Cop listened to the noisy neighbor and asked what difference it could possibly make to a bridge about to be shattered.  Cop did ask my friend to wait at least half an hour before he enlightened the neighbor if he kept running his mouth so the next shift could handle the job.

Post Office used to have regional auctions selling things they no longer used.  Only place I ever saw an auctioneer trying to sell big safes with the doors removed.  The doors were shipped to a scrapper in Virginia so nobody could use them to learn how to break into a Post Office safe.  Old canvas mail bags had US Mail cut out of the bag and the old scales had a grinder taken to them to remove the USPS decal.

One hell of a lot of manhours get wasted accomplishing these lofty ideas. 

What's the prize for the generation that looses the most knowledge?

[Lewill2]

Wow, I have one of those little cast iron mail boxes in my basement that hung on the porch post of our local Post Office for more years than I can count. My Mother used to work there, years ago they had to replace it with one of those giant ones that sit around. When they did that my Mother asked the Post Master, her old boss and also our neighbor, if she could have it. He said he didn't care and I got it after Mom passed away. I also have one of those relay boxes that the postal carriers use in the cities. Big tall green boxes that they can lock up boxes of mail in. Heavy gauge steel but the handle and lock is gone because they wouldn't let the locks go with it. My buddy did work at the regional Postal Facility in our area and he got a few of them there for free. It just depends on who you know and timing. 

I also have the mounting bracket for the post mounted box.