Help me out here

[blackoak]

Went to an auction last night and bought a box full of these. I'm sure they are for wood working but what for. They are different lengths and  widths, but all are 1/16" thick and one side has a sharp 45degree bevel the full length, not shaving sharp, but will cut you.The ends are all very sharp, almost shaving sharp. The handles are all hard wood with a leather washer on the end. Some are marked Big Chief since 1891 Wapakoneta, Ohio High Speed Steel With a picture of an Indian chief.
 The blades are to thin, I would think to be chisels and hit with a hammer probably would snap one pretty easy, but why the leather ends on the handles? The box had over 30 of these in it. If nothing else they would probably make nice scrappers or a nice blade for draw  knife.




Some of them has been ground down to different angles on the ends.

[oldgoaly]

think those are for machine scraping, they blue the worn surfaces then use these tools to take the high spots down, the finish is small swirls which I think they call frosting. 

[blackoak]

think those are for machine scraping, they blue the worn surfaces then use these tools to take the high spots down, the finish is small swirls which I think they call frosting.

Not sure what you mean by machine scraping? As in working with metal?

[mikeswrenches]

Blackoak,

Way back when, before grinding machine tool bed ways was as accurate as it is now, they were literally scraped by hand.  This was a highly skilled job and very labor intensive.  It left the smal swirls that "oldgoaly" is talking about.  To my mind a much more appealing surface than the ground ones you see today.


Here is a link to a good description.

http://www.schsm.org/SCRAPING.pdf

Mike

[Billman49]

Not engineer's scrapers, they has square ends - I saw a box of very similar tools in a UK scrapyard over 40 years ago - my best guess then was that they were a sort of scraper for cleaning off some sort of military equipment... It's still my best guess....

[oldtoolguy]

Possibly scrapers to remove old gaskets.

[leg17]

I'll go with machine scrapers, as in flat surfaces.
(not bearing scrapers, obviously)

[turnnut]

they could be machine way scrapers. when scraping ways to get a smooth finish, but not as smooth as with
a finish grinder. "not a hand grinder"  the finish has to be able to keep the ways lubricated for non friction movement.

As for the leather ends on the handles, if they are machine scrapers, the person that is scraping does not use a
hammer.  his hands only with a steady movement, the leather on the end would prevent his palm from getting
blisters from caonstantly pushing the scraper.

if I remember right, they would push with one hand and with the onher hand, they would use a finger resting on
the blade to keep a steady light pressure to scrape.

they used, die makers blueing to see the work in process. high/low areas.

it has been many years since I saw it being done and it was done by "machine repairmen" at the aircraft engine
building plant in Hartford, CT. and I had spent 28 1/2 years there.  (retired now.)

they was considered  very skilled Machine Scrapers.   ( are there any left ???? )   

[oldtools]

I remember Ways & surfacing plates leveled true with hand "Carbide" scrapers, then blueing with a master plate to check for true surface, continue to scrape till blueing was evenly distributed, used a crosshatch pattern.. those don't look like carbide scrapers.. too soft to cut steel..  Maybe for wood cutting...

[oldgoaly]

carbide is much newer, maybe 1950's?
hhs(tools steel) will cut cast iron and cast steel

[blackoak]

I took a few over to an old tool and die guy. He's 78 years old and worked all his life in the trade. He knew exactly what they were and said he was at one time pretty good at using them. Said now days it is pretty well a lost art scraping metal with them.

[oldgoaly]

like most things there is a powered verision, google Dapra / biax scrapers.

[Billman49]

Sorry, I used engineer's scrapers many years ago, and still have some in my tool box... They do NOT have a bevelled edge, like a chisel, but are square ended, possibly with a slight taper.

[keykeeper]

Well, it's been my experience, Billman, that two tools used for the same purpose could have different design features, depending on location/nationality.

Your favorite tools, billhooks, are a good example. How many different variations of those have you seen??

Just sayin'.......

[TomHuett]

I think that those are blades from a wood working machine (probably a planer) that have been repurposed as wood chisels.  Once planer blades have been ground to a certain extent they become too narrow to use.  Someone sharpened the end and fitted some wood handles and ended up with some dandy wood chisels.  (Or scrapers).

Tom


PS  Look at this ebay closed sale.  It was for some Wapak planer blades marked as the OPs above picture.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-WAPAK-Planer-Blades-36-034-long-1-1-8-034-wide-1-8-inch-thick-HSS-US-made-/190868146106