Got 2 smallish odd looking What is it?

[oldgoaly]

Appears to be cast iron, did not do a grind test, be the grain of the exterior looks like cast.
two different patterns, no signs of heat, not sharp.  ok what are they?

[JUNK-MAN]

Appear to be holders for something how small are they? maybe bullet starters for a muzzleloader?

[oldgoaly]

One is 8 sided  just under 1" across on the outside 3/4" inside,  the other would be more oval shaped, 8 sided, 3/4" long side 1/2" narrow side.
Both are only a 1/2" deep. No residue inside to give a clue, I'm sure they are cast, you can see on one side where the gating / runner for the casting, where it was cut off and cleaned up with a grinder.
They do not look like they have been struck, the wooden handle end is flat one still has a small nub from the parting tool on the lathe. They might be for pushing or for backing up ??? while you did something from the other side?
I don't remember where I got them, found them this morning cleaning and sorting in my foundry stuff? Not like any foundry tool I've seen???
Handles look like file handles not a matched set.

[amecks]

The inside of them appears to have a pattern, the short one looks like a flower and the other a small cross.  Is this so?  If this is the case then your statement about backing up something - maybe a red hot rivet so it finishes decoratively?
Al

[oldgoaly]

well the insides have ridges but not the quality of leaving a nice decorative finish, for something cheap maybe?
If one was working a hot rivets would not a forged steel be the proper tool material

[gibsontool]

Miniature cookie cutters.

[oldgoaly]

not even sharp enough edge to cut the dough, It will make sense when we get the right answer!

[johnsironsanctuary]

Could they be for foundry work? Molders sometimes marked a sand mold before the metal was poured.

[oldgoaly]

That is where I found them hiding in my foundry sand casting, I just don't remember where I bought them.
maybe a moulder mark for who made the mold or for the type of metal of metal to be poured?
  I had a old friend Gene Snyder who ran a local foundry for years, I would have asked him. I wonder how long they have been here lost? 20-25 years?
 There were lots of foundries around here, lots of stove builders, breweries, taverns, shoe makers.

[Aunt Phil]

Not buying the foundry angle, all decorative features in a sand mold would have been on the wood pattern the mold was made from.  Only possibility I can think of would have been a repair tool for final shaping of something like sealing wax to repair fine detail on a pattern that wore away with use.

[oldgoaly]

I was going to do a press into some clay, but what is open needs some softening
What color should I use? <grin>  Got about 60-80# of polymer clay, 40# unopened.

[Northwoods]

Got any Play Doh?

[Aunt Phil]

Got any Play Doh?

We're not supposed to talk about OG's Playdough period when he was into free form sculpting.

[Chillylulu]

I'm thinking along the lines of silver dies for daps.
Dap or chase silver sheet down inside.
Two halves soldered together make a bead? 

Its the flower pattern that made me think.

Chilly

[oldgoaly]

As I mentioned the insides are not finished very well, the roundish one has 3 nubs inside, the ovalish one has 4 and is better finish.
I used some ugly polymer clay just for you guys to enjoy.