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View Full Version : Anyone know what this tool is?


Marv Werner
10-08-2010, 1:57 PM
Saw this thing on eBay a few months ago, then I saw it again in Sindelar's collection. When I first saw it, I thought it was just some silly piece of metal with a saw handle screwed to it. But then I spotted it again in the Sindelar's tool collection, so it must be something of purpose.

Marv
john brenton
10-08-2010, 2:05 PM
Looks like a sweet blubber slicer, like the kind the Eskimos use.


Saw this thing on eBay a few months ago, then I saw it again in Sindelar's collection. When I first saw it, I thought it was just some silly piece of metal with a saw handle screwed to it. But then I spotted it again in the Sindelar's tool collection, so it must be something of purpose.

Marv
george wilson
10-08-2010, 2:06 PM
Looks like an ULU,blubber slicer. Possibly a vegetable chopper made from an old saw? Hard to say if it was issued that way,or modified. Is the edge sharp?
Dave Anderson NH
10-08-2010, 2:29 PM
Egads, haven't you guys ever seen a top end slicer for small sized pizzas?:)
David Weaver
10-08-2010, 2:30 PM
It would definitely make a sweet pizza slicer with an edge on it.
Prashun Patel
10-08-2010, 2:48 PM
total guess:

Could it be for shaving the edges off of tenons or dowels?
A scoring tool?
James Taglienti
10-08-2010, 2:55 PM
It's in a book somewhere, maybe one of the Tools Rare and Ingenious books... i don't remember what they called it
Marv Werner
10-08-2010, 3:25 PM
I don't have it, I took the picture off the ebay auction. What you see is what I see. Can't tell exactly if it has a sharpened edge or not. Doesn't look like it has been sharpened or we'd see a bevel, unless it's only beveled on one side.

Marv
Dan Andrews
10-08-2010, 5:23 PM
I saw that on ebay at the time. My first impression was of an ulu. That saw handle geometry to the curved edge makes it look awkward to use for anything except pushing ahead. I think it is home made or by some saw manufacturer's crazy idea to stay in business after the power saws came out. I think it would have to be marketed as an animal skinner, which is just one of the functions of an ulu.
Bill Houghton
10-08-2010, 5:41 PM
Whatever it is, the wheat carving will help it do whatever it does better.

It would do whatever it does even better if it were painted green.
steven c newman
10-08-2010, 5:43 PM
Used for cutting linoleum sheets? Or for cutting cork sheet goods?
Marv Werner
10-08-2010, 6:06 PM
Bill, I was thinking the same thing..... but not just any ole green though.
Richard Kee
10-08-2010, 9:37 PM
Tools Rare and Ingenious, page 204, shows this to be a Sail Maker's knife. The example shown is from the collection of John B. Sindelar.

Richard
Marv Werner
10-08-2010, 9:55 PM
Richard,

Thank you....that makes sense. Probably used to cut the stitches for repairs. Or for cutting the material to size and trimming sewn edges even.
harry strasil
10-08-2010, 10:59 PM
There was another what's it thread awhile back with the same thing. Did Bruce Lee have one in each hand in one of his films?
Chris Padilla
10-09-2010, 12:29 AM
Looks like something I've seen used in leather working....
Gary Curtis
10-09-2010, 12:45 AM
That I.D. makes sense, because I have a companion sail-making tool. It is a Seaman's Awl. Has a pommel-shaped handle, round metal shaft comparable to a medium screwdriver. The tip flattens out to a harpoon shape, and it has an elongated 1/8" hole. About 12-14" long.

String is threaded into the hole, and the sailor works this repeatedly through the edge of the canvas and around the rope which serves as 'trim'.

Pretty handy for woodworking. Sorry no pictures.

Gary Curtis