[Q] What is this hand tool?

[Fromey]

Some years back I purchased £300 worth of assorted tools from a collegue to help him clear his deceased father-in-laws belongings.

One of the tools that came with it was this nasty looking thing. It was fairly shiny and sharpish before I let the rust get to it. I suspect its some sort of leather puncturer, but don't really know. It must be something useful because it has a nice handle! :wink:

Looking down from the rop

Any ideas what it might be?

 

[Evergreen]

Are those edges sharp? If they are, my guess is that it's a reamer.

 

[xy mosian]

From here it looks to have a taper along the main part of the 'blade'. If that is the case my money would be on a hand reamer. Used for the fine adjustment of hole diameters. Otherwise the flutes could be to allow the escape of blood .
xy

 

[jasonB]

I would say its a broach, works in a similar way to a reamer and is used to enlarge or round holes.

Jason

 

[Harbo]

It is very similar to the scraper I have for polishing brass clock wheel gear parts?
Used in conjunction with an oval burnisher.


Rod

 

[TheTiddles]

Surely it's a burnisher isn't it?

Aidan

 

[jimi43]

My money's on a reamer too.

Jim

 

[wills-mill]

I think it's a bearing scraper, for skimming back the high spots on white metal (babbitt in the US) and other plain bearings..... Seem to remember the look of the tool from some of the nice old engineering books that I've got.


EDIT: something like this? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-MOORE-WRI ... 3a60af79b1

 

[kirkpoore1]

I think it's a bearing scraper, for skimming back the high spots on white metal (babbitt in the US) and other plain bearings..... Seem to remember the look of the tool from some of the nice old engineering books that I've got.

Yes, looks like a babbitt scraper, though it's longer than most that I've seen. I've got a triangular one, though the grooves on the sides aren't as deep. Of course, of the dozen or two I've seen, none of them were exactly alike.

Kirk

 

[tomouse]

I'm going with a burnisher........ I know nothing of metal working tools :shock:

 

[Harbo]

It is a scraper and here's a picture to confirm it, though mine is 3 sided - bought from H S Walsh a couple of years ago:

Clock wheel under construction, oval burnisher and scraper.

Rod

 

[jimi43]

It's not the same as the one in the picture Rod...it has a cutting edge on all sides...

I still say reamer

Jim

 

[Harbo]

As I said - mine is 3 sided - with very sharp edges on all 3 sides.

In my experience Reamers are either rose type but very tapered or spiral of very accurate mainly constant diameter.

I would not like to twist the 4 sided one in hardwood with a handle like that - most hand reamers have a hole for a toggle bar?

Rod - throwing in the towel now

 

[Modernist]

It's a triangular scraper, usually used for removing high spots from bearings or other metal surfaces which have been marked with engineers blue.

 

[Digit]

And what a soul destroying task that is!

Roy.

 

[jimi43]

It's a triangular scraper, usually used for removing high spots from bearings or other metal surfaces which have been marked with engineers blue.

That I could go with....but wouldn't you want it parallel...it appears to be tapered to me in the original picture....

Jim

 

[AndyT]

I'm sure JasonB is right - it is a broach. It looks like an engineer's scraper, because it is made the same way, and its hard sharp edges work the same way, but the overall section is round, which is what you need to make a hole nice and round, and a little bit bigger.

 

[Fromey]

Thanks for your input guys. Hmmm, reamer or scraper?

Just to confirm; It's definitely 4 sided (sorry the top-down photo wouldn't focus on the blade). It's a bit like an X in cross section. Definitely tapered. The hollow channels along each side are not machined in any way, just the original bumpy casting. The corners, however, are definitely machined or filed/honed. It used to have a bit of an edge, but not a very sharp one. It looks like one could file across it or place it on sandpaper on a flat surface and then get a very good edge. So far, no photos I've seen (supplied her or through Google Image keyword searching) has provided a true look-a-like.

 

[heimlaga]

Mine is otherwise similar but it has only three edges and a machinist identified it as a scraper for finishing white metal bearings.

 

[Digit]

I've kept out of this 'cos I'm not certain and was hoping someone else might come up with it, but I think it's a boat builder's nailing tool.
The copper nails are tapered, with copper washers, and the taper appears to be as per that tool.

Roy.