Posted 7 years ago
JDM1972
(6 items)
Hi this is my first time on this site!
Haven't a clue what this tool would be used for maybe leather work?
It's 18 inches long, Handle 7 inches, blade 11inches, has no sharp edges on blade and a flat end, it's a smooth Surface on the blade .
Inscribed on blade is 1740 and a small animal could be fox/squirrel.
I've drawn the animal as I couldn't get a decent photo.
Drop the pic of the handle and substitute a pic of the end of the tool.
Just put new photo of the end of the tool
I suspect that it is a "turnscrew" or, what we call a screwdriver. While threads go back to antiquity the idea of a wood screw we would be familiar with is about 500 years old and they weren't common for a couple hundred years after that so the 1740 date is believable. The tip is dulled but who knows what various purposes it was put to in the intervening years.
Thanks Ron!
Is the animal a makers mark?
Yes. His name may have been "Fox" or it could just be an animal he liked; maybe a dog. It doesn't look much like a rabbit or squirrel to me. It was a lot of work to make it with only a straight chisel so it meant something to him.