My grandfather died over sixty years ago, and my brother came across a box of his ”stuff.” Among WW I memorabilia, postcards home to his fiancé (my grandmother), cigarette cases, etc., we found this item. Is it a pair of scissors? Pliers? It’s made from a solid piece of wood…his father and grandfather were tailors in Canada in the early to mid-nineteenth century. I’m hanging them in my sewing room, but just wondered if anyone had any insight!
I think it's a handmade drawing compass. They were used for drawing circles and measuring distance on maps. What a treasure to find from your Grandfather.
As the story goes, Ernest “Mooney” Warther was a boy growing up in Ohio when he encountered a man who taught him how to carve a pair of working pliers from a single piece of wood—using just 10 cuts. Whether it was that single epiphany, or the machinations of his incredibly inquisitive mind...
My grandfather died over sixty years ago, and my brother came across a box of his ”stuff.” Among WW I memorabilia, postcards home to his fiancé (my grandmother), cigarette cases, etc., we found this item. Is it a pair of scissors? Pliers? It’s made from a solid piece of wood…his father and grandfather were tailors in Canada in the early to mid-nineteenth century. I’m hanging them in my sewing room, but just wondered if anyone had any insight!
Whittling has been a hobby for men who had spare time on ships.
Doing something like the scissors showed how proficient they were at carving.
Your grandfather was very proficient!!
As the story goes, Ernest “Mooney” Warther was a boy growing up in Ohio when he encountered a man who taught him how to carve a pair of working pliers from a single piece of wood—using just 10 cuts. Whether it was that single epiphany, or the machinations of his incredibly inquisitive mind...
I am thinking they were a carving exercise. The way the handles hinge it prevents the user from putting any force at all on the pliers jaws.
The only thing I could think they might be used for would be hair curlers. If you put elastic bands around the spots where the handles pivot it would allow you to close the jaws but limit how hard. Might be good for curling hair.
I did a reverse image search and could not find an exact match, but they could be vintage laundry pincers (or laundry tongs) similar to what was used during the Edwardian (Downton Abbey) period to pull sheets out of the hot water laundry vats. Just a guess, as they might be too fancy for such use. Sculptural Downton Abbey Laundry Pincers – Yew Tree House (yewtreehouseantiques.com)
My grandfather died over sixty years ago, and my brother came across a box of his ”stuff.” Among WW I memorabilia, postcards home to his fiancé (my grandmother), cigarette cases, etc., we found this item. Is it a pair of scissors? Pliers? It’s made from a solid piece of wood…his father and grandfather were tailors in Canada in the early to mid-nineteenth century. I’m hanging them in my sewing room, but just wondered if anyone had any insight!
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It looks like perhaps your grandfather liked to whittle. My grandfather-in-law loved to whittle things, and made all sorts of items out of one piece of wood, including very similar scissors. He was a watchmaker, and very clever with his hands. There are many, many of his carvings being passed down to the younger generation, who never even knew Grampa except through his many carvings. By the way, Grammy and Grampa were married more than 75 years, and lived until almost 100 years old (each!).
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