Posted 9 years ago
BHock45
(807 items)
I thought I would share some of my collection of wrought iron tools. Most of these are late 18th to early 19th century, and were collected over the last few years, slowly picking, here and there. A few items are more special than others:
Image 1: The double side turner/fork is somewhat rare, and the middle piece is a ladle with a nice heart turned finial. The fourth item from the left is a forged, two-tined fork with the initials "R.W.B" engraved
Image 2: second from the left is a forged iron and copper tasting spoon with applied tool marks on the handle; third from the right is an item in question. It was sold as a "knife sharpener" but I disagree. I think it is either a shoe horn, or a short handled turner. Center is a frying pan with a unique arched reinforcement riveted to the pan and handle. Fifth from the left is a nice example of a keyhole spatula with a rats tail end.
Image 3: The first item is a beautiful ladle with a copper bowl. It is hard to see in the image but the smith who made this piece was highly skilled. Next is a three tined fork, the middle spatula is a keyhole style with designs on the handle, and the second to last is a spatula with a turned handle.
Hope you enjoyed the collection, more to come!
Great stuff, you can be proud of your collection. I just love early hand forged household items, especially when they are signed with a name or initials.
Tool makers and smiths signed their creations because they were proud of their workmanship. It's something that we are loosing today in our vanishing America.
what a great display of a really cool collection!
hotairfan....yes sir. I just love to think about what life was like then....if something broke, like a fork, or a pot, people did some crazy things to fix the item. Maybe it was because they couldn't afford another, but in most cases, it was because they had pride in their belongings, the fact that someone else made the object with his/her own bare hands, and that a replacement may not be ready for weeks.
A lot of people are into "make-dos" now, there are more and more books on the subject. While I am not really into it too much, I think it is great for for my kids to see "the art of fixing". People went to crazy measures just to save a drinking vessel. Now I see plastic water bottles all over the ground and it is really sad.......anyway, thanks for the comment!
ho2cultcha thanks for the kind words!!!