Posted 8 years ago
blotter_41
(3 items)
This tool was found in my grandparents' attic. I have shown it to many people, but no one seems to know what it is. I can't find any images on line that look like it. It looks like a giant cast iron Q-tip! I assume it was used in some way to hammer or pound, but would really like to know more about it. My great grandfather immigrated from Germany in 1800's and became a taylor in West Virginia. I am not sure about my great, great grandfather. Perhaps it belonged to him.
Well, it LOOKS like a billy club or "sap." It would have been covered with leather and had a strap at the end. Is it 6 to 8 inches long? One of the more common old saps encountered these days has a stiff leather-covered spring for a handle and is more dangerous in that it's easier to seriously injure someone with one, but solid-handled ones were made.
It measures 12 inches from end to end. It is cast iron....very heavy. I would hate to get hit with that!
That's a bit big for a sap. They are supposed to knock you opponent out, not kill him. Maybe someone else has a suggestion...
Could this be a "Trench Club"? I read on line that soldiers in WWI sometimes carried cast iron trench clubs for close combat. My Grandfather did serve in WWI, but he was a medic. However, he did bring home things...german canteens, trench art, etc. Anyone have any thoughts?
Images for trench clubs show a wide variety of everything but that piece. The most general description would be a wooden handle with weight added to the end. Images online show some which look like medieval maces and war clubs with spikes but a length of broom handle with a short section of pipe at the end would suffice. Actually, the fierce, spikey-looking ones would likely get caught in clothing, etc. and be more difficult to use in close quarters.