Could someone Identify what this is used for.

[Probablyforged]

I picked this up at an estate sale a while back and originally thought it was a meat sorting tool, but not really sure. Perhaps someone on here could id this. Thanks!

[HWooldridge]

Candle holder.

[macbruce]

Yep, a candle holder used in hard rock mining mostly. The spike was tapped into a crack in the rock or onto a wood beam.....If you want a good hard test of your forging skills try making one that looks as good as the one in the pic, not for a newbie.....;-)

[ThomasPowers]

"sticking tommy" miner's candle holder. We have a member of SWABA who makes excellent replicas of them!

As noted *not* for use in Coal Mines!

[macbruce]

I did try making one of these when I was a Noob and gave up after several tries. They're made from one piece. Note how the candle holder in this one is a spring and the candle was captured after it was spread open with your thumb and released.

[Probablyforged]

What is the hook for? For hanging it something?

[HWooldridge]

What is the hook for? For hanging it something?

Yes, you could hang them on a board, branch, etc. or stick in an earthen wall.

[Michael]

The hook also lets you hang it from the back of a chair or the top molding in a wainscotted interior wall.

[macbruce]

Could be used on a Christmas tree...... :unsure:

[Chatch]

Ok...Complete newbie here (been forging two weeks; already gashed my thumb and wore all the skin off my hammerin' finger). Help me vision this "made from one piece" thing. The piece was drawn down to a point, then split from the thick end down, then each piece of the top worked? I've become fascinated by the whole splitting thing in general, especially getting the piece split that far down (all I've tried so far was a leaf stem).

[macbruce]

The hook also lets you hang it from the back of a chair or the top molding in a wainscotted interior wall.

from my Google search........................


Miners lamps

www.ramshornstudio.com/miners_lamps.htm
Apr 6, 2010 – A "sticking tommy" or miner's pick is a candle in a forged holder with a hook to hang on the front of the helmet. The holder also had a point that ...

[Probablyforged]

Hey Chatch. You're not kidding. I'm new to this and never knew that you could actually split metal until I seen it in John Neeman's Birth of a tool. I was absolutely amazed. And still am by the whole process, really.

[Probablyforged]

And thanks to the people who IDed this for me. Although I am still uncertain about the hanging on to a helmet part. I will continue to research.

[John McPherson]

Here is one way to do it.

[george m.]

The miners' candleholder of this sort was used in mines from about the 1860s when parrafin candles becme cheap as a by product of oil refining until the 1890s when carbide lamps (burning acetylene gas from the reaction of calcium carbide and water) were introduced. Before the introduction of cheap candles miners used oil/fat lamps similar to a colonial betty lamp. After carbide lamps came electric cap lamps.

Miners' candle holders were manufactured commercially or were knocked out by the local, often the mine's, blacksmith. Some were very elaborate and decorated. They were used by small mines well into the 20th century. Carbide lamps are still in use today by some old school cavers but calcium carbide is getting harder to find.

Yes, sometimes miners' candle holders were worn on the miner's hat. Think of a baseball cap with a stiff piece of leather above the brim and possibly a thin piece of tin into which the hook was placed.

One of the tricks of making them is to make sure that the hook is right at the balance point so that it hangs level when hung by the hook.

I once sold a dozen miner's candle holders to an antique shop in an old mining town here in Colorado. 6 months or so later I was back in town and sent my girlfriend (now wife) in to see how much they were selling them for. They had soaked them in a bucket of salt wter to rust them and were telling folk that they were 100 years old and had come out of a local mine. I was livid but decided all I could do was never sell to them again. The lesson I learned was when making something which could easily be passed off as an antique to strike the date (in either arabic or roman numerals) beside my touchmark. I think that's about all a smith can do.

Historically,
George M.

[ThomasPowers]

George, a trick for "old style" knives is to inlet solder on the underside of the scales in the date---shows up in an Xray which is a typical thing to do when trying to date an object for a museum.

[Probablyforged]

Thanks George for the history on that. I have a better picture of how it works now.

[george m.]

PS Although the Davy explosion proof light was invented in 1815 I suspect that open flames were used for light in many coal mines, particularly those which were not considered to be "gassy." Also, davy lights were pretty expensive and a mine operating on a low margin might consider them to be an extravagance. Davy lights continued in use after the introduction of electricity in the early 20th century because changes in the color of the flame could indicate an accumulation of explosive gases.

I've worked in hard rock mines but coal mining, even today, would be more fun than I could stand.

GM

[ThomasPowers]

Just picked up a davy lamp at the fleamarket in NM a month ago after seeing one demonstrated at a coal mine in Wales.

[Probablyforged]

Is a davy light round with a reflector and a flint wheel like a cigarette lighter?

[george m.]

No, that is almost certainly a carbide lamp. The spark wheel is used to ignite the acetylene gas which then burns with a bright flame from the center of the reflector.

A davy lamp kind of looks like a hurricane (barn) lantern with a glass chimney around the flame but there is a mesh or screen around the flame. Without going into details the screen is what keeps the flame from igniting any explosive gas.

Illuminatingly,
George M.

[John McPherson]

A comparison of Davy and carbide miners lamps:

http://lindal-in-furness.co.uk/MinersLamps/minerslamps.htm

[george m.]

Good explanation. The carbide lamp shown is a larger version which was hung on a timber or a rock ledge rather than a smaller cap lamp. The larger lamps were often known as "foremen's lamps" and were not carried by the ordinary miners. Carbide lamps were also used in early motor cars with the acetylene generator on the running board and tubes to the lights on the front of the car. A carbide camp lamp puts out about as much light as a 2-D cell flashlight and lasts 2-3 hours on a single charge of carbide depending on how high or low the flame is adjusted.

Detailedly,
George M.

[Chatch]

Here is one way to do it.

This is great. I may have to try one of these tomorrow. Dang this daylight savings, dark at 5 garbage.

[george m.]

Dear Chatch,

Actually, we're on Standard Time now. We "fell back" a couple of weeks ago. Daylight Savings Time gives us an extra hour of light in the evening. A lot of rural areas do not care for DST because it means that it is darker later in the morning and kids have to catch the school bus in the dark. Same amount of light and dark, just shifted on the clock. DST was first suggested by Ben Franklin and was adopted during both WWI and II.

Timely,
George M.