Anyone forging button hooks?

[ausfire]

Most of you young guys wouldn't know what a button hook is. They were used in the days when women wore button up shoes, and fancy button hooks have been collectors' items for years. Some valuable antique button hooks are crafted from silver with ivory or inlaid gems. I thought I would forge a couple of simple ones:

Anyone else making these?

[2ndChanceCowboy]

Wow, awesome work sir,,, Thanks for sharing very much. I seem to remember my granny had one many moons ago now. An now I am that grandfolk age too.lol.

[dablacksmith]

i had a special order for one once did not take a pic of it tho...

[ironwolfforgeca]

LOL thought I was Old enough 58 + but nope did'nt know that dang it thanks ! LOL

if you put a 90 deg twist on that hook looks like a BBQ stake turner LOL Ive made

 

ONE of the thing Most fun HERE !! is all the different forms & use  of more or less the same thing

[Francis Trez Cole]

A lot that I have seen were just a piece of wire with a clover leaf on it I will have to look in some of my old books and see if there are any reference to them those are nice and look like they would work fine

[Dodge]

Nice work, ausfire!

 

Yep. Francis, I remember seeing them in my mother's button box. It was when I was very young and asked what they were for. Mom (92) said she was too young to ever use one but my grandmother (who died when Mom was a child) had several. I wonder if she (or my sister) still has them... 

 

Scott

[Toothygrin]

My mom was bugging me to make her something like this, now I think I have some kind of idea of what to do. Her reason for wanting it was spinning wool though, not sure how that will help.

[george m.]

Dear Toothy,

 

What your Mom wanted is probably an orifice hook which is used on a spinning wheel to pull the spun fiber through the orifice of the flyer to connect up with the unspun fiber.  I know that doesn't make any sense unless you are a spinner or have been around one.  I have made a number of them and sell the occasional one for about $10.

[Toothygrin]

Well My mom has been spinning wool since I was very little but I needed a little refresher. This is what I managed I am not sure if they are small enough but for scale the leaf is about 2 mm smaller then a dime at the widest point. I needed something to do today,far too many people in the house for my liking. there is a spot on the bottom one I would like to fix.

[Frosty]

For a good working orifice hook you want to think on the scale of a crochet hook. It has to fit through, all the way through the orifice in the Mother of all(?) and best of all be very light so it hangs up easily. Commercial versions are almost all bent SS wire.

 

Does your Mom have a drum carder? If so, hand forged doffers are VERY popular and give the smith lots of room for creativity. Spinners love a good doffer, the commercial ones aren't much more than blunt ice picks or pointed screw drivers. I make one with an ergonomic curve so the ladies can either push down or lift up to pry the wool off of the card drum. A cable twist goes over very well as it looks like yarn. I've never made one that wasn't spoken for before I started thinking of a design.

 

I REALLY should start making the things again.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Frosty,can you post a picture of one? We have some spinners in these parts.

[beammeupscotty]

Here is a commercial version of what I think Frosty is talking about.

 

http://www.woolery.com/store/pc/Ashford-Doffer-Stick-short-p85.htm#.VKbQXWTF9xt

[Jammer]

I've got a button hook somewhere, along with my Grandmother's button up shoes. I think the hook is cast iron if I remember right.

[JimsShip]

I just asked my wife if she's ever heard of a button hook, and she not only knew what it was, she added the interesting tidbit of how they were also used at Ellis Island to flip the eyelid over to check for certain diseases.
Gah!

[Frosty]

Frosty,can you post a picture of one? We have some spinners in these parts.

 

This is the Doxy Doffer I made for a gal. I'm hitting "Add Reply" with crossed fingers, things still don't look quite right in the attachment window.

 

On a how to note, they have to be absolutely descaled or it'll snag the wool. I finish them with natural lanoline from raw wool, just rub them for a while when coffee cup warm.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

[ausfire]

That's a dandy doffer there! Very stylish. Nice to see you managed to post a photo. I'm having no luck. Perhaps I'll try again, encouraged by your success.

[george m.]

Here are some orifice hooks that I have made.  The design is from a Mr. Ralph who was a spinning wheel restorer in PA.

[ausfire]

I looked up eBay for some antique button hooks. Plenty of design ideas there, but this one would be a bit of a challenge:

[gote]

A now deceased aquaintance of mine said they were excellent tools for removing the stones out of cherries before cooking them.

Göte 

[stan]

This one belonged to my grandmother. Do you make them out of spring steel?

[L Smith]

Where is Mr. Poweres when we need him?

[stan]

Nice work on the button hooks, very fine drawing out. How did you colour the leaf.

[ausfire]

Stan,
The leaf is burnished with a brass brush while hot. Gives a nice autumn look to the leaves and highlights the veining a bit.
If you don't have a fine brass brush you can get an el cheapo one from Bunnings, but make sure it is brass and not brass coated steel. I carry a magnet just to be sure.

[Shainarue]

Hello all! This is the only thread that comes up when I search for "orifice hook" using the site in the search parameter. 

Anyway, I was hoping to see if anyone has a way to get the pictures restored? Or barring that, if anyone on this thread could share the orifice hooks they made and what they used. 

I have some spring of some sort that I picked up from a scrap yard. A little smaller in diameter than the standard wire clothes hanger. So I was thinking that would work well. Just wondered if there was any advice before I dove in. 

Wife just came home tonight with this last minute request to make 4 of these for gifts that she needs by Sunday. 

[George N. M.]

Shaina, by "orifice hook" do you mean the gadget used by spinners to catch the thread/yarn out of the orifice on the end of the flyer on a spinning wheel?  That is the tool I know as an "orifice hook" and I have made a number of them.  I have found that using high carbon piano wire to form the hook (bent hot) works better than soft steel or iron wire.  Then the hook can be attached to some sort of handle made of steel, wood, wire, or anything else.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."