JHCC Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 This came in a box of other tools at a yard sale. It’s about 6” long, and stamped “BERLIN”. Both ends are hollow, although of different sizes Apologies for the quality of the photo; I can retake if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jeff Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 There was a Berlin Machine Works, is it part of a bigger machine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 I believe it is a tool for finishing coning the barrels muzzle on old muzzle loaders. A coned muzzle is when the rifling would be cut back with a special reamer then a tool like that would be inserted in the muzzle, turned back & forth with a course grinding compound, to taper the rifling and make loading easier and prevent patch tearing. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 Here are some (mostly) better photos, showing the various stamps. The overall length is about 6”. One end is stamped “4”, and the other is stamped “8”; I’m guessing that’s the size in millimeters. The end marked “8” has some kind of material in the hollow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 From what I can find, “G. Brucklacher” was the name of a German tool manufacturer, and that “Oranienstr[aße] 43” was their address in Berlin. There’s a catalog of theirs online HERE, but this tool isn’t shown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 On a side note, the building at 43 Oranienstraße has a rather nice wrought iron gate: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 It looks like the building was constructed in the 1850s as one of a number of residential apartment blocks. Oranienstraße became a commercial district in the 1880s (which I suspect is when Brucklacher took up residence), survived the twin destructions of WWII and postwar urban redevelopment, and is now once again a residential area with a lot of popular restaurants and bars. #43 currently houses the offices of a physiotherapist and a couple of attorneys and is about a mile and a quarter (just under 2km) from Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichatraße. None of this helps identify the tool, of course, but it’s a fun rabbit hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 I did a search and came up with this. https://archive.org/details/GBrucklacher Looks from the old catalog they made mostly wood & leather working tools. Didn't see anything like this tool. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 Yes, that’s the catalog I linked above. I suspect that the “Liste Nr. 34” means that they had other catalogs (at least 33!) that were not “Sattler-Werkzeuge und Maschinen” (which I think means “Saddlemaker’s Tools and Machinery”). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 Weird enough it makes me think of the old wooden honeycomb dipper for getting honey out of the jar to drizzel on toast or whatever. I have no idea truely. Maybe a deburring tool? Being mostly wood or leather connections... maybe for holding snaps to pein on? The slits could be to expand to clip onto a snap or something to hold it in place for the other half to pein it? Just grasping at straws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hibbert Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 I think Iron dragon has it right that it's a coning tool. I found pictures of modern coning tools and the business end had similar shape and slits in them. I didn't see pictures of hand tool versions, but that was just a quick Google search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 Looks a bit like instrument for fine tuning a leberwurst stuffing machine. I imagine they were mass produced in the 100's of thousands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 12, 2023 Author Share Posted September 12, 2023 Good news! After a little Google research, I discovered that Brucklacher is still in business (although at a different address in Berlin), so I emailed them and asked my question directly. This is their reply: Quote Dear John, Thanks for your email. The tool from your pictures is a punch which you can use for working on leather. Best regards/ Mit besten Grüßen So there's our answer: a leather punch. I'm guessing that this is for very thin and/or soft leather, and I imagine that it would be twisted in or struck with a soft hammer that would not damage the edges of the back end. On a side note, the firm is no longer at the Oranienstraße address, having moved first to a larger space on Mariannenplatz in 1978 and then to Reinickendorf (an outer district of Berlin) in 1993, when downtown rents skyrocketed after German reunification in 1989. The company no longer makes tools as such, but specializes in tool grinding of all sorts, from milling bits to planer blades to knife grinding. It's still family-owned, with fourth-generation owners Gustav and Renate Brucklacker supported by their son Ulrich, who passed his master's certificate in 2004. The company was founded in 1860 by Gustav and Magdalene (Schultze) Brucklacher, a journeyman knifesmith from Balingen and the daughter of a Berlin master knifesmith respectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 13, 2023 Share Posted September 13, 2023 Outstanding mystery solved, I wasn't sure about my guess. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 13, 2023 Author Share Posted September 13, 2023 Just tried out pushing and twisting it into a manila folder, which worked pretty well. I imagine it would work even better with leather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 13, 2023 Share Posted September 13, 2023 Cool, now I'll know what it is if I find one at a yard sale! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted September 13, 2023 Share Posted September 13, 2023 Don't wear it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 I know it’s not it but it kinda reminds me of a fish hook removal tool! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewoon ik Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 Cool thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 Camera on the iPhone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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