French Mystery Tool

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Hi All, just back from a buying trip in France, we hit about 3 large vide greniers in one day so pretty knackered but found some great items.

This one has got me stumped:

Very well made as two sliding wedge shaped pieces with locking bolt which is possibly a replacement.

My only thought is that it might be a leatherworking expander tool for shoe or boot work but not at all sure?

Any thoughts welcome!

Cheers, Martin

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

A cleverly designed frustration tool used to baffle British Men and Yanks at the same time.

[WatfordParticipant @watford]

Would it fit together with both boat shaped pieces on the same side of the slide? I still don't know what it would be though

Mike

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

Do they fit together the other way?

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Only goes together one way round

martin

[Jon LawesParticipant @jonlawes51698]

I wonder if the bolt previously was a larger one with a spring under it?

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Ah! That would be the 10cm Froggle guide.

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

I wondered if there might have been a very large spring between the two halves so that they could be squashed together somehow and exert a spreading force on leather perhaps?

martin

[NimbleParticipant @nimble]

Messieurs,

Can you not see it is for keeping zee beret in shape!

Neil

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

It may be for a tire machine, to spread old-style narrow tires or maybe guide them onto rims. I remember vaguely an attachment shaped like this on my grandfather's old tire machine which dated from the 1930's.

Or, could be some sort of guide to ease electrical cable or soft pipe into channels of some kind.

[Brian Sweeting 2Participant @briansweeting2]

Are we unique I wonder?

We travel around and buy odd bits of metal that have no obvious use to us but whose sole purpose is to start a debate down the pub on a quiet afternoon.

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Could these be two separate items just held together with a bolt for the sake of it?

I cannot tell from the picture if one has a tongue and the other a groove but otherwise they do look something like the long handle lever thing that tyre fitters use and the semicircular notch looks ideal for a bar handle to sit in.

Ian P

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Ian P, they do look like they are meant to fit together and slide over each other. I get what people are saying about tyres, there is a part on a tyre machine that guides the rim or tyre bead but only a single part not 2?

Brian S, possibly you are correct , but there is a lot of fun to be had all the same!

Martin

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

I'm with you Martin, that looks very much like a shoe expander to broaden ze leather for spreading feet.

Brian

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

Martin you are thinking newer style tire machines – I'm thinking ones from 1930's – they were very different and there were many styles and gimmicks.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, I can't imagine it to be a shoe expander. The only shoe expanders I've ever seen, or pictures of, look like these **LINK**

Regards Nick.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Could the projections ringed in red be feet?

Possibly the tool sits on the edge of a table with the 'anvil' points facing up.

My guess is it's for taking the dents out of old-fashioned metal hub caps, and the 'feet' are gripped in a vice.

Dave

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

It's a grostling iron.

George

[IanTParticipant @iant]

That's correct George, although to be absolutely accurate – the French refer to them as "Le Fer Grostling"

They should be heated to red-hot before insertion.

IanT

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

So the projections circled in red would be grostling snibs then.

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

Posted by Georgineer on 12/04/2019 11:33:43:

It's a grostling iron.

George

It may be, but the snibs are different than the irons on the ACME grostling machine common in the USA. 

Edited By Jeff Dayman on 12/04/2019 13:56:55

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

You're wrong, it's a Clebb resizer, possibly the rare left handed version. The upper projections are handles to exert inward pressure on the sliding portion which opens the Clebb up a size.

We used them in the snooker table works for getting each pocket Clebb bang on centre.

[Martin King 2Participant @martinking2]

Well, Clebb resizer made it onto Google! I guess my problem now is finding a suitable EBay category for the listing!

I had no idea what a monster I was letting out of the bag!

Cheers, Martin

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

It's an omnibobulator.

You can tell by the way the queech obulates.

Neil

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