We spent some time tonight over in the shop. I know, that would not seem to be part of the area we picked for the March project; but given the inextricably tangled nature of the bits and stuff here, things need to be shuffled there before other things can be shuffled somewhere else, which, yes, is rather a pain, but it is part of the progress.
And in going through stuff in the shop (why yes, we filled some more bins for scrap, of course of course!) we found these mystery items:
The bigger two are like four inches in diameter for the round part (maybe seven or eight inches altogether including the spiky thing) and are made of some kind of metal. They hinge open a bit. Tara's best guess is that maybe they are some kind of spurs, for riding a horse? If so they're a particularly nasty kind for the poor horse, and I'd also think there'd be more straps, or places to attach straps.
I mean not that my father ever got anywhere near a horse, as far as I know. Though he always hated cows, or would at least rant about them on occasion. But the lack of horse experience, of course, means nothing at all about why he had them, or why he would have saved them. There is as ever no reason.
Any ideas?
7 comments:
I suppose you've already ruled out medieval instruments of torture?
I'd guess a farming implement? If you had a rake and the metal kept wearing out, you'd have to buy a new one, but if you had a system where these locked into slots on a thing attached to the handle, you'd only have to buy more of the thingies.
My husband's theory: "They're for holding something removable to either the ground or the side of a building, I would bet. The spike part gets nailed in, the thingy goes into the round space, and some wire or a nut and bolt holds the hook-ends closed. maybe pipes or downspouts? That's my best guess, anyway."
As someone who used to ride - no, not spurs or part of a horse's tack. Not even for a really NASTY horse.
There's got to be a way to put all these oddments on e-Bay or something... Goodness knows, they make windchimes out of old spoons, some crafter would have a field day with all your weird wrenches and who-knows-what.
Julie's husband's theory is right. These are drain pipe/down spout holders. A wire holds the two hooked ends together and the spike goes into the siding of the house. A Massachusetts thing of the past.
Darn. I was going to suggest earring for Thunderdome.
*On a side note, Thalia, I am really enjoying Harpo Speaks. He played at the Thalia Theater! Thank you for the recommendation.
These things are still commercially available. Here is an excerpt of a description of one: '...Corrugated Downspout Hook in zinc for attaching galvanized or zinc downspouts to an exterior wall. The hinged hook allows for easy removal of downspout for cleaning or maintenance. Two downspout hooks are required per single story downspout assembly. A third may be used with a two-story downspout..."
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