Yipee! It’s time for our weekly collaboration with What is it? blog – can you guess what this strange tool above is for?
Place your guess in the comment section – you’re playing for fun and bragging rights only this week (no prize). For more clues, check out What is it? blog!
Update 4/25/08 – the answer is: scarificator, used for doctors for bloodletting. Congrats to PCim who got it right first!
PCim
I believe this is an old medical device used to bleed a patient. I forget if it was just used to bleed a boil or if it was used to create cuts to attach leaches. I think I remember seeing this in Williamsburg, VA.
d!
for bloodletting. spring loaded razors shoot out and back extremely fast in opposite directions from the slits on the flat side.
sound like sooper good fun !
Colin
old-fashioned lighter, i’ve seen something like this in the Maltese Falcon
Sgt_Bilko
I think its an early mechanical date/address stamp.
Lift it off the integral inkpad/lid/base by the round handle, put it in place on your document, then pull the lever to press the pad down and leave your mark.
the second round handle must be the lock to stop accidental stamping, or to allow for change of the stamp pad.
Dr. Bardou
This is old model IRON, which is near 20th century’s beginning.
Tyler
I was gonna say bloodletting device too, but since that’s taken…
It’s a cigar/bris machine.
Des Creedon
It’s a cigarette lighter or a lighter/igniter of some sort.
And i don’t care what ye guys say it is.
Craig Clayton
I believe it is a marking tool for security banding straps that use a lead seal to imprint the combination of date or location. From railroad or treasury services.
fisherdah
bloodletting device, for positive. it is spring loaded and has about 5 thin blades. it would have been places on the wrist, the lever engaged and the trigger pulled. then the blood used for fun and profit!
Chuss
I think it is a door hold then release catch. You slide the door catch across, hook it, pull the lever to lock it, and to open it, you step on the top “button”
We have an old one from an old fire station, and it looks a bit like that
Skipweasel
I’m fairly sure it’s a fleam – that’s what us Brits call a blood letting machine. I once worked for a vet who had one.
That’s an animal doctor, not a retired soldier!
Beckster
What about an automatic ink stamp? You place the thing over where you want to stamp, pull the trigger, the form which was touching the ink pad is pulled away and then the form touches the page.
the man
It is a blood letting device. Alistair Cookes’ Ameica series has footage of him showing the use of one of these.
Nemo
Supersonic automatic fluorescent discombobulating frangistic super mach-forsceptic needle exploding potato masher!
bibli0phile
The technical term for this thingamabob is a “scarificator.” As others have said, it’s used for bloodletting. The hammer cocks back, pulling the blades inside. When the hammer is released, the blades pop out, slicing into the skin.
There are various versions of this type of “box” scarificator. I’ve seen ones with up to 16 blades.The box shape seems most common, judging on the number I’ve seen, but they can get pretty fancy.
Check out this page to see more:
http://www.phisick.com/zphleb.htm
NOTICE
someone please tell the guy that runs his site that the navigation makes NO SENSE and it’s nearly impossible to figure out what I’m looking at.
and NOBODY likes to wait a week to find out what they’re looking at.
Alex
Ah, it was too easy for you guys! It’s a scarificator for bloodletting. PCim got it right, on the first comment too!
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