What Is It? Game 59

• PCim
  April 24th, 2008 at 4:31 am

  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!
  April 24th, 2008 at 4:37 am

  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
  April 24th, 2008 at 5:19 am

  old-fashioned lighter, i’ve seen something like this in the Maltese Falcon

• Edgekay
  April 24th, 2008 at 5:27 am

  Definitely a Bloodletting device. Game over

• Sgt_Bilko
  April 24th, 2008 at 5:27 am

  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.

• tlj
  April 24th, 2008 at 7:00 am

  A Scarificator.

• Nick
  April 24th, 2008 at 7:16 am

  You guys are all wrong, it is clearly a doorbell!

• Dr. Bardou
  April 24th, 2008 at 7:22 am

  This is old model IRON, which is near 20th century’s beginning.

• Tyler
  April 24th, 2008 at 7:36 am

  I was gonna say bloodletting device too, but since that’s taken…

  It’s a cigar/bris machine.

• Des Creedon
  April 24th, 2008 at 7:40 am

  It’s a cigarette lighter or a lighter/igniter of some sort.
  And i don’t care what ye guys say it is.

• anon
  April 24th, 2008 at 7:48 am

  Looks like a fishing reel to me…

• seesbeauty
  April 24th, 2008 at 7:50 am

  Some sort of counter - for a conductor, or a ticket-taker?

• cardo
  April 24th, 2008 at 8:10 am

  Door Latch

• Craig Clayton
  April 24th, 2008 at 8:25 am

  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
  April 24th, 2008 at 9:24 am

  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!

• John S.
  April 24th, 2008 at 9:33 am

  Could it be a cable slicer?

• Luci
  April 24th, 2008 at 9:40 am

  Yikes. Definitely a blood-letter. Gross.

• amanderpanderer
  April 24th, 2008 at 10:16 am

  lancelet for bloodletting.

• Wincey
  April 24th, 2008 at 10:17 am

  I think cardo is right — think it’s a door latch.

• Jonathan
  April 24th, 2008 at 10:18 am

  I believe it’s a bobbin from a sewing machine

• jack.wh
  April 24th, 2008 at 10:28 am

  It automatically stuffs badgers.

• JMT
  April 24th, 2008 at 10:55 am

  Steampunk Atari controller.

• Chuss
  April 24th, 2008 at 10:56 am

  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
  April 24th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

  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
  April 24th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

  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.

• Nicole
  April 24th, 2008 at 1:41 pm

  I agree Jonathan–looks like a bobbin to me.

• the man
  April 24th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

  It is a blood letting device. Alistair Cookes’ Ameica series has footage of him showing the use of one of these.

• Nemo
  April 24th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

  Supersonic automatic fluorescent discombobulating frangistic super mach-forsceptic needle exploding potato masher!

• Anonymous
  April 24th, 2008 at 8:49 pm

  It’s a paperweight/nosepicker!

• Cori
  April 24th, 2008 at 10:34 pm

  Definitely a steampunk AC adapter.

• bibli0phile
  April 25th, 2008 at 12:19 am

  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
  April 25th, 2008 at 12:25 am

  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
  April 25th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

  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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