Blasting fuse pliers, Spear & Jackson

[kwigly]

Luckily these 5" pliers have "Bickfords Fuse" stamped on one arm, or I would have had trouble in identifying their use as blasting fuse pliers.
The inside of the arms has a cutter to trim the end of a fuse, and the front end is used to crimp a blasting cap onto the fuse.
Also stamped "Spear & Jackson, sole makers, Sheffield & Melbourne"
I know Spear & Jackson as suppliers of carpentry tools, and gardening tools. I can't imagine a big market for these pliers among English carpenters/gardeners, but can see they might have been popular with Australian gardeners

 

[Provincial]

Likely British, Canadian, and Australian combat engineers!

 

[Farmer J.]

Spear and Jackson were/are a huge Sheffield tool maker making a wide range of carpentry tools, saws, as well as forks and shovels and general tools. Lots of pliers made with their name on! Woody has already done excellent thread of research on them. But, I have never seen these specialist ones before, so thanks for posting them. I expect they were used in mining or construction blasting there in Ontario. Possibly by Cornish emigrants who had the experience in setting fuses.

William Bickford was another of our Cornish inventor hero's:

William Bickford - Inventor | Cornwall Guide

William Bickford was born in Devon in 1774. He worked in leather preparation in Truro, before moving to Tuckingmill near Camborne.

www.cornwalls.co.uk

William Bickford, inventor of the safety fuse

His Grandson was a generous philanthropist, and many people enjoy the legacy he left for us.

William Bickford-Smith - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Bickford-Smith Institute | HELSTON HISTORY

www.helstonhistory.co.uk

 

[woody 73]

Been there and done that op:

Spear & Jackson

Funny how things work out as you can recall from my story several weeks ago or maybe longer, in that I bought a very unique tool and it came with a of very old set of wood chisel blades with that tool. The estate agent was very upset with me when I told him the chisels do not belong with the...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Dave455]

Spear and Jackson made all manner of tools, and these would most likely have been made under contract and sold by the fuse makers.

Definitely not military. A military tool would have government marks and the date, probably not the commercial marks.

Would have been used in mining, quarrying, demolition etc!

Edit, it occurs to me that “Bickford, Smith and Co” Bickfords original company, was bought out by ICI before the war. While they continued to make “Bickford” fuse, I don’t think I’ve ever seen “Bickford” branded tools after that date.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

We've had other blasting cap crimpers show up here, all of them military, used by combat engineers and sappers (demolition), including a few that I have found, such as a Wm. Schollhorn, linked here, and a Henley Filson, linked here. They all have a punch on the end of one handle, for poking a hole in the powder explosive, and a screwdriver on the other. I've never seen a pair like yours, which appear to be older. Neat find.
EDIT: Fixed the second link.

 

[Farmer J.]

Spear and Jackson made all manner of tools, and these would most likely have been made under contract and sold by the fuse makers.
Definitely not military. A military tool would have government marks and the date, probably not the commercial mark
Edit, it occurs to me that “Bickford, Smith and Co” Bickfords original company, was bought out by ICI before the war. While they continued to make “Bickford” fuse, I don’t think I’ve ever seen “Bickford” branded tools after that date.

Additional history, from the 'cornwall calling' website, my 2nd link in the post above:
The basic process of making the fuse remains virtually unchanged . Bickford-Smith & Company, in Cornwall, England, took their operation to America in 1836, and the safety fuse manufacturing facility in Simsbury, Connecticut would become The Ensign-Bickford Company.

In 2003 The Ensign-Bickford Company merged with Dyno Nobel ASA, with the new entity to be called Dyno Nobel. Dyno Nobel can now boast the most complete range of initiation systems available on the market today - including the industry's most advanced electronic initiation system.