Can You Identify these items??

[Payback]

I inherited a toolbox from an older cousin. It has many older tools that I can decipher what they were used for, but these things have gotten me baffled. The only information that I can provide is that my cousin was a lifetime employee of CON ED as an electrical inspector, and his Father was a plumber. He had many of his father's plumbing tools and wrenches, and I see that some of the tools were used in servicing or building boilers. There also were some older electrician tools that I can't quite put a use to yet. I may post some of those things later for help identifying.
These items were found stored in the iron pipes you see. Assorted sizes but the shapes are consistent. They don't appear to be files; all the tapers are smooth other than some marks from being used. I also have much larger ones floating around that were not stored like these were. I'm thinking that there may have been a handle of some type that these fit into like a file would fit in to a handle.
Any help figuring out what these were used for would be great! Thanks in Advance.

 

[Gunfixr]

They look like needle files. They don't have fine file teeth on them?

 

[woody 73]

The pipe was a way to hold all those files, clever idea from your cousin's Family.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Pipe bomb!

 

[RTM]

Wonder if they are machinist scrapers. Look like files, but with sharp corners, and flat faces.

Also could be file blanks. Last set that came through were actually marked on the box, kinda funny we got asked for ID. Doubt your pipe is marked.

 

[Pexto]

I'm baffled! I've seen blank files, but these look a little different. And I've seen files with no teeth, or with the teeth ground off, to be used variously as scrapers and reamers (and sometimes burnishers). But nobody who knew anything about tools would store all those cutting edges unprotected in a pipe.

What do the tips look like? Are they sharp? Are they just pointed, or do they have a flat cutting bevel?

Any markings anywhere?

 

[MongoTA]

My first thought was with RTM, that they are machinist deburring scrapers, but deburring scrapers are traditionally more for tool and die makers. One end would be inserted into a handle.

 

[Payback]

So, I think that RTM might be on the right path. They do not have file "teeth" on any of them. They are sharp edged and tapered, some with a point, some blunt, some are very small, some of the larger ones are also tapered but with a star shape cross section, having multiple sharp edges like to de-burr the inner portion of pipe. These seem to be too small or fragile for any kind of pipe of a plumber.
The storage pipes did catch me and my pop off guard at first finding them in the bottom of the toolbox, we both said pipe bombs??
I thought it might be a clue as to how they were stored, every trade has its own little tricks to keep things organized. I could see a machinist doing this to store them. There's no knowledge of machinists in the family.
I really appreciate the interest in solving this mystery, I found plenty of other tools and such in his toolboxes that could use a bit more explanation.

 

[mcj115]

Could they be needles from a needle scaler? They may have used a scaler to clean the inside of boilers

 

[MShaw]

If they look like this they are clockmaker's broaches. When a clock is repaired any worn bearing holes are enlarged and a bushing installed. These tools are used to shave small amounts of brass out of the bushing to fit it to the shaft size. If there are round ones with no cutting edges these are used to burnish the fitted bushing to a mirror finish to minimize friction.

 

[Gunfixr]

Hadn't thought of that.
I've not purchased scrapers, but I have made them from old dull files.

It was quickly clear to me that the pipes were merely containers.
Needle scalers don't have threads at the end, and the needles are not pointed.

 

[Pexto]

If they have sharp edges then they are reamers (or broaches, as MShaw said. But I can't believe anyone with a set of reamers like that would store them in a pipe - reamers and broaches are expensive precision tools.

 

[Jacko264]

This is getting intriguing I have one very similar.
I had a tool box given to me years ago full of different tools the person that had it before me worker making jet aeroplanes
Graham