Unknown Tool

[Ontwowheels]

Greetings. Can anyone shed some light on this tool. A file holder for filing edges perhaps. No makers ID or numbers. I would like to know the age and where it was made. Thanks

 

[flyingblind]

Looks like a card scraper file.

 

[cgrutt]

I was thinking maybe jig for planer blades but card scraper makes more sense.

 

[RTM]

I would agree with file holder, for edge work, like jointing saw teeth before sharpening. Is your aluminum or cast iron?

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[Ontwowheels]

I would agree with file holder, for edge work, like jointing saw teeth before sharpening. Is your aluminum or cast iron?

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Thanks for that picture, mine is cast iron.

 

[Ontwowheels]

I have found that it is an ice skate sharpener.

 

[Copymutt]

I have a few old skate sharpeners, they all use stones.

 

[Old Man Roger]

A skate sharpening tool should have a round stone, not a flat file. I think flyingblind might have it right. Looks like a tool for sharpening a card type cabinet scraper.

 

[four.cycle]

A skate sharpening tool should have a round stone, not a flat file.

The "stone" @Old Man Roger refers to is #9 in the patent drawing below. I did not know there was such a thing as an "Ice Skate Sharpener" until a couple hours ago. Interesting rabbit hole.

The OP's device is for a different purpose.

 

[RTM]

A skate sharpening tool should have a round stone, not a flat file

The "stone" @Old Man Roger refers to is #9 in the patent drawing below. I did not know there was such a thing as an "Ice Skate Sharpener" until a couple hours ago

Yup, from what I’ve read on the net some years ago, the down side of a good ice skate blade, well sharpened, is a tiny inverted U. Forget the why and wherefore, but something about a tiny bit of water melts into the gap, and allows you to glide on water. The ice usually reforms behind you. (And after enough of that, Mr Zamboni comes to the rescue.)

And good sharp blades will cut you while handling, or so a friend tells me.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

the down side of a good ice skate blade, well sharpened, is a tiny inverted U.

They're concave, but shallowly.

And good sharp blades will cut you while handling, or so a friend tells me.

They are extremely sharp. It's common to slip on rubber blade protectors. Modern ice hockey skates are done on a machine, though. Finding a good blade sharpener is something of a mythic storyline in any ice hockey circles, amateur to pros. There are pros who still use sharpeners at their former clubs. Too sharp is worse than too dull for skating. You can dig harder to make up for too dull, too sharp will make you look like a fool.

I'm guessing you're not aware of the tragic freak accident that happened in a game in England last year. After a multi-player collision, former NHL'er Adam Johnson was prone on the ice and slid into the skate of another player, also prone on the ice, and his neck was sliced open. Never made it to the hospital.

 

[RTM]

I'm guessing you're not aware of the tragic freak accident that happened in a game in England last year. After a multi-player collision, former NHL'er Adam Johnson was prone on the ice and slid into the skate of another player, also prone on the ice, and his neck was sliced open. Never made it to the hospital.

Heard of it, preferred not to talk about it.

Going off hearsay from someone who needed stitches after careless handling. Skating for amateurs is not big here in the bay area, tho some pros have come from here .

 

[Old Man Roger]

Hand held skate sharpeners weren’t uncommon in the 80’s

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Definitely not, especially in the sticks. I had one in my bag to undo excessive sharpening.

 

[Ontwowheels]

That is very interesting thanks. I stand to be corrected.

 

[whitesco]

Skate blades have two edges, used by skaters much, much better than I to pull off some amazing agility on ice. Look for a YouTube vid that’s something like “Sydney Crosby’s edges”… anyway here’s a fairly good explanation… it’s not necessarily HOW sharp (you want them sharp) but the size of the hollow. Smaller lighter players usually use a 1/2 hollow and heavier guys can go up (3/4 is another common grind). The heavier you are the more that edge “bites” the ice, so you make it a bit more shallow so it peels ice rather than driving in too deep and sending you high-side.

But with regard to the OP, definitely not a skate sharpener with a flat profile like that. Deburring stones are flat but not what grinds the edges.

How Sharp Should My Skates Be? Blade Hollow Demystified – Weekend Warriors Hockey

weekendwarriorshockey.com

 

[Ontwowheels]

I have found another one, in a museum, used as a paper weight. They said it was a reel mower sharpener. What do you think?

 

[Old Man Roger]

If it has a round file, it's for skates. There would be no need for a concaved cut on a mower blade.

 

[Ontwowheels]

The file is flat.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Ok, not a skate sharpener.

 

[Farmer J.]

I think the museum is right. It's a sharpener for the blades on a cylinder mower, it looks familiar i reckon I have seen one before it was likely in a collection of old lawn mowers.

 

[Old Man Roger]

I think the museum is right. It's a sharpener for the blades on a cylinder mower, it looks familiar i reckon I have seen one before it was likely in a collection of old lawn mowers.

Ahh! A reel mower.

 

[Farmer J.]

Ahh! A reel mower.

I found a picture of them, a real collection...

 

[Beerhippie]

I found a picture of them, a real collection...

GROAN!

I've resharpened several well-abused reel mowers. It's a PITA! The reel and cutter bar work like a pair of scissors, using the helical angle of the reel to slice the grass against the stationary bar. Hence, a properly sharpened reel is 100% concentric. A lathe woud not be out of place for sharpening one.

A good, sharp, well-tuned reel mower is the finest grass cutting device in existence. It leaves a perfectly uniform cut depth with no tattered leaf ends to brown. Power reel mowers, usually gang mowers, are what's used for professional athletic fields, as not only do they make the perfect cut, but they lay the grass down uniformly and directionally, which is how you get the patterns you see--grids, cross-hatch, etc.

--A guy who once snapped lines to get the perfect patterns for rich folk's lawns.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Knowledge.

 

[Beerhippie]

Knowledge.

"Knowledge is good"--Eberhard Faber