Two Pints of Preston and a packet of crisps please Guvnor

Bm101 · 30 Oct 2016

Right, so. Bit of an odd one. Looking at a joblot of tools on ebay i spotted a preston spokeshave looking very forlorn. The post was collection only and a little too far to drive but my lord what the man was offering was gobsmacking. 8 or 9 braces, some woodies, £20 buy it now but it was collection only. On the off chance I messaged the seller. That rusty old spoke shave is a Preston, I'll give you a fair price if you want to post. Sometimes honesty pays.

He sent me the shave and another item for a tenner. Then he pm'd me. I have another one. It's a bit more curvy. So for £15 I got 2 preston spokeshaves and the real reason for this post. The packet of crisps.
I'm a bit baffled to it's use tbh.
I have my guesses, but, i'd love to hear what you guys think. I haven't touched the 'crisps' yet with the anti rusting solution. It's seized up and has no makers mark.
I look forward to my enlightenment.

Ps: I've cleaned the rust off the shaves but rather than mess about I'm going to buy one replacement blade from Ray Iles and share it between them till I know whats up with using them.

Can anyone shed light on the last tool?

Regards as always
Chris

(ps the pics are all pre treatment!)

marcros · 30 Oct 2016

a scorp, for chair making?

AndyT · 30 Oct 2016

What a lovely story Chris! Honesty certainly paid off for you this time.

To ignore the Preston gloat for a moment and answer the question, for once I really can say 'leather worker's tool'.

Specifically, it's a cobbler's heel shave. Developed in the US and therefore also called a Yankee Shave, it was used to shave the outside of a heel, giving it a concave curve. They were available in various sweeps, to suit different sizes and styles of shoes and boots. The depth of cut can be set by the bit of metal on the side, which should swivel on one end and have a slot at the other.

Bm101 · 30 Oct 2016

God Almighty Andy. :shock:

Bm101 · 30 Oct 2016

So Is anyone a cobbler on here I have a 'vintage' Yankee Shave for sale. I'm asking £15. (hammer)

In all seriousness if anyone can use it, it's yours for free +postage, if anyone can suggest a donatable cause let me know and I'll post it for free and if you live in North East Essex and want a load of braces and woodies, pm for the guy's ebay page. Take care.

AndyT · 30 Oct 2016

Keep it, Chris, and start a collection... if only for the names!

Just think of how you could impress your friends when you show them your:

- bunking iron
- petty boy
- pig feet
- bottom filling knife
- polishing bone
- butt knife
- puff stick

etc etc?

These are all genuine names of shoemaker's tools, as listed in Salaman's dictionary of Leatherworking tools. There will be examples of many of them in Raphael Salaman's own collection, which belongs to the St Alban's museum, and used to be on display there. They want to be able to display it again, but times are hard for small museums, even those who might be eligible for sponsorhip by Viz!