Greetings Porchlings,
I bought a grouping of tools off of that big auction site we all know and
love. I was mainly interested in the German "Perfection" style
screwdriver, which turned out to be the 5" size. I also got a couple of
bevel gauges, including one that is rosewood & brass and 10-1/2 inches
long (closed). It has a circular Patent Date stamp in the rosewood, but
no other markings. From the date (Sept. 4. 1877) I was able to use DATAMP
to determine that it was a Traut Patent Stanley. Not sure how long they
might have stamped the wood in this fashion and yet had no other Stanley
markings. Certainly not rare, but it looks pretty old to my eyes. Does
anyone have any idea how long Stanley used real rosewood on their bevel
gauges?

Also in the group was a tang chisel exactly 1 cm wide which (if I am
reading it correctly) is a (Some initial) TILLOTSON chisel. It is ground
slighly skew (a bit too much to appear merely sloppy). It is also stamped
"CRYSTALLIZED CAST STEEL". Does anyone have any information on Tillotson
(approximate age, etc.) and what in the world is "Crystallized" cast
steel? 

Finally, I got an odd item that is a "whatsit" to me. It looks like a 9"
long letter opener except the blade is too fat to be useful for that (If
you cut it, the cross-section would be American Football shaped. It has a
wooden handle about 4-1/2" long and the metal part is stuck into it like
a tanged chisel. It comes to a rounded point that does not appear to ever
have been sharpened for any reason. My guess is that it is a scraper
burnisher, but I'm not sure why the football cross-section. Has anyone
ever seen anything fitting this description? I'll try to get a picture up
in the mornng.

Thanks in advance for any wisdom (or guesses) you can shed.

Darren Addy
Kearney, Nebraska