John Ruth wrote:


"The seller thought these bronze hammers are Piano Tuner's tools:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/146046409@N.../52185211621/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/146046409@N.../52184190467/in/dateposted-public
"One is a loose hammer head with a tang. The other has a female thread about #6
size, which mates with a steel male thread on the wooden handle.
"I'm a bit skeptical about these being for tuning pianos...what say the Porch?"


It looks like they are made of bronze or maybe brass. The shape is a lot like
the offset touchmarks used by jewelers on the insides of finger rings. The tang,
and the general shape and presence, is a lot like bookbinders finishing tools
(though I doubt they were anything to do with binding because there is no sign
of their being used hot). Not likely to be any kind of hammer, as theree is no
sign of impact and the shape does not give good support for impact. But my wild-
assed guess, worth what yo paid for it, is that they might be some sort of
shoemaker's tool for polishing small out-of-the-way areas, like arts of the tops
of the welts. After all, isn'the aphorism "When in doubt, it's a leatherworker's
tool?"
Tom Conroy