Gristmill What’s It

Pre 2011

From Earlier Issues & Others

The Gristmill What’s It Column for December 2011

145-1 6” long, from the Wisconsin What’s It presentation: 

Text on the handle says “Lutz File and Tool Co. Cinti, O” but that probably refers to the handle only and not the part with the gears.

The tag measures 4-3/4″ x 2-3/8″:

145-2
This item is sealed closed, the only opening is the small hole which measures just less than 1/2″, the pieces of canvas are riveted to the tubes and could not be easily replaced.

I’ve shown these photos to a lot of people, the best guess that I’ve heard for it is that it’s for catching a swarm of bees or other insects, with the tubes being filled with some type of attractant.  The second best guess is that it’s someone’s prototype for an invention, purpose unknown.  Hopefully someone here will provide us with a verifiable answer.

145-3

The owner of this tool says that the attached bar can move inside the curve of the tines and then springs back to its original location

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