toxo Report post Posted October 1, 2019 I would say an iron of some kind? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredk Report post Posted October 1, 2019 tbh. I'd like to know as well as I have one in my leather tools box I was told it was a cobbler's anvil/hammer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) That is what it is " Cobbler's Anvil / Hammer" ..I got one "thrown in" (and some other stuff ) when I bought my 29K Patcher from the grand daughter of a French Cobbler near Rennes. She remembered him using all his tools, knew what each one was for, even how the patcher worked ( and threaded ) , he used to let her play with it, ( and the other hand tools ) sew scraps etc.. Cobblers here ( in the countryside at least ) used to make shoes, boots, clogs, saddles and harness ( general "tack" ), general "leather work", bags etc , feed bags, and mattressess.. The latter really surprised me..they made the straw stuffed ones and the sheep's wool surfaced ones.. Nowadays it is all "shoe bars" ( stick on sole and heel ) that cut keys and make number plates, and have a patcher in back that most do not know how to use properly.. :( Edited October 1, 2019 by mikesc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toxo Report post Posted October 1, 2019 Come on Mike! That's only half an answer. We wanna know how it was used don't we Fred? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimi Report post Posted October 1, 2019 I think they used that for glazing, it gets heated up then the edge of the sole gets waxed and then is glazed with it?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sheilajeanne Report post Posted October 1, 2019 Mike, when my dad was a lad, he slept on a mattress stuffed with corn shucks. Occasionally, the sharp end of one of the shucks would be poking him, and he'd have to pummel the mattress with his fist to re-arrange the stuffing! I think the mattresses were home-made. He was one of 10 kids in a farming family. Never would have thought of a cobbler making mattresses, either! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredk Report post Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) 20 minutes ago, toxo said: Come on Mike! That's only half an answer. We wanna know how it was used don't we Fred? ah shore do The only time I reckon I used mine was as an anvil at a medieval show. I was the go-to-guy for on site repairs. One of the demo fighters comes to me. His sewn on heel on one of his shoes was loose. Medieval shoes have only a thin leather heel, about 3mm thick. So I used tacks to re-attach the heel using this tool on the inside of the shoe to turn over the tack points by hammering the tacks thru and onto this tool Edited October 1, 2019 by fredk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matt S Report post Posted October 1, 2019 47 minutes ago, jimi said: I think they used that for glazing, it gets heated up then the edge of the sole gets waxed and then is glazed with it?? This. I believe they were used in the days before finishing machines were available. Current production: https://www.georgebarnsleyandsons.co.uk/product-page/glazing-iron Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niakulah Report post Posted October 1, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Matt S said: This. I believe they were used in the days before finishing machines were available. Current production: https://www.georgebarnsleyandsons.co.uk/product-page/glazing-iron I believe you're right. 3rd and 4th pic show some of the tools in action. Edited October 1, 2019 by niakulah Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toxo Report post Posted October 2, 2019 12 hours ago, jimi said: I think they used that for glazing, it gets heated up then the edge of the sole gets waxed and then is glazed with it?? I can see that. A bit like the Household Cavalry using a heated spoon to supershine their boots. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arashikage Report post Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) It is definitely a glazing iron. They are made in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit different heels and soles. This one is a step design to do the heel and sole. The big curve is for the heel and the little notch is for soles. In the pic above there is one that is heel only (1st from left) and on that is sole only (3rd from right). They are still commonly used in the bespoke and hand-made shoe world. Fun fact: these are heated with an alcohol lamp because of how clean they burn. That way it is less likely to cause soot formation on the tool and won't ruin the finish you're trying to achieve on the shoe. Edited October 2, 2019 by arashikage Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) Well that saved me from a 200km drive ( each way ) to ask the grand daughter "was she sure ?" ( and given that it has been a few years since I bought the machine, she'd have wondered "why is he here?" ) Glazing iron makes sense, but she said anvil /hammer ..the guy probably used it for a " universal tool"..it has some quite substantial "dings" and "chips" that says it was sometimes being used for a hammer..He had left it clamped in a bench vice, ( head uppermost ) and had used it as a tiny anvil*..right next to his workbench ( about 20 cm from one of it's legs ) was the smallest "pot bellied" wood burning stove I have ever seen, with the flue tube going straight up and out through the roof..Kept the place warm she said..and he used to brew his tea and coffee on it , probably heated the glazing iron ( sometime anvil / hammer ) on the top too..I wish I'd thought to take some photos of his workshop..tiny place..I had trouble standing up in it..and really had to crouch down to get through the door, but the Bretons are usually not very tall. I imagine the guy in there like one of the Hummel figurines of a cobbler.. Mine ( anvil/ hammer/ glazing tool ) looks like toxo's..with the same notch..and the handle is split from age the same way.. Busy today ( and it is raining ) or I'd go dig it out from the atelier to see if anything is written on it or stamped on the head somewhere. *You see more big anvils around here than you see small or tiny ones..you can buy them, just don't see many..I saw one tiny one being used by a leatherworker ( compagnon de devoir ) at a fair last summer..I have one somewhere, and a big one, but mostly use a 30cm piece of railway track..or a "hammer mounted upright in in a bench vice".. :) Most hammers ( carpenters, cabinet makers etc ) in France have the shape of that tool, in varying sizes..Then there are lump hammers, sledge hammers and roofing hammers for work with slates..ball peen hammers are rarely seen ( those who have seen my hammers have always asked "what is that" ) and claw hammers are sold as "American hammers"..nails are normally removed with a pincer like tool..Welders hammers have the "wedge" going horizontally, ( right angle to the shaft ) whereas in other countries I have lived in the wedge is vertical , parallel to the shaft. Not one big box tool store, or small tool shop, sells Manual Bearing Presses ( like the 1 Ton arbor press models that many leatherworkers use for stamps )..they used to be made in France, as elsewhere, now they are all imported, and only available "online" at twice the price of them in other countries..Cheaper to order from the UK or Germany than to order from a French reseller...Same applies to sculptors tools.. for sculpture of wood or stone..and yet there are many artisans here.. The true use is a glazing tool eh..I learned something today.any day when you learn something is a good day :) Edited October 2, 2019 by mikesc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arashikage Report post Posted October 2, 2019 40 minutes ago, mikesc said: *You see more big anvils around here than you see small or tiny ones..you can buy them, just don't see many..I saw one tiny one being used by a leatherworker ( compagnon de devoir ) at a fair last summer..I have one somewhere, and a big one, but mostly use a 30cm piece of railway track..or a "hammer mounted upright in in a bench vice".. Most hammers ( carpenters, cabinet makers etc ) in France have the shape of that tool, in varying sizes..Then there are lump hammers, sledge hammers and roofing hammers for work with slates..ball peen hammers are rarely seen ( those who have seen my hammers have always asked "what is that" ) and claw hammers are sold as "American hammers"..nails are normally removed with a pincer like tool..Welders hammers have the "wedge" going horizontally, ( right angle to the shaft ) whereas in other countries I have lived in the wedge is vertical , parallel to the shaft. Not one big box tool store, or small tool shop, sells Manual Bearing Presses ( like the 1 Ton arbor press models that many leatherworkers use for stamps )..they used to be made in France, as elsewhere, now they are all imported, and only available "online" at twice the price of them in other countries..Cheaper to order from the UK or Germany than to order from a French reseller...Same applies to sculptors tools.. for sculpture of wood or stone..and yet there are many artisans here.. The true use is a glazing tool eh..I learned something today.any day when you learn something is a good day I can see where France would be more likely to have big anvils. Having a much longer history of blacksmithing than the US. And I can see hammer shapes being influenced by smithing. But I would have thought that a ball peen would be pretty universal for metal working. I've never seen a welding hammer that didn't have wedge vertical. Interesting. All my French hammer experience comes from French shoe hammers. Which just happens to be my favorite hammer for leather working. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikesc Report post Posted October 2, 2019 (edited) Here...Blacksmith's hammers look like carpenters hammers, same basic form as the one in this thread..but bigger..Some metal workers have a sort of ball b peen, but the ball is at the end of a longer "finger"..and the other end is longer and or flatter too ..Think "planishing hammer" variants.. Tool shapes ( and even the existence of many tools ) varies from region to region, which make sense..The names of some tools, and many many many objects / things, varies from region to region of France too. Wine barrels* vary in shape and finish depending on the region that they were used or destined for.. *Barrels were obviously not just made for wine..there's Water, Olives, Berries, Oils..whatever..all different , all varying from region to region.. I have bookshelves full of books about this kind of stuff, and multiple terrabytes of recordings of TV programs and documentaries..fascinating.. :) Huge variations in leatherwork ( shoes, saddles, harness, clothes, aprons, bags etc ) too ..plus "old style"..and "new style".. Edited October 2, 2019 by mikesc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
