On Sep 29, 1:36*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> Look upon it and despair:
>
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/120785825102
>
> I hope that link works. *I couldn't test it
> directly since eBay stopped working on Netscape.
>
> Normally I don't like to give my speculations
> because I don't want to prejudice the guesses,
> but in this case I want to say why I don't
> think it is a lemon squeezer. *First, the shape
> of the grasping part doesn't match with a
> lemon half. *A whole lemon, maybe, but nobody
> squeezes whole lemons. *(Not at home, anyway.
> Maybe in a large industrial lemonade factory.)
>
> The lip along one side suggests something is
> catching the juice, so it does appear to be
> for separating juice from something.
>
> The grasping part is further from the hinge
> than where the hand would hold it, so it's
> deleveraged. *That suggests the stuff being
> held is not being squeezed very hard, if at
> all.
>
> My first thought is that it's a bar tool for
> separating the syrup from maraschino cherries
> so you can make a large number of Tom Collinses
> or something. *That seems like such a stupid
> idea I hesitate to mention it. *Separating
> olives from their brine seems slightly less
> stupid.
>
> Any reasonable theory should explain why it
> has a lock. *Maybe the thing being grabbed is
> alive, such as live shrimp or a frog.

I think it's an antique egg slicing guide. Or a slicing guide for
lemons, etc.

On Sep 29, 1:36*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> Look upon it and despair:
>
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/120785825102
>
> I hope that link works. *I couldn't test it
> directly since eBay stopped working on Netscape.
>
> Normally I don't like to give my speculations
> because I don't want to prejudice the guesses,
> but in this case I want to say why I don't
> think it is a lemon squeezer. *First, the shape
> of the grasping part doesn't match with a
> lemon half. *A whole lemon, maybe, but nobody
> squeezes whole lemons. *(Not at home, anyway.
> Maybe in a large industrial lemonade factory.)
>
> The lip along one side suggests something is
> catching the juice, so it does appear to be
> for separating juice from something.
>
> The grasping part is further from the hinge
> than where the hand would hold it, so it's
> deleveraged. *That suggests the stuff being
> held is not being squeezed very hard, if at
> all.
>
> My first thought is that it's a bar tool for
> separating the syrup from maraschino cherries
> so you can make a large number of Tom Collinses
> or something. *That seems like such a stupid
> idea I hesitate to mention it. *Separating
> olives from their brine seems slightly less
> stupid.
>
> Any reasonable theory should explain why it
> has a lock. *Maybe the thing being grabbed is
> alive, such as live shrimp or a frog.

BTW. Get Firefox.

On Sep 29, 12:40*pm, ImStillMags > wrote:
> On Sep 29, 1:36*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Look upon it and despair:
>
> >http://www.ebay.com/itm/120785825102
>
> > I hope that link works. *I couldn't test it
> > directly since eBay stopped working on Netscape.
>
> > Normally I don't like to give my speculations
> > because I don't want to prejudice the guesses,
> > but in this case I want to say why I don't
> > think it is a lemon squeezer. *First, the shape
> > of the grasping part doesn't match with a
> > lemon half. *A whole lemon, maybe, but nobody
> > squeezes whole lemons. *(Not at home, anyway.
> > Maybe in a large industrial lemonade factory.)
>
> > The lip along one side suggests something is
> > catching the juice, so it does appear to be
> > for separating juice from something.
>
> > The grasping part is further from the hinge
> > than where the hand would hold it, so it's
> > deleveraged. *That suggests the stuff being
> > held is not being squeezed very hard, if at
> > all.
>
> > My first thought is that it's a bar tool for
> > separating the syrup from maraschino cherries
> > so you can make a large number of Tom Collinses
> > or something. *That seems like such a stupid
> > idea I hesitate to mention it. *Separating
> > olives from their brine seems slightly less
> > stupid.
>
> > Any reasonable theory should explain why it
> > has a lock. *Maybe the thing being grabbed is
> > alive, such as live shrimp or a frog.
>
> I think it's an antique egg slicing guide. *Or a slicing guide for
> lemons, etc.

I think it's for tomatoes as I got one with the topsy turvy tomato
planter...

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> Look upon it and despair:
>
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/120785825102
>


Place tomato, or onion between combs and slice with a knife using combs as
guides.



Robert

Does anyone know what this mortar is used for ? A small mortar and
pestle, all right, but it is unusually wide for a regular mortar, it
has a fine mesh too, a net finer than a tea strainer.

When assembled, there is no free space between the net and bottoom of
the mortar:

Parts: http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/9541/pict0197zs4.jpg

Ready to use: http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/1406/nestoua3.jpg

On the counter: http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1379/nesto2pe1.jpg

Mass: 8.5oz (241g),
Diameter: 3.43" (87mm),
Height (all parts together): 2.76" (70mm).

Look upon it and despair:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120785825102

I hope that link works. I couldn't test it
directly since eBay stopped working on Netscape.

Normally I don't like to give my speculations
because I don't want to prejudice the guesses,
but in this case I want to say why I don't
think it is a lemon squeezer. First, the shape
of the grasping part doesn't match with a
lemon half. A whole lemon, maybe, but nobody
squeezes whole lemons. (Not at home, anyway.
Maybe in a large industrial lemonade factory.)

The lip along one side suggests something is
catching the juice, so it does appear to be
for separating juice from something.

The grasping part is further from the hinge
than where the hand would hold it, so it's
deleveraged. That suggests the stuff being
held is not being squeezed very hard, if at
all.

My first thought is that it's a bar tool for
separating the syrup from maraschino cherries
so you can make a large number of Tom Collinses
or something. That seems like such a stupid
idea I hesitate to mention it. Separating
olives from their brine seems slightly less
stupid.

Any reasonable theory should explain why it
has a lock. Maybe the thing being grabbed is
alive, such as live shrimp or a frog.

On Sep 29, 2:40*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> Feranija wrote:
>
> > Does anyone know what this mortar is used for ? A small mortar and
> > pestle, all right, but it is unusually wide for a regular mortar, it
> > has a fine mesh too, a net finer than a tea strainer.
>
> > When assembled, there is no free space between the net and bottoom of
> > the mortar:
>
> I'd say it's for making a small amount of
> hash powder from the dried buds.

don't bogart that joint, my friend....

On Sep 29, 3:49*pm, "Robert" > wrote:
> "Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> > Look upon it and despair:
>
> >http://www.ebay.com/itm/120785825102
>
> Place tomato, or onion between combs and slice with a knife using combs as
> guides.
>
> Robert

Or a hard boiled egg? I wouldn't give it drawer space.

On Sep 29, 5:38*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> ImStillMags wrote:
>
> > I think it's an antique egg slicing guide. *Or a slicing guide for
> > lemons, etc.
>
> Brilliant! *That makes perfect sense.

I bid on it. I think that an unintended use might be spaghetti tongs.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.

"Mark Thorson" > wrote in message
...
> Look upon it and despair:
>
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/120785825102
>
> I hope that link works. I couldn't test it
> directly since eBay stopped working on Netscape.
>
> Normally I don't like to give my speculations
> because I don't want to prejudice the guesses,
> but in this case I want to say why I don't
> think it is a lemon squeezer. First, the shape
> of the grasping part doesn't match with a
> lemon half. A whole lemon, maybe, but nobody
> squeezes whole lemons. (Not at home, anyway.
> Maybe in a large industrial lemonade factory.)
>
> The lip along one side suggests something is
> catching the juice, so it does appear to be
> for separating juice from something.
>
> The grasping part is further from the hinge
> than where the hand would hold it, so it's
> deleveraged. That suggests the stuff being
> held is not being squeezed very hard, if at
> all.
>
> My first thought is that it's a bar tool for
> separating the syrup from maraschino cherries
> so you can make a large number of Tom Collinses
> or something. That seems like such a stupid
> idea I hesitate to mention it. Separating
> olives from their brine seems slightly less
> stupid.
>
> Any reasonable theory should explain why it
> has a lock. Maybe the thing being grabbed is
> alive, such as live shrimp or a frog.

Ugh! I freaking hate that one! It's supposed to be a slicer. You put in
your tomato or onion or whatever and then supposedly you run the knife down
the slots and get thin slices. Only problem is your knife won't curve that
way and it won't work. It also won't hold the round fruit or veg. I know
this because I had one many years ago.

Then one day I was asked to help fix dinner at my parent's house. Which I
hate to do because they insist that you have to do things their way. And I
was told their way to slice an onion was to use that device. I replied,
"I'm sorry but I just can't do that. It doesn't work!"

My dad then got very angry with me, yelled at me and called me a few choice
names then told me to get out of the kitchen. Which I did.

Well not long after when he tried to slice the onion, it shot out of the
device. Not once but every time he tried to do that.

So he sheepishly called me back, apologized to me and then asked me how I
slice *my* onion. Heh. I can do it just fine with a knife.

ImStillMags wrote:
>
> I think it's an antique egg slicing guide. Or a slicing guide for
> lemons, etc.

Brilliant! That makes perfect sense.

Feranija wrote:
>
> Does anyone know what this mortar is used for ? A small mortar and
> pestle, all right, but it is unusually wide for a regular mortar, it
> has a fine mesh too, a net finer than a tea strainer.
>
> When assembled, there is no free space between the net and bottoom of
> the mortar:

I'd say it's for making a small amount of
hash powder from the dried buds.

"l, not -l" wrote:
>
> On 29-Sep-2011, ImStillMags > wrote:
>
> > I think it's an antique egg slicing guide. Or a slicing guide for
> > lemons, etc.
>
> Close; it used to be sold as a tomato slicing guide. Through the miracle of
> modern marketing, it is now a Fruit and Vegetable Holder. From the friendly
> gadgeteers at Walter Drake and, no doubt many other catalog companies.
> http://www.wdrake.com/WalterDrake/Sh...tID=0000105118

Ah! The lip is actually to make it more steady
on a cutting board. It seems to me that when
the knife bottoms out on the metal tool, that
would be bad for the knife edge.

Customers gave it pretty bad reviews.

Thanks for finding this link. It conclusively
answers the question.

Chemo the Clown wrote:
>
> On Sep 29, 2:40 pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> > Feranija wrote:
> >
> > > Does anyone know what this mortar is used for ? A small mortar and
> > > pestle, all right, but it is unusually wide for a regular mortar, it
> > > has a fine mesh too, a net finer than a tea strainer.
> >
> > > When assembled, there is no free space between the net and bottoom of
> > > the mortar:
> >
> > I'd say it's for making a small amount of
> > hash powder from the dried buds.
>
> don't bogart that joint, my friend....

Or breaking down rocks into powder.

Feranija wrote:
>
> Does anyone know what this mortar is used for ? A small mortar and
> pestle, all right, but it is unusually wide for a regular mortar, it
> has a fine mesh too, a net finer than a tea strainer.

The fine mesh had me think spice grinding.

> When assembled, there is no free space between the net and bottoom of
> the mortar:

The small space has me think saffron powdering tool.

> Parts: http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/9541/pict0197zs4.jpg
> Ready to use: http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/1406/nestoua3.jpg
> On the counter: http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1379/nesto2pe1.jpg
>
> Mass: 8.5oz (241g),
> Diameter: 3.43" (87mm),
> Height (all parts together): 2.76" (70mm).

Although I think Mark Thorsson's suggestion is not out of line if it's
over a century old.