Primitive tools, what do I look for?

[hosman321]

I apologize in advance for not having pictures of this exact piece but I put it on hold at an antique shop. Totally slipped my mind to take pics with my cell phone.

It's a flax breaker, sample pictures are below. It is dated 1823 (carved in) and has simple, primitive carvings of a few flowers and lines. Nothing over the top. The flowers are a pale pink and there's a little bit of pale green. The wood is smooth and worn and the nails are thick and hand-hammered. There are no modern bolts or screws or anything. Obviously, it would be best if I thought to take pictures. The shop is quite a drive and I won't be going back for about 2 weeks. Unless, of course, I can talk the mister into taking me in the next couple days.

My main concern is that it's a nice chunk of money to spend on something without being sure of it's age. Can anybody give me any advice on what to look for specifically? For instance, "If it has ____, it's absolutely a reproduction." Or, "If it has ____ it's most likely authentic." I'm very worried about buying something that somebody built in their garage. The shop owner told me he's 99 percent positive of it's age. He bought it from a woman that bought all her antiques in Virginia. She brought everything here (Washington) with her. Now that she has to move back to Virginia, she doesn't want to haul it all again. He said her house was amazing, filled with amazing primitives and antiques. Anyways, any pointers? How commonly are these simple tools reproduced? I'll take pics when I go make my next payment. Thanks for any advice!

By the way, I'm going to use it as a blanket/quilt rack. I don't plan on making clothes any time soon.

[sapphire]

I can't offer any advice or expertise hosman, but came across this and thought you'd find it interesting.  Especially the video
showing it in action.   If you don't get very much input here you could give this group a shout out. 

http://www.flaxscutching.org/

[hosman321]

Yeah, I saw that site right before you wrote Sapphire. Thank you for the help though, I always appreciate you taking the time to search.
It looks like such a simple thing to buy, but they had a few old blankets laying over it and it just looked amazing. Pretty amazing how people used to make everything by hand.

[waywardangler]

I am not familiar with a flax breaker but have seen a few of the handheld flax paddles with dates carved in and original paint.  After looking online at different flax breakers and from my years of auctions and antique shops, I can honestly say I have never seen a flax breaker like you describe.  I would say they have not been reproduced or they would be all over the place.  There has to be money in it to be reproduced.  My only concern would be if the carving is original to the date and if it is European or American.  I am leery of European items because of the containers of stuff that shows up at flea markets such as goat carts, square wood buckets with 'old' paint and carved names, wood firkins, etc.
Look for wear where there should be wear and years of smoothness from use instead of filed or sanded smoothness.  It sounds legit from your description.

[sapphire]

Came across this one dated late 17th/early 18th  century.....museum piece. Nowhere near as attractive as you describe.

Flax breaker
Wood (maple?), 45" long, 16" wide, 34" high, .
Made in Connecticut (?) in the late 17th or early 18th century and brought to Detroit, Maine by the first settlers.  An essential tool
for preparing flax for the weaver.  After "breaking" the flax, it would be cleaned and sorted with the help of a scutching knife and
board, ripple and hatchel and then wound on a spinning jenny.  For more information on this process, see the reprint on flax
dressing available at the Museum.
MH
9
Flax Dressing Tools
Historic Maritime I (1607-1676): The First Colonial Dominion
TAB1013
http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/tab1013.jpg

[hosman321]

That's so funny Sapphire, I'm on that site right now and was looking at that picture at the same time. Mine is very similar to that but it has 4 legs rather than two. The wood on the one I have is very dried out. It almost has the texture/appearance of driftwood. But different. Very light color and smooth all over. I guess that was what concerned me, too. The fact that the whole thing looks evenly worn rather than certain spots. But now I see these ones online and they look just about the same. I just need to get pics. I'll feel strange taking pictures in the middle of a store. But hey, if they want to sell it then I'm sure they won't mind. Pics will explain a lot. I just have a strange feeling about it and it's usually smart to follow your gut. My husband said, "Well, if it's fake then you'll have a cool looking blanket rack anyways. So don't freak out about it." 

Oh, and I have found some repros online that people still use today. For the hobby of making flax items. But they are clearly newer. With bolts and modern nails and stuff.

[sapphire]

Another 'newer' model 

http://www.search.windowsonwarwickshire.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?theme=485&originator=%2Fengine%2Ftheme%2Fdefault%2Easp&page=&records=&direction=&pointer=398&text=0&resource=9560

[cogar]

Dated 1823 …….. and the nails are thick and hand-hammered.

Items such as that were all hand made, same as spinning or flax wheels, ... and I would be dubious of anything that had nails in it as part of the original construction. But they could have been added at a later date.

Anyway, the nails should be "square" or "cut" nails and they can be dated.

Such "mochines" that are made of wood and are nailed together tend to wobble loose after long periods of use.

[talesofthesevenseas]

You might also look to see if it has peg construction. You might see some of the pegs protruding from the wood, because the wood shrinks over time. Looks like it would make a great quilt rack!!

[Chinese Antique Furniture]

Totally irrelevant to Flax breakers, but HAPPY EASTER  to all

[hosman321]

Most of the construction was wooden pegs holding it together, and they were protruding out a bit like tales said. Kinda like the main wood had shrunk and the pegs hadn't shrunk as much. I think I only saw one or two square-ish nails. Maybe they were repairs? I'll post pics as soon as I go take some.
Thanks for the input, I'll keep everyone's advice in mind when I go look at it again.

[hosman321]

Goin' to pick this up tomorrow, I'll post pics when I get home.

[talesofthesevenseas]

My understanding is that wood shrinks sideways across the grain, and very little, along the grain. So the pegs get squeezed, and start to protrude over time. You might see odd measurements sideways across the grain, and standard measurement lengths (like even inches) due to shrinking.

Looking forward to your pics!

[hosman321]

I think I understand what you're sayin' tales. So, if a log was originally cut to 24" long with a diameter of 12", it would probably still be close to 24" long but may only be 10 inches in diameter? I'm confused. 

So, everything may still fit together lengthwise but will be significantly shrunken in terms of the girth?

[talesofthesevenseas]

My dining table top is a good example of shrinking.
See how the grain runs along the length of the bottom of the picture? The shrinking occurs not in that direction but sideways in the direction that all the pegs are lined up, across the table. The grain tightens up and the pegs have nowhere to go but up and out!  To answer the log question, my understanding is that you probably wouldn't loose a full two inches, (unless it was a huge log) but yes that's the idea.  The length would stay the same and you might loose 1/4" or 1/2" in the diameter of the log as the grain tightened.