Primitive tools, what do I look for?

[hosman321]

Lol, I don't think you could have made it any more "idiot proof" for me tales. I understand now. 
Thanks again for the advice! I sure hope I'm buyin' somethin' really old.

[hosman321]

I was wrong about the year, it's 1832.
I have a ton of pics but didn't want to make multiple posts. tales, do you think it's really old?
I can take pics of the nails, too. There are only 3 or 4 on the legs.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Looking up close at the pegs and the 1832, the pegs sure look like they are popping out due to wood shrinkage, and the cracking of the wood seems to be going right through the date, like it was carved prior to the splitting, but I should let the others weigh in on that.

But what bothers me is that I don't see the same kind of effect on the hearts and flower pot, like perhaps they were a later addition. Again, others could weigh in on that too. Also I see two different artists hands at work here. Look at the knife strokes in 1832 and compare to the heart and flower pot.

But the handle looks great, lots of wear in the right  spots.

I cast my vote that the date is correct and the cutesy stuff added later. I think you have a lovely treasure there!

[hosman321]

You know tales, I was thinkin' the same thing about the decoration part being added later. I just can't tell. Here's another pic of the decoration and red colored paint. The style of the carving seems slightly different but very similar at the same time. Maybe he used a different tool? The initials are "P.B."
You can also see how the peg of the handle is being slowly pushed out that end.

[talesofthesevenseas]

This looks like the work of the same person who carved 1832 to me. Something in the style of the hand, like the differences in a person's handwriting. Also notice the cracks going through the lettering like the carving predates the age cracks. This is really cool Wendy, love it! Looking forward to reading the replies on this one!

[regularjoe2]

Very nice old rustic item , hosman321 .

I like !


My guesses on the item go like this -

I see 2 types of carving - ones done 'freehand' (hearts , flowers , initials) and others that might have been carved with the aid of a scribed or penciled line(s) ('diamond' carved area , date) drawing on the wood .

Perhaps the 'handle end' of the unit was more protected from sunlight & the elements than the rest of the unit , and the finish on that ends seems much more intact .

I'm guessin' that the womenfolk were in charge of this gaget , thus the fancy hearts & flowers to look at on the blister-end of this tool .

If the menfolk of the day were using this one themselves , I'd bet good money that they'd of carved snips & snails & puppy-dog tails .

Kinda hard to imagine considering such an item as a convenience , as it was in it's day .
I get grumpy if I've got to sew on a button !

[cogar]

Hosman, I put these 2 objects out on my deck this morning and took a picture of them, one on top of the other.

Do you know what these 2 related objects are? 

[hosman321]

Cool, flax stuff! It said it under your picture, but I would have guessed flax linen anyways. No, really, I would have! 
I want to find a little flax blanket to hang on it, that would be cool to show. Thanks for thinkin' of me and takin' the picture of your stuff.
I think I'm going to put this breaker in that big 8 foot display case I have. The legs are slightly wobbly and old and I'd be devastated if someone broke them. Plus, everybody is gonna want to play with it and lift the handle up and down. Which is ok, but all of my husband's 20-something army friends are less than graceful. We'll just put it that way. Thanks for all the help guys, I have more confidence now that I didn't buy a modern repro.

Oh, and one last question. How would I go about preserving this breaker? Am I supposed to do anything to the wood? I'd love to see it live past 200 years, and the cracks are fairly deep in places. I'm worried about putting furniture polish on it. And I don't want this to look all shiny and oily. Does it need some sort of hydration? Thanks!

[KC]

hosman, I agree with the two different kinds of engraving done by 2 different persons. Also agree that the wood is old and worn in the proper places....so the people helping resolve this are doing a super duper job!

The only thing that I can lend some insight into your initial question of "Primitive Tools, what do I look for?" is

possible...primitiv e people?! 

[waywardangler]

  All I can think of is "What's in your wallet?"

[regularjoe2]

One really long-term method of preserving the wood on an item like yours (a bit of a daunting process for those who do it 'solo') is using polyethylene glycol .
A person should really bone-up on the process , though (as well as being hip to the hazards) , prior to messin' with it .

I've taken part in preservation projects where any other method would fail to bring satisfactory results , including wooden shipwreck items and extremely dryed/desiccated carved wooden items .

An old article about PEG , from 1972 , I think , can be found at the link below .
More current papers can be found on-line too .

http://owic.oregonstate.edu/pubs/peg.pdf

[talesofthesevenseas]

The Oregon State article might be a good one to add to the special section out front, don't you think? Maybe we should start up a wood care section?

I agree, it is really interesting the way that shipwreck items, and things like tree circles that have been underwater for eons have to be treated. If I remember correctly, sometimes the wreck items have to stay in salt water in vats and have to be gradually be phased out of it because it is the exposure to the air that does them in. There have been some neat archaeological recovery projects in recent years like the presumed Queen Anne's Revenge (Positive ID as Blackbeard's flag ship has not been accomplished, but they are pretty sure this is the QAR) and the recovery of the Hunley, an early Civil War submarine.

Here is the QAR Web site:
http://www.qaronline.org/

Here is the CSS HL Hunley site:
http://www.hunley.org/

Here is a starting link for Seahenge the ancient tree circle in the UK:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/388988.stm

[hosman321]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but would this be considered folk art? Here's the definition, I am just curious if I would call it that or not...

Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic.

So....does that mean that folk art is usually something useful, but art or decoration was put onto it?

[regularjoe2]

I'd certainly call the work on your item 'folk art' !

I've seen so many items that were re-used as folk art 'canvases' .

Some of the older ones have left me with the impression that the owners would maybe think "That's too good to throw out!" & then proceed to decorate it .
Lots of folk art has been put on items that have become broken (cast iron pans , for example) or have somehow fallen into dis-use .
Then there are all the utilitarian items folks 'personalized' & used daily .
I also speculate that sometimes people thought that an item was so ugly that it needed to be covered up with some paint (like we do today) .
All that being said , I think folk art (antique stuff , that is) served to help make a hard-scrabble existence a little less drab .

I'd guess that this part of being human is still going on today , however easily it can be accomplished (is a 'custom ring-tone' , or a bumper-sticker folk art ?) .
I think that "Bedazzler" decorated/defaced items will be a niche for collectors of folk art , in the future .

As much as humans have isolated themselves from the forces of nature , it seems to me that we still want to have reminders of it in our homes , however idealized it may be , in images on dining-ware , furniture , paintings & photos , clocks & so forth .

[hosman321]

Now that I got to thinking about this thing again, I have a quick question. What are the impressions (that look kind of like little squares/lattice) that are on the ends of some wood pieces? Is it kind of decorative? Also, I forgot to mention a long time ago that I found another set of initials. "FID" is to the right in the pictures. I wonder if those first initials were the woman's initials. Or maybe it was 2 different people doin' the decoration. I was just curious about those impressions.