WHAT IS THIS?

[Snook]

I been carrying this thing around for 20+ years since my father in law died.
Have asked many what they thought it was/is, no answers. So here I am, asking the most diverse thinkers I know. WTF is this thing?
It is 30.5" long and weighs 9-10lbs. I'm not good at identifying wood but my guess is it is made from walnut. The Qtip looking ends are pressed onto the shaft. My guess is it was used on a loom of some sort carrying yarn or sumtin like that.. maybe hemp?


Anyone know?


EDIT: if you came here via my sig link, she made you look..

 

[MJPassion]

Think mortar & pestal...

Maybe not.

 

[Snook]

I cant argue with that thought.. but why 2 ends?? Maybe.. thnks

 

[Ktaadn]

Almost looks like a bigass rolling pin minus the roller.

 

[WelderDan]

I've seen one of those, but damned if I can remember when, or what it was for. Let me thunk on it.

 

[WelderDan]

After looking at a bunch of Google images, I think MJP hit it. It's a pestle. I found several with symmetrical ends

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Hmmm, a pestle.

I have only ever seen them made of harder materials like metal or stone. But that wood looks pretty hard, so maybe?

 

[Snook]

pestle for grains maybe.. I agree about the harder materials though.
The ends are smooth like it rode in a cradle of some sort..

 

[Snook]

I see the pestles in Google images w double ends, each of those has one flat end and one round end. They are also all much shorter than 30 inches.. the mortar would/could/should be very deep..

 

[Snook]

I've seen one of those, but damned if I can remember when, or what it was for. Let me thunk on it.

My father in law lived in Copake ny when he died and small town on the NY/MA state line in Mass.. funny he has a metal worker in his family on Long Island, welder dan maybe you knew him and saw it at his home.. just joshin'..

 

[ganjygav]

It could be a pestle made from lignum vitae wood. It's a very hard and dense wood they used to make police truncheons with, 100 years ago.
They also make bowles with it the sort used for the game of lawn bowls.
It's easy to test if it is lignum vitae because it'd one of the only woods that sinks in water.

 

[Snook]

I did go and look at google images for lignum vitae wood. it does have the look of what this thing is.. don't know if I want to stick it in a tub full of water though..

 

[Floridian]

Bet its a barbell for a one armed midget.

 

[I wood]

The ends look like burl walnut, not lignum vitae.
It is used for similar reasons though. Denser than straight grain wood and intermingled grain for durability.

 

[MJPassion]

Was thinking it could be an axle bit I didn't seem anything that resembles your pics then I locked at cannon ramrods & nothing there either.

Seems awful long to be a pestle. That was just a passing thought before I read the length.

 

[WelderDan]

Mortar & Pestles can be quite large. Depends on what you're grinding. Herbs & spices don't require anything big, but, for example, I've seen a very large one used to make Mofongo in Puerto Rico. The Pestle was the size of a baseball bat. It actually was a baseball bat, and the mortar was a hollowed out hardwood log.

If you're grinding large volumes, bigger would be better...

 

[TerraPretaGrown]

Its a knoggin knocker!

 

[ganjygav]

Its a knoggin knocker!

This is what I would use it for lol. Not much call for grinding grains nowadays

 

[ganjygav]

I did go and look at google images for lignum vitae wood. it does have the look of what this thing is.. don't know if I want to stick it in a tub full of water though..

It's wood a 20 second dip in water would harm it none but it would tell you if it is lignum vitae. To me it has the same look of this wood with a couple of hundred years ago behind it. The handle looks different wood

 

[ganjygav]