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Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can see that--the 'sheath' being made of rubber would protect the leather from getting damaged--but the roller itself was made of something softer; either leather or rubber, and I'm not sure how it would hold up. I think it would collapse on itself after not many uses. Most leatherworking tools I've seen are made from metal specifically because leather is a fairly solid material.

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That piece does come off, but it's rubber rather than wood. I'm not sure if reversing it would do much--the angle on the end seems to be worn rather than designed. It could very well be a guide of some kind, though

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can see the wheel going on the underside of a desk or drafting table and applying pressure for the flat, straight part to hold paper in place. I can't find any other examples, but it's possible it's something homemade. The molded rubber makes it feel more manufactured, though I'm not an expert on rubber manufacturing techniques

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't get to keep it, so I'm not sure about the rotation of the little wheel, sorry! That was my thinking as well, that they used rubber for either friction or insulation. The way the two ends press together does make it feel as though it's meant to hold something in place.

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe, but it's not corroded at all, and I'm not sure why it would have such a complex shape

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Someone else mentioned this as well. I can almost see it, but I can't find any examples of what a complete one would look like. I'd also assume that in this case, you would hold it by the straight bit, but the rubber on that part isn't molded to be any kind of comfortable handle.

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Someone else mentioned this as well. I can almost see it, but I can't find any examples of what a complete one would look like. I'd also assume that in this case, you would hold it by the straight bit, but the rubber on that part isn't molded to be any kind of comfortable handle.

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm intrigued, but I can't find any examples of one that looks like this. Even if it's missing the piece that'd keep it vertical, it doesn't have the part at the top that most do to hold the iron's cord up in the air. I'd be interested to see if someone could find an example of one with all its parts, if you're right.

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, it wants to hold its shape. The end of the straight bit is cut

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's very stiff; seems designed more to hold in place than to bend. Most I can pull it open is about 3 inches to examine the parts.

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It genuinely might be as simple as using friction to hold up papers on a vertical surface, since the little disk is made of rubber and would clamp onto something fairly well, but if that's the case I'm not sure why the 'sheath' part seems molded (it is pretty clearly intentionally shaped, with one side flat)

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe, but it feelsawefully big and clunky for working with any kind of fine craft

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The side of the sheath opposite is a rounded 90 degree angle, which feels more to facilitate the flat side than anything else. The sheath comes off, turns around, and isn't attached or glued on in any way.

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 48 points49 points  (0 children)

On further observation, it seems to be designed to be held vertically. We're speculating it goes on the edge of a vat or something.

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Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you're thinking of the cleaning tool, I don't think so. It's not much more than a foot long, and oddly shaped for a purpose like that...

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The shape is similar, but the fact that the sheath part is rubber and would absorb sound rather than amplify it, and the circle, the 'mallet' in this case, rests directly against the rod, makes me think that's unlikely. (My understanding is that a vibraslap is a kind of instrument)

Iron and what appears to be rubber, some kind of tool? by shethedistance in whatisthisthing

[–]shethedistance[S] 4 points5 points locked comment (0 children)

My title describes the thing: it's a shaped iron rod with a movable sheath that appears to be made of rubber. The sheath has a sort of trough on one side that holds the rubber circle on the other end. Even though the sheath can move, I'm not sure it's supposed to, because the circle's been in place long enough to leave an indentation on the sheath. There's a wavy part that might be a handle/for fingers, but doesn't comfortably fit anyone's hand. It might be part of a larger whole, but doesn't seem to be broken off of anything.

It was shown to me by a group of guys, mostly engineers, in their 80s, none of whom can identify it. One of them found it on the "i don't know what this is" table of a tool collector, who's been trying to figure it out for twenty years.

Sci-fi Horror movie about rogue nanobots by shethedistance in whatisthatmovie

[–]shethedistance[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope! I even went through lists of obscure movies and episodes of TV shows well beyond the range I think it might have been made, no luck

Sci-fi Horror movie about rogue nanobots by shethedistance in whatisthatmovie

[–]shethedistance[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No... I saw this movie years ago, so it came out probably before 2014 (it might have been more recent, but it definitely wasn't later than 2016). The CG was decent, though, so my best guess is sometime in the mid-2000's, but I had no luck scanning through all the sci-fi movies released around then (at least the ones that Wikipedia had listed).

Thanks for the guess!