ID-DOC: general search

Kitchen appliance with which you can press croquettes. It has a cylindrical or square, usually plastic housing with one or more tubular projections at the bottom and a rotating crank or rod that acts as a lever. The croquette press is filled with mashed potatoes and with the help of the crank or rod a plate is pushed downwards, the mashed dough presses through the tubular projection. In this way a long sausage shape is formed, which is then cut into smaller pieces - the size of one croquette. On some models there is a carrying board on wheels that is slid under the press and on which the pressed croquettes end up. [MOT]

Steel furrier comb with coarse teeth (approx. 1 cm long; approx. 2 mm wide) and a wooden handle. The comb is used to loosen the piece of skin that has been nailed to a wooden board to dry. Such a fur nail fits just between the teeth of the comb, so that the nail can be lifted out of the board. The point of the comb is kept flat on the board and with the right hand one makes an upward movement along the nails. The fur is prevented from being stretched by holding back the skin with the left hand when removing the nail. See also the furrier's comb and seal comb. [MOT]

Hammer with an elongated hammer head (approx. 10-20 cm long, approx. 2-5 cm wide) made of hardened steel with pyramid-shaped pointed teeth on both faces and a wooden handle (approx. 30-40 cm), for flattening natural stone. This type of stone finishing is called bushing. From the 17th century onwards, the bush hammer was used for hard stone types, never for soft stone or marble. Because the tips wear out quickly, there are models with interchangeable heads. The disadvantage of this tool is that it sometimes causes cracks that make the stone weather faster. See also the bouchard (chisel). [MOT]

With a pan scrubber you can clean dirty pans or pots while washing. It consists of a scouring pad made of galvanized iron mesh or steel wool, which may or may not be attached to a plastic handle.See also the sink brush for dishwashing. [MOT]

A polishing brush is used to polish parquet floors. This is a short-haired brush that is located under a metal, rectangular plate that is attached to a long (approx. 1.30 m), wooden or metal handle. When the wax-rubbed parquet floor is almost dry, it is rubbed on with a polishing brush until it is nice and shiny. [MOT]

Heavy hammer to stun cattle to be slaughtered, and then kill them with the neck cut. The stunning can be done with a slaughter mask, a shooting device or this slaugther hammer (1). It can be a wooden hammer (approx. 5-6 kg) with a long handle (see sledgehammer). The working part can also be made of metal and resemble a stone hammer. Or a hammer with a metal head that has a rod-shaped end on one side, which can be used to punch through the skull to crush the brain. Another model consists of a hollowed-out pin and a hook at the other end. The hook would serve to pull the pin out of the skull when it gets stuck. See also the punch. [MOT] (1) Banned since 1920 (by Royal Decree of 5 June) in the Netherlands. In France since 1964.

The welt knife is a shoemaker's hand tool that evenly cuts the overhanging leather on the sole. It has an S-shaped curved top with a cut and a small protrusion of a few millimeters at the head end, fixed in a wooden handle. The blade can also have a bent edge on one long side. In some models the working part is protected with a wooden sheath. See also the welt cutter. [MOT]

The glazier can easily lift a large window with a glazing lever. It has a stem (approx. 20 cm) with a rectangular, thick (approx. 2-3 cm) blade with one straight and one sloping side attached to it. The tool is slid under the glass with the sloping side down; once under the glass, the stem is pushed down and the glass comes up. The glazing lever can be monoxile or plastic with a wooden handle. [MOT]

Hand tool that the bookbinder uses to decorate and gild leather-bound books. It has a T-shaped, often copper blade, the narrow (about a few mm) end of which is slightly curved and provided with a fillet motif, fixed in a wooden handle. After heating, the pallet is pressed on the (gilded) leather to obtain a fillet pattern. See also the type holder. [MOT]

This tool places a capsule - i.e. a metal cap with pegs at the bottom (1) - over the spigot of a wine barrel, so that it is sealed and ready for transport. The tool is knocked with a hammer and the capsule is driven into the wine barrel. (1) The capsule can be marked with the mark (number) of the seller or with motifs related to wine growing such as a bunch of grapes. Yellow capsules are used for white wine, while red capsules are used for red wine (BRUNET 1925: 262).

The tap borer is a drill (approx. 10-15 cm long) with a half cone blade and a T-handle and resembles a very small hub reamer. The plumber uses this hand tool to enlarge holes in lead pipes or to remove burrs and uneven edges. [MOT]

Puree strainer to mash potatoes.

Stone pot (approx. 10 cm in diameter; approx. 10 cm high) in the shape of a truncated cone or sphere (approx. 7 cm in diameter), with a horizontally ribbed or rough outside along which a match is struck to make it catch fire (1). At the top of the pot there is a cavity in which the matches are placed upright. A saucer (approx. 13 cm in diameter) has been placed under the convex ironing pot to place the burnt matches on. [MOT] (1) That only works with old matches; today's safety matches will not catch fire if they are stroked over the ribs.

A lice comb is a plastic, horn or metal comb with very fine (about 1 mm) teeth that stand against each other. It is used to remove nits from hair. Because the teeth are against each other, the nits cannot get through and they are combed out of the hair. [MOT]

To smooth a billiard cloth, one can use a billiard table iron. This is a full metal iron with a thick (approx. 3-4 cm) rectangular (approx. 25 by 10 cm) blade and a U-handle. It resembles the solid metal iron that people used to use at home, but it is much heavier (approx. 7-8 kg). The carpenter sometimes used a billiard iron as a glue iron. [MOT]

The seal comb is a metal, elongated (approx. 15 cm) comb with relatively short (approx. 5-7 mm) and fine (approx. 1 mm) teeth that the furrier uses to process short-haired or shaved furs, including seals and lions, to comb out irregularities and to thin out the branches that have been made. See also furrier's comb. [MOT]

If you want to rub the skin with alum after shaving, you can clamp the alum stone in a special clip. It has a jaw with a right-angled edge with triangular teeth, which is adjustable by means of a screw. [MOT]

Piglets are usually neutered in their first three weeks of life. This is done in the following way: After an incision has been made in the scrotum with a scalpel - so that the testes are free to hang - the spermatic cord is twisted until it breaks. In young piglets this is done with the help of a few clamping pliers or even by hand. On piglets of several months old, the spermatic cord is already relatively large and castration is done with an emasculator (1). One jaw is rectangular (approx. 5 cm by 1 cm) with an elongated cutout that has grooves on one side and a sharp cut on the other, the other jaw has a concave cut. The jaws can be screwed on using a clamping screw. After the incision, the spermatic cord is caught with the jaws, which are squeezed tightly and tightened with the clamping screw; The forceps are turned a few times until the spermatic cord breaks and then they are squeezed completely closed so that the testicle is cut off. See also castration tongs. [MOT] (1) See BERTHELON.

Trowel with an elongated (approx. 16-20 cm), flat and narrow (approx. 2.5-4 cm) blade that is rounded or pointed and attached to a handle with a bent joint. It is used by the bricklayer or tile roofer to apply mortar between roof tiles. The plasterer uses it in places where it is difficult to reach with other tools, behind heating pipes, etc. To be distinguished from the tongue trowel of the bricklayer and not to be confused with the beekeeper's uncapping knife. [MOT]

When one wants to cut the top layer of the soil, one usually uses a hoe. In hard or stony soil, this two-pronged tool is used, which consists of two heavy (approx. 20 cm by 2 cm), sharp teeth that are attached at right angles or at an angle to a straight handle. See also the flat pick. [MOT]

Potatoes can be harvested with a garden spade, a hoe, a potato lifting fork or a potato harvester. The latter has three, sometimes four, wide (approx. 2-3 cm) and flat teeth with pointed ends (approx. 25-30 cm long), which are slightly attached to a wooden handle (approx. 100-130 cm) ). [MOT]

Heavy (approx. 1,400-2 kg), trapezoidal forged hammer with flat or slightly convex face and short (approx. 20-25 cm) handle. The farrier usually forges horseshoes with a forging hammer. In contrast, in some areas of France, a specific hammer, the farrier hammer, is used. [MOT]

Brush - sometimes made of goat hair - in the shape of a sphere or hemisphere or around a triangular bracket, attached to a long wooden or plastic handle that is often extendable (up to approx. 3 m) and is used to remove spider silk. [MOT]

Flower bulbs or tubers, regular in shape, can be sorted by circumference, expressed in sieve size, by means of a garden riddle (1). The sieve openings are a little larger than the actual circumference measurement, especially if the shape is slightly irregular, as with tulips. The garden sieve consists of a number of separate wooden sieve plates (approx. 60 cm) in which there are holes of different diameters (approx. 2.5 cm; 3.5 cm; 4 cm; 4.5 cm). These rectangular or round plates fit in a wooden holder with which you can sort the bulbs or tubers in ascending size while shaking. [MOT] (1) Bulbs and tubers that are irregular in shape (and also rhizomes) are also sorted by size, expressed in 1st, 2nd and 3rd size but this is mainly done by hand.

Round bucket that widens upwards (diam. Approx. 20-30 cm) made of wood, (galvanized) iron or plastic, attached to a long (approx. 200 cm) wooden handle. This tool is used to draw water, also manure from the cesspool. To be distinguished from the liquid manure scoop used to scoop out of the bear tub. [MOT]