Research

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/710?lang=nl>

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.

The cigarette filler is a manual tool with which one can fill empty filter cigarettes with tobacco. It is an elongated (approx. 10 cm long) metal cylinder (approx. 1 cm in diameter) with an extendable tube that can be opened and filled with tobacco. Once filled it is closed and an empty cigarette case is slid over it. When the tube is pushed back into the cylinder - where there is a plate that acts as a tamper at the bottom end - the tobacco ends up in the cigarette case. More modern models are made of plastic. This tool is to be distinguished from a pill dispenser. [MOT]

This pottery turning hook is a manual tool with a right angle blade (approx. 2 cm by 0.5-1 cm) that can take different shapes: rectangular with or without rounded corners, triangular, etc. It can be made entirely of metal or have a wooden handle . There may also be a spatula-shaped blade at the other end. The turning tool is used by the potter to update the shape of a turned pot while turning. If it is held against the pot, a certain amount of clay is cut off. [MOT]

This bit consists of a metal pipe (diameter approx. 0.5-1 cm) - sharp on one end and with a handle or a crank on the other end - to cut circles, hearts, etc. as decoration on the clogs. It is pushed onto the clog, never beaten like the leatherworker's punch. [MOT]

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/780?lang=nl>

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/769?lang=nl>

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/712?lang=nl>

The upholsterer's hammer is a relatively light (approx. 200-400 g) hammer - distinguishable from the glazier's hammer - with a long (approx. 10-15 cm), narrow (approx. 1-1.5 cm) head attached to a wooden stem. The hammer head has one round face and a flat pin at the other end, often with a claw. The upholsterer uses the hammer to hammer in and remove tacks. Sometimes the head is magnetized; this way the nails are held in place, which makes work easier as furniture upholstery often involves nailing in awkward corners. [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]