Research

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]

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]

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]

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]

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/754?lang=nl>

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]

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

Puree strainer to mash potatoes.This text can only be consulted in Dutch

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.