Research

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 text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/774?lang=nl>

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 castration tongs (1) are relatively heavy (approx. 2-5 kg) tongs with long arms (approx. 30 cm) and a wide beak (approx. 8 cm) with strongly curved jaws, which are used to castrate bulls. If necessary, there is a U-shaped bracket on the underside of one of the arms that can be placed on the knee as support. The jaws of the forceps are placed successively behind both testicles - at the level of the spermatic cord - and the forceps are squeezed closed for about thirty seconds. After a few days, the scrotum begins to shrivel; the testicles shrink and die. See also the emasculator scissors. [MOT] (1) See BERTHELON.

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]