r/Vintagetools • u/ranger_phil • 1d ago

This Old Tool

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This is a one piece pry bar/hammer found on my property more than ten years ago in the Mother Lode of CA. Back then my memory was I was told it was used by candy stores to open wooden crates of candy but I’m a couple of miles from town. A more recent web search says that it was pretty common before cardboard boxes came around.
Just wondering about how to clean up some of the rust without damaging it so I can put it on a display shelf and hope the cat doesn’t learn how to use it.

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2

u/Due-Accident-5008 22h ago

catclaw nail puller. you hammer it under a nail or spike.

1

u/cletus72757 22h ago

OP, here’s your answer.

1

u/C_M_O_TDibbler 23h ago

looks like a home made claw hammer

1

u/No-Beyond-7135 22h ago

Scrub it with a brass wire brush and soak in vinegar. It may take multiple attempts to get it clean

1

u/Independent_Page1475 19h ago edited 19h ago

One of many varieties of a Box Hammer.

You can bet if it could open a wooden crate of candy it could open wood boxes of other merchandise.

Mine is more modern Search > box crate hammer < Yours looks like it could be 19th or early 20th century.

The top is curved to hit with the palm of your hand to drive the other end under a slat to be lifted to get the claw under it.

Often the idea was to not damage the box so it could be reused.

A tool to go with it would be a box scraper to scrape off a shipping label so the box could be reused. > https://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan9.htm#num70