The Underwood Multi-tool (c. 1850)

[adrenochrome@mastodon.social]

The Underwood Multi-tool (c. 1850)

Decades before the first Swiss Army knife (1891), London’s Underwood of Haymarket crafted this "harped" pocket kit. Designed for Victorian sportsmen, it features a hoof pick, saw, and corkscrew. A rare 19th-century masterpiece of portability.

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[callan@thepit.social]

@Adrenochrome want

[adrenochrome@mastodon.social]

@callan

Dentist? 😂

[michaelgemar@mstdn.ca]

@Adrenochrome @GhostOnTheHalfShell That’s amazing!

[jesticulated@mastodon.social]

@Adrenochrome Is the tool second from the left a little candle snuffer?

[guillotine_jones@beige.party]

@Adrenochrome
Looks practical AF.

[verymetalsite@mastodon.social]

@Adrenochrome

*welcomes his next setup*

[theriac@plasmatrap.com]

@Adrenochrome@mastodon.social
love the notch which doubles as locking tools closed and open - an elegant solution

[tshirtman@mas.to]

@Theriac @Adrenochrome wanted to comment on that too, i wonder how much force it requires to open the "spring" that connects both sides so that the notch can be overcome, must have been some work tweaking that, to make it weak enough it’s possible, but strong enough the tools stay locked when you use them. Nice design.

[theriac@plasmatrap.com]

@tshirtman@mas.to @Adrenochrome@mastodon.social
I imagine the horseshoe shape is the spring.

[ronanmcd@mastodon.green]

@tshirtman @Theriac @Adrenochrome same. Was just going to say it, then I thought maybe someone already spotted that. Such a neat little touch

[tshirtman@mas.to]

@Theriac @Adrenochrome yes, that’s what i meant, it’s both a protection between the tool and things directly aligned to them, and the spring that holds the whole thing together.

[adrenochrome@mastodon.social]

@Theriac @tshirtman

I just learned Underwood made a lot of things I would love to have...

[tshirtman@mas.to]

@Theriac @Adrenochrome Which reminds me, many of us probably underestimate how big mechanics was in the 19th century, i fetched this PDF sometime ago, following a maker’s recommendation, for inspiration, it shows a *lot* of contraptions, some generic, some very specific, a lot of human ingenuity went into these creations.

https://archive.org/details/1800-mechanical-movements-devices-and-appliances_202005/page/294/mode/2up

[clew@ecoevo.social]

I think it's probably a second kind of hoof-cleaner. (Getting little stones out of the soft part of a horse hoof before they seriously damage the horse is *really important*. And as a snuffer, I think the scoop is facing wrong way.)

@Jesticulated @Adrenochrome

[originallucy@mastodon.online]

@Adrenochrome such a cool object!

[clew@ecoevo.social]

I know there are blacksmiths around -- who can tell us just how hard this is to make?

Look how the big drill isn't consistent! I can recommend _One Good Turn_ for the history of threading.

#blacksmith
#blacksmithing
#ironwork

@Adrenochrome

[mostlytato@mstdn.social]

@Adrenochrome
That is magnificent and I want one.

[die_christine@nrw.social]

@Adrenochrome It reminds me of my favorite modern tool.

[adrenochrome@mastodon.social]

@die_christine

Oh ja! Ich habe das als Inbus, Torx und Kreuz/Schlitz. Super praktisch!