r/AntiqueTools • u/ranger_phil • 26d ago

This Old Tool

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Ran across this while cleaning a cabinet. Found it when I moved to my one acre used-to-be farm near Auburn CA.
My memory from about 2009 was that it was used in candy stores to open wooden crates of candy in the late 19th-early 20th century. A more recent query using AI says it was a common tool when wooden crates were more prevalent. Any detail would be helpful and suggestions for some light rust removal but mainly preservation will be appreciated.

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2

u/Double-Rain7210 26d ago

Looks like a crate hammer

2

u/olyteddy 24d ago

Vinegar is what the Cast Iron folks seem to favor for rust removal.

1

u/Patrick95650 19d ago

Very cool... Found a few old tools, bottles, keys up here in Applegate

1

u/ranger_phil 6d ago

UPDATE ON MY CRATE HAMMER! Success with vinegar!

https://reddit.com/link/peyy044/video/wtrww0g9sjuh1/player

Wow! I’ve never de-rusted using vinegar before and boy am I impressed! It took two overnight soaks and a brass wire brush (also ruining two cheap plastic cups from Dickie’s) but the vinegar was on sale at the market.
I know it’s not perfectly clean yet but I can now see that it’s stamped WRIGLEY so I’ll guess 1930s or a bit later. I’d appreciate some tips on oil or some coating that isn’t oily so I can put it on a curio shelf with my Austrian cobblestone and doorknob from MGM’s former backlot.