Tool ID?

[Dennis Mattiza]

Can anyone identify this tool? I guess I should be embarrassed, but I’ve never seen one before. A friend gave it to me. Said it was his grandads.

 

[Adrian Wilson]

That is a handvise. There are big ones, and small ones for jewellers etc. Very useful tools. You could, for example, clamp something when taking it to a grinder.

 

[hockenbery]

Google lens agrees with @Adrian Wilson
Hand vise used by gunsmiths, jewelers, machinists etc

 

[Doug Rasmussen]

Yes, definitely a hand vise and an old one at that. The newer versions usually don't have the nice feature of a wood handle

 

[Dennis Mattiza]

Thanks, that makes sense. Don’t know If you could see in my photo there is an 1/8”:groove down the center of the clamping surface on the thumb screw side. That made me think it was for something specific.

 

[Dean Center]

This is a family friendly forum, but my first thought invoked some puckering, thinking about it in the hands of early feminists.

 

[Adrian Wilson]

Thanks, that makes sense. Don’t know If you could see in my photo there is an 1/8”:groove down the center of the clamping surface on the thumb screw side. That made me think it was for something specific.

Probably just to make clamping a piece of rod or similar easier?

 

[Dave Landers]

Yep, grooves in a vice fae are for holding round things