1900–1969

Hand auger with a closed metal handle (unmarked, no. 4)

Item passport

Dating: Preliminary working hypothesis: first half to middle of the 20th century (roughly 1900–1960s); a typological estimate.
Condition: Cleaned and preserved; the drilling test is not yet confirmed and the hole diameter has not been measured.

Dimensions

Length153 mm

History

Small all-metal hand auger for drilling wood. The handle is an elongated closed loop with a gentle bend in its upper part; unlike the other three augers from the same purchase, there is no double winding around the axial shank at the base of the loop. A free end of the metal is visible inside the loop in the photograph. The working part has a pronounced helical flute and a lead screw at the tip. Length 153 mm, mass 48 g. Metal, presumably steel. No marks found. The most compact and lightest of the four Frankfurt augers.

Dating. Preliminary working hypothesis: first half to middle of the 20th century (roughly 1900–1960s); a typological estimate.

Restoration

Cleaned with WD-40 and 0000 steel wool, then preserved with ISO VG 68 oil. No blackening, painting or artificial patination; the dark natural patina and traces of making and use are retained. The surface is cleaned without being re-polished to a mirror finish.

Sources

Research status

Maker, place of production, factory and year are not established; by form and principle it is a traditional hand auger of the European joinery and carpentry kit. The absence of a mark does not prove craft production; similarity of purpose does not mean a common maker with the other augers of this purchase. How the free end of the metal in the loop is joined needs closer inspection. To do: measure the hole diameter in a trial drilling, check the cleanliness of entry and exit, examine the surface in raking light for faint marks. Comparison with the others from the same find: no. 1 — 210 mm / 124 g; no. 2 SCHLAGRING 10 — 215 mm / 120 g; no. 3 — 191 mm / 73 g; no. 4 — 153 mm / 48 g. Bought at a flea market in Frankfurt am Main in late September 2026. Observations and dimensions are from photographs and the owner's information, October 2026.

Purchase and price

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