What are these?

Someone brought these to a librarian and wanted to know what they are. The librarians are stumped as am I. Time starts now!

Scale of them? Chop stick length?

In reply to Stampie :

How long are they?

I'm not sure what they are, do not Google image search metal spike with ball ends. 

Mndsm said:

I'm not sure what they are, do not Google image search metal spike with ball ends. 

Kinda like that time someone called me at work asking about C-rings and I googled it to see if it was a type of retaining ring I hadn't heard of...

As of right now we don't have a scale but we'll try to find out. 

I bet they are shoe making tools. But that is just a guess.

I kind of want them to be winches (essentially use them to tension a rope or wire by twisting) however.

OK, then.

I did a search for: metal spike tool with balls on it 

on Google. About 7 rows down in the image list, there was something NSFW I really didn't need to see. For sale on Amazon, apparently, I didn't click through. 

Thought they might be some kind of spud, but the one on the right is wood, so would have to be used on pretty light materials. 

Seems odd they don't seem to have wear marks.

Seriously, no clue.  

Joking around, some kind of experimental firing pin with ambidextrous charging handles for some insane prototype gun. A handle on the pin would allow you to reset the striker in case of a light primer strike. I’ve been binging Forgotten Weapons on YouTube. 

They look like a manual  drill bit a bit, should be serrated though. 

punches?

with knobs?

I got nothin

Ben-wapsticks?

When you marinate meat, you drive deep holes into it so the brew penetrates.  These are for doing it before the cow is butchered.

Some kind of Glass Cutter? Like From the Inside

I think you have to be dressed in a leather corset to have a full understanding of those. 

Marlin spike?

SVreX said:

I think you have to be dressed in a leather corset to have a full understanding of those. 

With that thought in mind, I went to search "corset spikes" or "corset tensioning", which inadvertently led me to "corset piercing"   ...I did not need to see that before breakfast. So other than needing some eye-bleach, I got nothing... 

Apparently all they were given was the above picture. I'm wondering if they're some handmade one off tool now. 

Looks like some type of fid/spike. But searching came up empty. Maybe some rope end-whipping tool? Do the pegs unscrew?

In reply to Stampie :

Apparently this pic has made the rounds already. I forwarded it to a tool-geek friend & it’s been posted around those groups without anyone successfully identifying them either. 

That makes me think they’re not “tools” - in the male sense - but possibly something for fabric work? They give me the impression of ranging in age from late-19th century through mid-20th century. If so, they would have been used for some type of task relevant to that time period, but not before or after. 

Sorry about the cow comment, but Fids come in assorted sizes.  Can't figure why the ones above have knobs, a two handed pusher?

Wow, for a 3.5" rope, use a 68" long Fid?

Some kind of martial arts weapon?

As a former Coastie, I have done plenty of fidding. "Fid" got me thinking that it could be some sort of weaving tool. Which led me to Tapestry Bobbin:

Maybe getting close? or could be a diversion.

Maybe they're sounding rods? You probably don't want to Google that.