Trousse/tool set mystery

Nagawarrior · 24th April 2008, 02:02 AM

Looks like a Chinese trousse, but its a tool set. What the heck was it used for? Consists of small knife, tweezers;ball shaped with notch, chisel. Any guesses?

Detail of slot on side of tweezers. The chisel fits in there. Not sure if its meant to.

Montino Bourbon · 24th April 2008, 02:23 AM

Looks like a kit used for removing bullets (Balls) from wounds, my guess.

David · 24th April 2008, 03:28 AM

I'm going to take a wild guess and suggest that it might have something to do with opium.

t_c · 24th April 2008, 04:54 AM

Any signs that the tweezers could have been used for casting lead musket balls? Tweezers for casting, chisel to remove sprue, knife for knife's sake....

Montino Bourbon · 26th April 2008, 02:33 AM

Is more massive, so it doesn't deform when molten lead is poured into it.

The first pic is of a bullet extractor; the second a bullet mold.

dennee · 26th April 2008, 03:58 AM

I'm inclined to believe that tc is onto something here. The 'mold' does look like, when closed, it would have a hole into which to pour molten lead. And lead's melting point is half that of iron.

I know that there are some (one-sided) scoop-type bullet extractors, as well as forceps, screw and gimlet-type, but it seems like an extractor that is expected to close around a bullet (naturally deformed by its impact) within a wound would be rather uncomfortable and hard to manage, given that the tool itself and certainly the room needed to wield it would likely be wider than the wound itself. The item shown doesn't look like it could be manipulated in the sense of scissoring it open and closed. It looks like you could somehow tie it closed, pour in the lead, let it cool, then pop it open.

24th April 2008, 02:02 AM	#1
Nagawarrior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Inland Empire, Southern California USA Posts: 160	Trousse/tool set mystery Looks like a Chinese trousse, but its a tool set. What the heck was it used for? Consists of small knife, tweezers;ball shaped with notch, chisel. Any guesses? Detail of slot on side of tweezers. The chisel fits in there. Not sure if its meant to. Last edited by Nagawarrior; 24th April 2008 at 02:13 AM.

24th April 2008, 02:23 AM	#2
Montino Bourbon Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Santa Barbara, California Posts: 301	Bullet extractor Looks like a kit used for removing bullets (Balls) from wounds, my guess.

26th April 2008, 02:33 AM	#5
Montino Bourbon Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Santa Barbara, California Posts: 301	A bullet mold... Is more massive, so it doesn't deform when molten lead is poured into it. The first pic is of a bullet extractor; the second a bullet mold. Attached Images

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24th April 2008, 03:28 AM	#3
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,209	I'm going to take a wild guess and suggest that it might have something to do with opium.

24th April 2008, 04:54 AM	#4
t_c Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ca, usa Posts: 92	Any signs that the tweezers could have been used for casting lead musket balls? Tweezers for casting, chisel to remove sprue, knife for knife's sake....

26th April 2008, 03:58 AM	#6
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	I'm inclined to believe that tc is onto something here. The 'mold' does look like, when closed, it would have a hole into which to pour molten lead. And lead's melting point is half that of iron. I know that there are some (one-sided) scoop-type bullet extractors, as well as forceps, screw and gimlet-type, but it seems like an extractor that is expected to close around a bullet (naturally deformed by its impact) within a wound would be rather uncomfortable and hard to manage, given that the tool itself and certainly the room needed to wield it would likely be wider than the wound itself. The item shown doesn't look like it could be manipulated in the sense of scissoring it open and closed. It looks like you could somehow tie it closed, pour in the lead, let it cool, then pop it open.