May 2012 Mystery Tool A 

Unknown. Photo submitted by Daniel Jepsen, Miles, Iowa. 

May 2012 Mystery Tool B 

Unknown. DJ Hucker, Hopkinton, Iowa, believes it may be a spoke pulled used by a wheelwright to align spokes when assembling a wooden wheel. Photo submitted by Virgil Cassill, Drakesville, Iowa. 

May 2012 Mystery Tool C 

Commonly referred to as a dengel stock or a scythe anvil. When grain and hay crops were harvested with a scythe, a sharp cutting edge was of prime importance. If a whetstone was used to get the sharp edge, each time it was sharpened, some of the metal was lost. If the edge was hammered sharp each time, the only metal lost was by wear. While sharpening with a hammer, only a small portion of the cutting edge was worked at any one time, therefore only anvils with a small surface were required to re-form the metal to a sharp edge. The workman carried the anvil on his belt or with a leather thong around his neck or shoulder. The sharp point allowed it to be pounded into a convenient stump or log for rigidity in use. The dengel hammer had a short handle for more accurate control of the blows. Photo submitted by Andrew C. Troyer, Shipshewna, Ind. 

May 2012 Mystery Tool D 

Broadcast seed-sower. May have come with a harness that fit around the neck and likely has a socket for a vertical shaft. See patent no. 242,402 for a similar piece. Photo submitted by Gary Hamilton, Union City, Tenn. 

Do you recognize this tool?

This tool has a wood shaft. When you crank the bottom, the top spins. The device is shown here supported by a vise.

If you recognize this tool, leave a comment in the comment section below.

Check back here June 19 for the correct answer, or find it in the July issue of Farm Collector.

Have a tool you want to submit? Email us at editor@farmcollector.com with at least one photo taken in a well-lit area against a plain background. Include dimensions and any markings on the piece.

Do you recognize this tool?

This tool measures about 8-1/2 inches long. It appears to be blacksmith made.

If you recognize this mystery tool, leave a comment in the comment section below.

Check back here June 19 for the correct answer, or find it in the July issue of Farm Collector.

Have a tool you want to submit? Email us at editor@farmcollector.com with at least one photo taken in a well-lit area against a plain background. Include dimensions and any markings on the piece.

Do you recognize this tool?

This tool measures about 18 inches long and appears to be blacksmith-made.

If you recognize this mystery tool, leave a comment in the comment section below.

Check back here June 19 for the correct answer, or find it in the July issue of Farm Collector.

Have a tool you want to submit? Email us at editor@farmcollector.com with at least one photo taken in a well-lit area against a plain background. Include dimensions and any markings on the piece.

Do you recognize this tool?

If you recognize this mystery tool, leave a comment in the comment section below.

Check back here June 19 for the correct answer, or find it in the July issue of Farm Collector.

Have a tool you want to submit? Email us at editor@farmcollector.com with at least one photo taken in a well-lit area against a plain background. Include dimensions and any markings on the piece.

Cornhusking contests today don’t draw the tens of thousands of spectators who once attended the contests that Time magazine in 1936 proclaimed “... the fastest growing sporting spectacle in the world.

Below are some videos from the glory days of cornhusking contests.

A newsreel of the 1937 National Cornhusking Championship in Marshall, Missouri:

A newsreel of the 1938 National Cornhusking Championship in Dell Rapids, South Dakota:

For more on today's cornhusking competitions, see Jerry Schleicher's article in the May 2012 issue of Farm Collector.

It’s grizzlies that worry him, not snakes, and he’s armed with a Winchester, not a bullwhip – but otherwise the persona is unmistakable: Jordan Meeker is the Indiana Jones of the antique gas engine fraternity. Trekking through British Columbia’s Slocan Valley and West Kootenay region, Jordan is an engine archaeologist constantly on the prowl for old iron remnants of the Silvery Slocan, the silver and lead mining era in the late 1890s.

Jordan’s interests are not limited to gas engines, though. He’s salvaged and restored countless items – tools, equipment and household pieces – from abandoned mining camps. Check out videos of him running antique rock drills below.

You can view more videos of Jordan's mining camp finds on his YouTube channel, 4mileengines.