Multi Tool on eBay

[Lewill2]

Boot Jack, corn sheller, wrench, hammer, nail puller and what ever else you can figure out. Seller has it listed as a patented tool by Iske but it isn't patent 136,601 that Plyerman showed us on another thread on hear. Stan was talked into believing it was an had a picture of this posted on DATAMP but Jim Moffet has a picture like Plyerman's in his corn sheller book. Listing has a few more days but it is over $800 already. I think the boot jack area looks rough for an old casting. I'm not convinced it is an old tool. Anybody have an info on this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400851956872?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Lewill2]

Plyerman's picture of a real one can be seen here.

http://www.papawswrench.com/vboard/index.php?topic=8933.msg55538#msg55538

[chuck Garrett]

A lot of boot jacks were repoped in Arky some years back.  Cast iron castings of yor where smooth do the graphite used on mold. To do the casting today that way would make the item rather expensive .  The roughness is a sure sign of a repop.

[Lewill2]

Real, fantasy, reproduction whatever 7 bids between 3 different bidders and it sold for $1,100.

[Plyerman]

I've never seen that pattern before, either genuine or reproduction.

(scratches head) If it is a repro, then someone went through an awful lot of work to make the casting mold - seems like we would be seeing more of them offered for sale if that were the case.

[Lewill2]

The second one of these sold today at an auction in Ephrata PA. The one that sold today was in good shape and didn't appear to be a reproduction. The casting appeared to be clean and had even patina as an older piece should look and it sold for a lot less than the one on eBay. I believe the other one was probably of the same vintage but the picture angle made it look like the casting was rough and a possible reproduction. This one sold for $600.

[Plyerman]

The second one of these sold today at an auction in Ephrata PA. The one that sold today was in good shape and didn't appear to be a reproduction. The casting appeared to be clean and had even patina as an older piece should look and it sold for a lot less than the one on eBay. I believe the other one was probably of the same vintage but the picture angle made it look like the casting was rough and a possible reproduction. This one sold for $600.

Wow! I never realized there was such a passion out there for old corn shellers. Looking through the "completed auctions" on eBay, I see several different types that have sold for upwards of $500 in the past month or so.

[turnnut]

corn shellers,

there is a large following in the "Corn Item Clollectors Club."

some have large collections.

[Lewill2]

The third one of these Boot Jack Multi tools sold today at the same auction house in Ephrata PA. All three of them were part of one collection at one time. This one is as good if not a little better looking then the last one. This one sold for $1,000.00 and was purchased by a corn sheller collector. He had hoped that nobody had spotted it but it was in a catalogued auction that had internet bidding. Not Jim Moffit but the guy knows Jim and we discussed corn shellers for a while after that lot sold. Interesting morning.

[mikeswrenches]

For those that "haunt" the flea markets and auctions, Jim Moffit's corn shelter book is a worthwhile investment.  When I looked thru it I was amazed at the variety of shellers that were made.  Without the book I would never have known what some of them were.

I would hate to think that I could be reaching over a $500 corn sheller to get at a $5 wrench, thus the rational behind buying the book. 

And for what it's worth, I think it is very well done.  Lot's of good photographs.

Mike