What Is It? - February/March 2012
Jim McBride of Kingston writes,”I found this item in a box of tools that I purchased at an auction. When you turn the wooden handle it unlocks the L-shaped metal piece, which then changes the distance between it and the rest of the tool. I hope someone can tell me what it is used for.” Any ideas, readers?
Looking for more great advice? Sign up to our newsletter for more useful tips, delivered straight to your inbox.
Recent Features
-
-
What Is It? - May 2012
Can you help Kathy Harness of Carman, Man., figure out what this object is?
-
What Is It? - April/May 2012
Can anyone help the Norris’s figure out what this mystery item is used for?
-
-
Our Canada Magazine
Our Canada Popular Topics
Special Features
Top 5 Articles
Contribute to Our Canada Magazine
- Our Canada is your magazine, written by and for Canadians just like you.
- Submit Your Story and Photos
Advertisement
With Our Partners
Reader's Digest Services
Great Travel Insurance Offer!
Travel worry-free anytime with exceptional and affordable travel insurance offered through Reader’s Digest
Find great Offers in your local area.
For Offers based on your interests and location, check out CentrSource
Stay in touch with Our Canada
Contests
BBQ contest
Enter today for a chance to win a top-of-the-line BBQ grill from Weber!
May 2012 Open Kitchen contest
What's your favorite healthy packed lunch and why?
Advertisement
Post a comment
23 comments
Re: What is it?.............It's a paper measurer. You count out a number of sheets of paper (e.g.100) then you make that fit between the "spoons" of the gadget. Tighten the handle and then you can simply insert the gadget into a pile of paper and measure out piles of 100, etc.
Hey Jim! My name is also Jim from Winnipeg, Man. & what you found in the too box is a "paper sheet counter"!
We used them were I had worked for many years before my retirement! You count off whatever amount of sheets you want in a pile...than you set the metal piece lock it & it will stay for that amount, as you use it to add the amount of papers you wanted in an order!
You could count out 50,100,etc..whatever you needed to fill an order...
Hope this helps some..
Sincerely, Jim
A paper sheet counter..not 100% sure of actual name but it is used in the bindery dept of any print shop to count out sheets of paper that you might use in either note pads or anything that required a certain amount of sheets of paper..eg..You would count out the amount of sheets, perhaps 50 sheets to a pad and then put it in the space of the calipers.. You could adjust the size of the opening of the jaws then lock it.. You would then slip it into a large ream of paper, take out the amount required, crosspile it and then repeat the operation. I used these for decades before I retired from the printing business
The "What is it" for January/February is a "Paper Counter" used in the printing business. The slider portion is to measure the amount of paper. (50 sheets, 100 sheets) then cardboard would be inserted as markers IE: wrighting pad!
My husband and I looked at this photo and first thought it was a clamp of some kind but than he realized what it was. They used to use this to count sheets of paper. You would count out an amount (i.e. 100 sheets) fit it in and tighten the screw and from there you just removed the amount and put in the next group never having to count out the sheets again.
This item is used in the bindery department of a printing shop. If you want to count out a stack of 50 papers, you set this to that number, insert into the pile of paper, and it will remove 50 for you rather than counting individual sheets by hand.
Jan from Gore Bay, Ontario
My husband who worked in a wholesale warehouse that sold paper and he recognized it immed. as something he used to count sheets of paper. I wanted to share this with readers.
Jim you have a tool that pressmen use when they are counting paper. You count how many sheets you need , then the metal piece locks so the time you don't have to count, just measure. They were also used in the printing bindery.
Hope this helps
Bill
Hello Jim. It is a paper counter i used it when I was in printing. Its a faster way to count out sheets. So that you can insert the cardboard into the stack of papers, cardboard backing when making writting pads. Before they so to binding.
my husband says there must be a lot of old printers out there. It is a ream counter or lift counter, used for counting sheets of paper.
I think it is a paper clamp holder for the guillotine machines inside the printing shop.....now this holder uses to hold all the paper on the clamp to keep it straight and even without moving off the papers out of sight off line because it has to be kept cleaned and well done for the paper to keep it lined up for that clamp holder......and that is what it is for......and that is why that paper clamp holder is to keep the papers cleaned without touching all the papers by fingerprints on sights......:)
Looks like a tool my dentist uses to see my teeth front to back!!!
It's a tool used in the printing, bookbinding & paper wholesale trades used for counting sheets of paper i.e. one sets the guage for 100, 250 or 500 sheets by actual count and then simply inserts the flat blade into the stack to determine how many sheets are there or are needed for the job. Used by pressmen for many years in the above industries.
The folks are correct it is a paper counter. We use them in our print/production department to quickly count paper for padded forms etc. Count how many per pad, set the two arm to slide snug but not tight onto this amount and you will have a pretty accurate count per pad.
Mu husband was a printer for his entire working life. He just saw this picture tonight and tells me it's called a "stab counter". It's used in the bindery and printing trade.
This item is used in the printing industry. It is used to separate papers as to thickness of a large glued notepad to be divided into equal thicknesses. The screw is used to adjust the thickness of the pad.
Printers would use this to cunt paper. A number of shets would be counted out and meaured with the tool and then he tool could be used to measure the same number without counting.
This month's "What is it" - the item is used in the printing industry to measure sheets of paper for making pads. It is adjustable to however many sheets of paper you want per pad.
I used the gadget in a printing shop. It is a measurement tool.
First you count the number of pages by hand, lets say fifty.
Then you place the tool between the two sections and move the slider bar until it holds the fifty. After that you just slike the tool between the sheets of paper and it automatically counts by fifty, instead of counting by hand. In those days it saved alot of time, as the production of packaging was counting by hand. Hope this helps. Have a great day.
Being in the printing industry for over 20 years I have seen and used many different tools including the one posted in the February/March 2012 issue of Our Canada. This particular tool is a measuring device used for measuring reams of paper (counted stacks of paper) and also used in the paper converting business. In measuring reams of paper this tool would allow you to quickly measure multiple stacks of paper. It can also be utilized in dealings with flyers to measure stacks however it is not 100% accurate. For example you can count out 100 sheets of paper, set the tool to the thickness of those 100 sheets and then you can measure out 100 counts stacks without having to count each individual sheet. The name that this tool is most commonly referred to is a spoon. Jim McBride, I hope this information is useful for you and good luck.
This is a paper counter used in a print shop. My father in law used it when he worked in the print shop to count how many papers you would need for a job.
Yes you are correct It is a meaure used to count sheets of paper from a pile re padding etc. I used this in our printing shop at AC.
The" What is it" item is defininitly a paper guage. I also work in the printing and bindery industry and have for about 17 years. I think the actual name of it is an "Adjustable pad and paper counter". It was neat to see an item in your magazine that I actually recognized. I have made many-a scratch pads with this little gizmo.