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symtomdiagnos
Feb 12, 2016 02:32
8 yrs ago
Swedish term

höfter

Swedish to English Social Sciences History woodworking tools
In an estate inventory from 1812, under "snickeri- och svarvredskap": 5 höfter med tänder, 2 höfter utan tänder." I'm assuming this is some kind of iron tool used by a woodworker...perhaps on a lathe...but really have no idea what it might be and can't find it in any dictionaries online or elsewhere! Using Google, I found several other Swedish estate inventories from the 19th century that included this item as well. Perhaps it's an old spelling...
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 planes
1 saw?

Discussion

Timoshka (asker) Feb 13, 2016:
@ Michael Ellis It is a puzzle indeed! I know I'm reading the old handwriting correctly, and have found the same word used in many other estate inventories, written the exact same way. I'm wondering if it might not be a file. Most files have teeth, but with a bit of research on Google, I found a few references to a toothless file (burnishing tool). But then why not use the Swedish word "fil"??? It's still a mystery to me...
Michael Ellis Feb 13, 2016:
Hacksaw? This is a puzzle. The only carpentry tool I can think of with and without teeth is a Hacksaw, but one usually calls the removable part the blade.

Proposed translations

+1
2 days 8 hrs
Selected

planes

Starting with http://www.kulturkoppra.se/askersby/page119.htm which has Jan Nilsson’s estate list and contains "...l Handsåg, l foghöfvel, 6 mindre höfter, l Swarfstol ..." , then knowing fog = groove or joint and guessing 'höfvel' is old spelling for 'hyvel', I worked out theat foghöfvel = joint or rabbet plane.
I then took a leap of imagination and guessed that as they followed in the list, mindre höfter = smaller planes. That led me to the reference.
So the translation you seek might be ”planes with and without teeth” accepting that tooth is an alternative to blade.
Reference:

https://anthonyhaycabinetmaker.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/the-toothing-plane-a-tool-of-our-time/

Peer comment(s):
agree Deane Goltermann : I like it!
1 day 12 hrs
Plane sailing, Deane!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks, Michael!"
2 hrs

saw?

Been searching the web and came up with nothing there, but my guess is that it is some kind of saw, that's the only thing I can think of with teeth. Hope my guess can lead you in some kind of direction, otherwise just toss it away.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Michael Ellis : The problem is that the context quotation includes "höfter utan tänder". See my discussion entry.
1 day 13 hrs
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