Dental (TOOL) question.... is this 'dental silver'?

[MossRoad]

When I go tromping through the woods, one thing I've found, is that just about every farm has a junk pile or two somewhere on the property.

My folks bought 20ish acres on the outskirts of town back in the 50s with a partner and subdivided it into about 17 lots. There were several ravines along the edge of the property. There was an old road that came along the ravines. Every ravine had a junk pile in it.

No one paid to have stuff hauled off if they had a ravine.

 

[ponytug]

Last what I belive to be a pestle (of Mortar & Pestle fame) It's a frosted (presumed glass). Squared handle and the blunt end.

Now, the dental picks, scrapers.... I might have a rare use for so I'll put those into my toolbox. I'm scratching my head wondering what I might ever use this for.

Looks near pristine although there are several spots where there's a brownish tint where again, it was buried for 30 years. I haven't really cleaned it though. Pulled it out of ground, put under faucet and dried it off. That's it.


If it is NOT a pestle, then I'm clueless. Maybe this is the tool parents give baby girls so they can hold it and practice hitting their brothers over the head with it so by the time they're adults, they can graduate to the roller pin??



View attachment 799730

I'm wondering if this is another hone for dental tools. The frosted glass would act like extremely fine sandpaper and the curves and varies flats and angles would help sharpen all types of edges.

Sorry to hear of all the junk piles. It almost sounds like an excavator or bulldozer job. Could you get a dumpster close to send the metal off to recycling?

All the best,

Peter

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Wife says we're going to try to clean this mess up back in the woods (it really should be done, thee are HUNDREDS of beer cans strewn about where they were tossed into the shed (in bags?) and when the shed got smashed they blew everywhere. It's really a pile of junk. Her cousin next door (who's father along with my wife's father would be the ones who this all belonged to) anyway her cousin laughs and says "let someone clean it up after we're all dead & gone"

That is exactly what his father would have said. I don't agree with that sentiment at all but this IS going to be a big task for us. Have to clear a 'road' to the area. There are several 5' rotted out rotary cutters, a square bailer, push mowers and PILES and PILES of corregated steel which was the roof of the shed and the cover on some "buildings" they had there to keep things out of the rain.

There is a LOT of this metal which of course, also makes it a bit dangerous to be walking around so you don't slip on it or slice a leg on it.

mixed in and buried with all this junk....are these dental tools. Though I can't find any more in the same 2x2 foot area, there certainly might be more located simply 12 inches away or deeper in the same dirt I've been finding them in.....and of course these buggers have sharp, pointy ends on them which could put a good scratch or impale you should you hit them the wrong way.

There are tires, long conduit, toaster oven, tv, bed frame..... their private junk dump.

I really don't care for that mentality and am at a loss as to why two educdated men would do that on their own property (one a dentist, other a pharmacist).

The more I find back there, the more I scratch my head on their thought process.

(in part because on yet ANOTHER part of the farm was their OTHER junk pile where they tossed junk into a ravine, to include washer/dryer type stuff and other things I've NEVER (after living here for near 30 years) I've never walked into area to investigate.... it really bothers me to find all that crap.

It sounds like maybe it's 100% junk...but if there's any scrap value in anything, baler, maybe you could find someone hauling it off (trash first then the "good" stuff ). I'd be like you even if I had to rent a dumpster and dozer I'd want it cleaned up.

 

[etpm]

I was gonna say inhaler but you beat me to it. My grandmother had one that was quite similar, though not identical. When I was a little kid I was quite curious about the inhaler but never asked about it because I found it in a drawer in the bathroom. Though I was never told to mind my own business I still knew that I should and looking in a drawer in Grandma's bathroom certainly crossed a line. But I was 6 years old. BTW, the inhaler smelled strongly of menthol. I don't know why someone would want to inhale menthol. I found out it was an inhaler when I was about 12 years old because it was laying on a counter for everybody to see and I asked Grandma what it was.
Eric