Research

An oven peel is a wooden or metal hand tool (approx. 175-265 cm long) with an oval or rectangular blade (approx. 15-35 cm wide) on a long handle with which the baker used to oven the bread. The handle is long so that you can reach the back of the oven. [MOT]

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/pill-dispenser?lang=nl>

This text on the pickaxe of a miner can only be consulted in Dutch. [MOT]

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/peg-rasp?lang=nl>

With a pastry blender you can quickly make a crumbly mass from flour and pieces of butter, without this mixture getting hot, for eg crust or shortcrust pastry. It consists of six relatively flexible steel wires that are bent in a U-shape; between the ends there is a wooden or plastic handle, which is sometimes provided with a thumb rest. By moving the pastry blender up and down in the mass, the ingredients are mixed and the pieces of butter or fat finely divided. Instead of the wires, there can also be various steel blades with a curved cut. These are rigid and therefore better suited for cutting hard chunks of fat. See also the dough grater. [MOT]

Fire tongs can be used to move burning pieces of wood. It is quite long, so that the hands are kept at a sufficient distance from the fire and the burning pieces of wood. The fire tongs are often part of a fireplace set, which can also contain an ash shovel, a fork and a brush. The fire tongs are very different from charcoal tongs, which are lighter and often shorter. It is therefore only intended to take a coal from the fireplace and light the pipe with it. See also the clinker tongs. [MOT]

The penknife originally served to cut the tip of a quill pen and to scrape away ink stains from parchment or paper, like an eraser knife. It has a narrow, sharp blade measuring between 2.5 cm and 4.5 cm in length. The penknife is now usually a cutting knife, exceptionally with a replaceable blade, which is used for all kinds of purposes, including as a nail knife. A light (approx. 10 g) model, from the Christy Company, contains a blade that can be slid into the handle in four positions to determine the length of the blade. In addition to the large blade, many pocket knives also have a small sharp blade that is used as a pen knife. Not to be confused with the scalpel. [MOT]

Oysters have strong sphincter muscles. To open live oysters, use an oyster knife, an oyster opener or oyster tongs. The latter can take different forms.  One model consists of two-lever tongs of the first type. The mouth is equipped with 2 hollow "blades" with which an opening is "broken" in the edge of the shell. Then, the tip of the longer part is inserted into the opening made. By wringing, the sphincter is cut.  In another model, the mouth opens when the arms are compressed. The blade of this oyster tong is inserted into the oyster. The thumb is protected by a plate. The oyster is opened with the jaws of the tongs. [MOT]

The pinch bar

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/paste-rolling-pin?lang=nl>