Plunger Tongs Swedish

[Traintime]

Disassembled here to highlight construction and marks. Many on-line examples claiming plated (gold, silver); tongs (olive, sugar, pickle); Swedish American Lines or just Swedish National emblem etc. What are they? Clues...non-magnetic outer tube (aluminum?) with magnetically positive internal components....makers mark under top....screw may allow for adjusting plung-depth and therefore the opening width (sounds like different sizes of olives rather than standard sized sugar cubes). Can make better photos if marks are unreadable.

[dognose]

Hi Traintime,

See: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=11072&p=24372

Trev.

[Traintime]

Thanks Trev!! Sugar it is (one lump or two?)! Since only the cap is marked, I'm guessing they must have been customized and applied for differing users to suit the order. Will continue to look for any evidence one way or the other as to whether this actually was for the ship line.

[dragonflywink]

Doubt they were produced for the Swedish American Lines, but just as general Swedish souvenirs with the three-crowns emblem - they're the most common enameled design, but have seen others with flowers, etc., nothing that looked like a trademark (they're also found fairly often in the original box, have never seen any indication there of a connection to the ship line). The quatrefoil mark on yours indicates it's a 'Treklon' piece, have also seen enamel three-crown tongs by other makers. The earliest patent I've found for these was 1909, Swedish #27782, issued to Enkoping tool manufacturer J.P. Johansson, maker of the 'Triplex' brand.

~Cheryl

[Traintime]

A belated "Thank You" Cheryl--looks like I've been gone to lunch a few weeks longer than I realized.