Some kind of bradawl?
My Grandad was a carpenter and I've got loads of old woodworking tools from him. Most are planes, chisels, sawas etc. But this one I have no idea what it is....
The tip moves a little, maximum angle of movement is as pictured.
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Some kind of bradawl?
Soldering iron?
Soldering iron, to use with a gas ring or similar.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Why would a soldering iron have a pivoted tip, though?
An iron which relies on being heated by on outside source (rather than an internal electric element, say) needs mass to retain the heat.
The tool under question does not have much mass and any heat would not be transfered very well across the small metal-to-metal contact ponts of the hinge.
I think it`s more of a `podger` or awl type of implement for using with holes in some kind of material.
....or an item of gynaecological equipment for operating on mutant women...!
Looks like a tool to trace out a pattern or something.
Soldering irons with pivoting heads are a thing. For example https://vintagetoolshop.com/products...e3e90c9c&_ss=r
As the contact area between the pivot and the metal is quite small, the heat loss is less, thus retaining its useful heat for longer. The head would often be of a different metal to the shaft. The wooden handle would insulate the user from the heat.
Forgot to add a size. It's about s foot long so fairly chunky.
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No idea, but the heat-in-a-flame soldering irons I’ve seen have all had much more mass at the tip end.
Having looked at Vintage soldering irons on ebay, seems you guys are right and that is what it is.
Now that mystery is solved it's off to the tip - can't see any local charity shop wanting it. It's not collectible either. I hate throwing things in the tip but if I put it in the scrap metal skip hopefully the material will be recycled.