My Great Grandfathers Tobacco cutter

This is my Great Grandfathers Tobacco cutter. circa 1930

It was in a sad and sorry state sitting in my bookshelf, so I decided to take it to work and clean it up during a lunch break. It's solid cast iron and had some flaking black enamel which I buffed off using a rotary wire brush in the workshop.

Four woodscrews held the frame to the timber base, I buffed these discovering they were hand made with the turning marks from the lathe still present on the heads. I also had to remove the cutting blade, buffed this..... as well as two more handmade metal screws holding it in.

I then oiled it to stop corrosion and used some lanolin grease to treat the timber base. I'm thinking about powdercoating it again in black, but I think it looks wonderful the way it is!

It really isn't that good as a tobacco cutter as the blade has worn away over time, the adjustable grooves need milling out about 1mm so the blade can make contact with the base.

If you look at the design it is really one of those old "scraping" planes with one handle removed and rivetted to a cutting frame.

I can imagine Great Grandpa getting reams of tobacco and chopping them up before stuffing them in his pipe. I also have his pipe stand complete with a Scottish Grenadier Guard