American Revolution
Revolutionary War Era Naval Midshipman's Pressgang Tool
c. 1770 Revolutionary War Era, Naval Midshipman's Pressgang Tool with a "Peg Leg" shaped design, Choice Very Fine.
This "Peg Leg" shaped Naval Midshipman's Pressgang Tool measures about 8.5" long with a 1.75" heavy wooden head. The lignum vitae wood surface has a nice patina and natural color with wear from age. (Lignum vitae is hard and durable, and is also the densest wood traded.) Pressgang tools were used for keeping Sailors in line and for Pressgang "recruitment" work on land, as well as being useful during a boarding attack and self defence on pay day at the docks. A choice solid example having one trivial hairline in the head, light wear, and a rich natural patina.
Lignum vitae is a wood, also called guayacan or guaiacum, from trees of the genus Guaiacum. The trees are indigenous to the Caribbean and the northern coast of South America (e.g: Venezuela) and have been an important export crop to Europe since the beginning of the 16th century. The wood was once very important for applications requiring a material with its extraordinary combination of strength, toughness, and density. It is also the national tree of the Bahamas, and the Jamaican national flower