Found Something Today

I wen to a peddler's mall today, and walked by a booth featuring antique farm implements. Among them was what was originally a board, about 4 inches wide, by nineteen and a half inches long, by eleven-sixteenth of an inch thick. About six inches down, someone hand carved a handle, which tapers to about two inches wide.It weighs nearly seventeen ounces. I don't know enough about wood to tell what kind it is, but it is seasoned enough that I would guess it to be at east 50 years old, and is possibly over 100 years old. I don't think it was intended to be used as a spanking paddle. There are seven nails of various sizes driven into the wide end, and small scraps of what may be leather, held on by those nails.It was only $3.00, so I bought it. It does work fine as a spanking paddle, though. I gave myself a spanking with it when I got home, and it has a lot more sting than I would have thought could be produced from something that heavy. Whatever it's prime purpose was, it could have been used on the buns of some farm boy or farm girl in days of yore. Heck, it might have been used to correct some naughty wife or husband. I think my butt could still be sore tomorrow. I'm thinking of renoving the nails, and drilling holes in it, even though that might ruin the value of an antique. Any thoughts on exactly what I bought?

Wheatwine,

Actually, I have no idea what you might have purchased. It certainly sounds like something that would have peeked my interest had I been at that same peddler's mall. I would highly recommend removing the nails from the wide end. Don't know whether you're handy with wood or not but you might even consider refinishing or restoring your new item. It does sound perfect for the use you have in mind.

I have some small suspicions of what it might be but would need to see a picture before I could hazard a guess.
Any chance you could post a pic?

medici

medici, I wish I could, but I don't have the tools or the computer savvy to post a picture. Thanks for your offer to identify it, though. I wish I could take advantage of it.

If you email the picture to us an an attachment we can always add it to your post for you.