Please help me identify this item.

June 22, 2014 2:22 PM

My Mother brought a tool that looks like a strange type of pliers, however she has no idea what they are. So I told her I'd ask on here. So if anyone can enlighten us as to what these are used for that would be great.

My Mother brought a tool that looks like a strange type of pliers, however she has no idea what they are for. They look like pliers to an extent. Yet the ends don't match, the larger part is ridged and the top part is smooth. If anyone knows what they are or could be used for it would be great, as then I can satisfy my Mother's curiosity.
Object photo 1
Object photo 2
Object photo 3

posted by Ranting Prophet of DOOM! to Home & Garden (14 answers total)

A guess: they are a handle, made to grip the lip of some rounded vessel.
posted by Good Brain at 2:27 PM on June 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: We had something a bit like that as a handle for our pizza hot plate that went in our convection microwave.

(Obviously you don't want a handle on something turning around in a microwave so it's detachable.)
posted by taff at 2:30 PM on June 22, 2014

The "plate" had sides, more like a dish. This is about the angle ours had but not so curved.
posted by taff at 2:31 PM on June 22, 2014

Best answer: Pizza pan grippers is what they look like to me. Like servers use to carry a hot pan to the table.
posted by not that girl at 2:47 PM on June 22, 2014

They look like clinchers for horseshoe nails.
posted by Marit at 2:48 PM on June 22, 2014

Best answer: Another vote for pizza pan grippers.
posted by sm1tten at 2:55 PM on June 22, 2014

Best answer: It looks similar to this aluminum "pot holder grabber tool" seen on eBay and pot grabber seen on etsy.

Definitely a hot pot grabber holder thingy. You put the lip of the pot between the two curved bits, squeeze the tool together and it forms a sturdy handle. I'm not sure if you use it curved "up" or "down" but if you try it both ways I'm sure the proper orientation will reveal itself.
posted by ceribus peribus at 2:55 PM on June 22, 2014

Response by poster: Having Googled your suggestiongs I'm going to go with the majority of a pan holder. I'll have to get my Mother to try using them to pick up a dish or plate and see if they work. Thanks for the help.
posted by Ranting Prophet of DOOM! at 3:04 PM on June 22, 2014

Picking up a dish is probably a problem, because it would break it. I think it's for use with metal objects only.

And if you used it for a pizza pan, you'd hold it upside down. (So that the handles pointed up when gripping the pan.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:13 PM on June 22, 2014

(By which I mean you would hold it with your little finger closest to the hinge.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:23 PM on June 22, 2014

I used to work at Pizza Hut. I definitely think this is a pan gripper. Here is a photo of various types of grippers, with one in use.
posted by candyland at 8:34 PM on June 22, 2014

Definitely not a hoof clincher or any other farrier equipment.
posted by BlueHorse at 8:49 PM on June 22, 2014

I also think it is a pizza pan gripper.
posted by crawmama at 2:57 PM on June 23, 2014

I'll have to get my Mother to try using them to pick up a dish or plate and see if they work.

Pan grippers made for food service may well be specific to the types of pans used in a particular business, and may well not work with any of her kitchen pans.

From the picture, these aren't for plates and I don't think trying them on a ceramic plate would be a good idea.
posted by yohko at 5:39 PM on June 23, 2014