He Knows Handheld Corn Shellers
Jim Moffet has 26 handheld corn shellers in his collection but his book, “The Hand Held Corn Sheller”, includes photos and information on hundreds more. He credits collector Olan Bentley (Vol. 44, No. 2) for many of the photos. Bentley once owned more than 200 handheld corn shellers. The simple devices were everyday tools, shelling corn for chickens as well as for seed. Today they are increasingly rare and valuable.
“I picked up one at an antique show years ago and was intrigued to learn more,” recalls Moffet. “I had no idea how many were made. They vary from homemade wooden types to patented cast iron and steel. Some are simple rings, and others are hinged, and still others have hand cranks.”
The earliest shellers are scrubber style. Moffet reports that early colonists imitated Native Americans using seashells. He suggests that may have been the origin of the term shelling.
Scrubbers come in a wide variety. They vary from rough boards to boards with ridges and wire, embedded nails and pegs. Some are made from cast iron. Scrubbers were integrated into straddle boards, as well as stand-alone units on legs with an attached paddle to rub the ear against the board.
T-handle, hand crank and clam-style hinged plates all speed shelling. Other styles include tong-style, skillet-style and sleeves. All of these involve rotating the device around the ear or the ear within the device.
As with any collector’s item, it didn’t take long before new “old” items appeared. Moffet suggests checking for patents as one way to verify the actual age of a corn sheller. He has seen fish scalers being sold as corn shellers with an asking price of $100.
“People are even reproducing original models,” he says. “A few years ago someone started reproducing the aluminum Jiffy corn sheller in cast iron. It looked more antique that the original. Most anyone could be fooled, but they misspelled the name as Jiffey.”
Moffet sells “The Hand Held Corn Sheller” book for $50 plus shipping. In addition to the handheld devices, it includes photos and information on a number of other corn-related items. They include box shellers, manual planters and shucking devices.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jim Moffet, 8900 Moffet Lane, Modesto, Ill. 62667 (ph 217 439-7358; workshop2@frontiernet.net).
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He Knows Handheld Corn Shellers FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 Jim Moffet has 26 handheld corn shellers in his collection but his book “The Hand Held Corn Sheller” includes photos and information on hundreds more He credits collector Olan Bentley Vol 44 No 2 for many of the photos Bentley once owned more than 200 handheld corn shellers The simple devices were everyday tools shelling corn for chickens as well as for seed Today they are increasingly rare and valuable “I picked up one at an antique show years ago and was intrigued to learn more ” recalls Moffet “I had no idea how many were made They vary from homemade wooden types to patented cast iron and steel Some are simple rings and others are hinged and still others have hand cranks ” The earliest shellers are scrubber style Moffet reports that early colonists imitated Native Americans using seashells He suggests that may have been the origin of the term shelling Scrubbers come in a wide variety They vary from rough boards to boards with ridges and wire embedded nails and pegs Some are made from cast iron Scrubbers were integrated into straddle boards as well as stand-alone units on legs with an attached paddle to rub the ear against the board T-handle hand crank and clam-style hinged plates all speed shelling Other styles include tong-style skillet-style and sleeves All of these involve rotating the device around the ear or the ear within the device As with any collector’s item it didn’t take long before new “old” items appeared Moffet suggests checking for patents as one way to verify the actual age of a corn sheller He has seen fish scalers being sold as corn shellers with an asking price of $100 “People are even reproducing original models ” he says “A few years ago someone started reproducing the aluminum Jiffy corn sheller in cast iron It looked more antique that the original Most anyone could be fooled but they misspelled the name as Jiffey ” Moffet sells “The Hand Held Corn Sheller” book for $50 plus shipping In addition to the handheld devices it includes photos and information on a number of other corn-related items They include box shellers manual planters and shucking devices Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jim Moffet 8900 Moffet Lane Modesto Ill 62667 ph 217 439-7358; workshop2@frontiernet net
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