And again a mystery item!

In the course of a much-needed clean-up, I came across the following device. I no longer have any idea how and when it came into my possession; perhaps the optics interested me. As you can see, the device consists of an optical system, which, unlike a magnifying glass, reverses the image. With the pin on the side, you can pull up and fix a movable hammer. Pressing the trigger releases the hammer and the small conical tip punches a dot into the base. There is no scale in the optics, so it is probably not a hardness tester. As an optical centre punch it is too inaccurate, as the example in the last picture shows. Also, it is very difficult to place a cross line exactly between the lines in the optics.

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Any ideas what it could be?

I was a bit lazy and used Deepl translator; I think it (he?) makes a good job.

Regards,
Hans

Hi Hans, I guess it is an optical centre punch, but being it looks as if a bit has broken off the base that can be seen in the top picture, may be causing the inaccuracy of it.

Regards Nick.

Nick, you are right, a part of the left foot is broken away. But it does not hamper the usage of the item.

As I wrote, it is VERY difficult to arrange a point or cross exactly between the lines. For my picture, I tried certainly more than 5 minutes until I was halfway satisfied. When it is an optical centre punch, then I would call it 'not fit for purpose' !

Thanks, and regards
Hans

It probably was fit for purpose when new!

It's evidently suffered from wear and damage over the years, so it's not surprising it no longer works as it should.

Any maker's name on it?

It would only take a small error in the optics or the flatness of the base to create that error. If the base has been through enough trauma to snap that piece off the base, it probably suffered some other not so visible damage as well.