Squeeze Cat

 

This is a knijpkat (literally "squeezecat" pr k-neyp-kaht) made by Philips in the late 1930s. It's a dynamo-powered torch operated by pumping the handle on top. Its name refers to the Dutch expression "pinching/squeezing cats in the dark" which means doing sneaky things when no-one is looking. It makes a typical whirring sound when operated.

I came across it again last weekend while sorting through stuff and it had seized up, again. I'd taken it apart and fixed it as a youngster so took some time to do it again. The screws are tricky in not having slots but a fine-nosed pair of pliers did the trick. As before, the little disks that act like a clutch inside the main gear wheel had become stuck. And like before, I used plastic rod heated at both ends to replace the little ring rivets holding the sides of the gear wheel together.

A local supplier of electrical goods still had the correct lightbulbs to replace the one that had broken, which I got this morning. The man behind the counter was delighted to see this knijpkat, never having seen anything like it before. And with the new bulb in place, the little thing is operational once more.