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    From the Library of Scale Tales
  Our Swedish Scale








We have been collecting for many years and our collection encompasses numerous different types of scales of varying age. One of our more “modern” scales shows prominently in our family room and often attracts the attention of visitors. We think what draws their curiosity is the presence of a mini secondary weighing pan and the information on the dial about the scale. 

As part of our collecting, we like to do research on the scales to find out more about them. Here is what we know about this scale.

It is an iron framed household scale. It has a pendulum with a very large iron disk which serves as the counterbalance. There is a locking mechanism to keep the pendulum from swinging when the scale is being moved or not used.

The brass goods pan on the top is used to weigh objects up to 10 KG. The brass cup pan which is suspended on the side from an arm is used to weigh up to 400 grams. It was probably used for weighing food for cooking. It was made sometime after 1876 when Sweden adopted the metric system.

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The painted dial on the front contains information about the scale in Swedish. It was made by Jernbolaget, a manufacturer of tools, knives and other household items. Their factory is in Eskilstuna, a city in Sweden located 69 miles west of Stockholm. The dial also contains instructions, Bruksanvisning, for using the scale.

The emblem painted on the dial and stamped in the frame above the dial is an anchor topped by a crown with a capital E in front of the anchor. It is the trademark for Jernbolaget.

We bought the scale from an antique dealer from Springfield, Ohio. How did it get from Sweden to the Midwest? Probably it was brought as an important household item by a family of Swedish immigrants who settled in that area.

This Scale Tale was written by two ISASC members.