Wooden object, What was it used for?

Hi, I bought this at a car boot just to have the fun of researching it, but the only search term I could think of was "spindle", and that has turned up nothing of this tapered shape. I imagine it had something to do with threads or textiles because of the grooves, but I'm getting nowhere. It is about 10 inches long, beautifully smooth and tactile. It must have some age but there is no damage or any sign of splitting. Just knowing the wood it was made from would be a help. At the moment it's just my thingamajig for use in the craft of something-or-other, please help!

 

or a pestle for a chinois

 

Thanks, yes, maybe, I'll have a good search for that. The grooves are a bit fine for yarn but perhaps they would stop the yarn slipping off. Most spools I've seen have caps at both ends to hold the yarn, the tapering seems a bit odd for the purpose, though.

 

Thanks, and I've learnt a new word for a kitchen gadget, a chinois! I think you could be right, I've found one sold on Etsy which looks very similar, also about 10" long:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/270...how_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details
But I'm a bit puzzled about the grooves, maybe they are just decorative but surely they would trap material and need cleaning, so counter-productive?

 

I think it's a ...........I better stop right here!


WHAT??????

I was gonna say "Ring Sizer" for a Giant.........

 

OH, could be - the grooves collect the solids and help pull them out making juicing easier?? Probably not.

 

What are those plug things on boats called, to secure cables or whatever? Is it one of those?

(Can you tell I live inland?)

 

I thought it looked a bit like a . . . so didn't do a Google search for fear of what I migt find! The robot algorithms might think I was shopping, and bombard me with ads I really don't want!

 

I meant "reverse image search", I did search for "spindle", and then later for "chinois, which was more productive.

 

Could it be for use with one of those big aluminum cone-shaped sieves for potato mashing or fruit mashing and draining when making jellies. Grandma had one and used a wooden piece like that to push everything through the sieve. The left over pulp she used for wines. Or, it might be one of those pieces that Granddaddy use when he spliced those big ship ropes. Cannot recall what they were called. Oops, just came to me--a marlin spike.

 

Cone-shaped sieve - Chinois aka china cap (as above.)

 

That is the chinois TallCakes mentioned.

That's the one I meant!

 

I'm thinking that it is a pestle for a cone-shaped sieve (chinois), a rather large one. I used to make home made tomato sauce, when my tomatoes used to avoid the blight (no longer, alas). The sieve would have to be the right fit, but I think it would work quite well. The only lingering question is about the grooves, maybe just a style choice of the maker. A lovely object in its way, I will have to find a use for it, maybe darning! Thanks to everyone for their input!