I know what it is but........

[Frenchfarmer]

Why? What is it for?

It is a 3" stainless steel headless nail with a yellow plastic sleeve/condom about 1mm thick covering most of it.

A friend asked me to clear out her deceased husbands workshop after her sons had taken what they wanted and could reasonably transport back to Britain.
Shed loads of bits, the usual car nut sailing DIY stuff which was cool but I found this and it is driving me nuts trying to figure out what it is used for.

[Sir-Doris]

Well... Its obviously a finger nail cleaner.

[Frenchfarmer]

Terry always had clean finger nails but he would have had a pearl handled supercharged nail cleaner not a fancy nail. And it would have been Ferrari Red or Air Force Blue.
The thing that gets me is that if you hit it with a hammer you would break the covering.
Hang on!
Is it for a nail gun?
But why stainless steel (Sailing?) and no head if the setting on the gun was wrong he could have sunk himself?

[huggy]

did he have horses? maybe a home made hoof cleaner

[Road Hog]

Did he have mahine tools ?

[rseaville]

My guess is if he was into sailing the coating is plasticote.
You would dip the ends of items that are used on the deck to reduce the risk of scratching it.
Did he have a fibreglass boat?
He may have used the nail for stirring the can of plasticote.

[jammywagonwheel]

Sailing (stainless) could be a rope splicing tool like a marlinspike ..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlinspike

john

[Drift]

you beat me to it Jammy

[RatCav]

Or even a scribe.

[Road Hog]

[Frenchfarmer]

Not sharp enough for a scribe and definitely manufactured not home made.

[Kevin1964]

Could be used as a bradawl for wood perhaps for starting of screws ??

[Drift]

An earwax disturber

An instrument to help soldering?

[Rich]

i think its part of a kit

a car puncture repair kit

[SnortonR]

You need 3 more for the cribbage board

[john (smifffy)]

looks a bit like a bollie needle for fishing