Thanks to TrimixLeccy (U.K.) for the following:

The only thing i can think of is fuse pullers, the left one for glass screw in fuses and the right for cylinder fuses. But thats just a guess.

They are electrical tools right?

Definitely designed to hold something round, but what?

Looks like the one on the left is designed to grab something by tightening the wing nut on the end.

Yep they are Electricians Tools. Being an Electrician runs in the family.

As for being 'fuse pullers'; interesting thought; but about as far away from the correct answer as you could get. Nearly all the fuses in U.K. are enclosed in some form of insulated carrier so a puller is not needed. There was one type of fuse decades ago known as 'A death-wish fuse', where the fuse wire ran along the outside of the carrier. Put the fuse across an uncleared fault and get a striped hand for free!! 0(
Even though one of them is wood and metal and the other is all metal they both do exactly the same job. Used the wooden one again today.

Clearly to hold something in place.

The wooden one you squeeze the wood and metal so the jaws open...realease and the spring pulls jaws shut...I could use them to put nuts onto threads in difficult places. Much like a gripping screwdriver for nuts and bolts?

Kenny

Broken bulb pullers, to pull broken bulbs?

Since the wooden/metal tool as shown seems to be completely closed (or nearly so), I don't think it's for gripping anything round. It's more like a pair of pliers for squeezing two things together, round or otherwise. And the wood/metal tool does the squeezing while you push against them.

Sort of like an installation tool for snap-in cord grips.

Ah! It's for grabbing duplex receptacles while twisting them around so they're U-ground-UP! No, wait, wrong side of the Atlantic...

Grabbing shade rings in awkward shaped light fittings?

looks like a crimping tool to me

More Pyro tools?

Nope, not Pyro tools, although I have just found some more that I had forgotten about!!
Also just taken some pics for Pauluk to upload to the discussion forum. Pics of what used to be done in 'the good old days' and one a lot more recently

Some sort of flaring tool for conduit?????

Trimixleccy,
Are these tools something that could possibly be used here in the states?

To be perfectly honest about their use in the U.S. I have no idea! I will have to be a bit cagey here so that I do not give the game away..... I assume that you have a similar situation there, as we do here, which would warrant their use.

I will come clean tomorrow about their use.

Am I allowed a second guess?
For turning the knurled rings on old light switch face plates?

Are they Locknut tools ??

Don't you mean twisting them around so they're U-ground DOWN?!

Geoff was right first time, it is a shade ring holder. For those of us with large hands/fingers it is not possible to reach within narrow shades to remove the lock ring so that the shades can be removed. The lamp is removed, and either of the 2 tools locked onto the ring, this is then unscrewed and removed. Simple really, but I have never seen any others. Obviously now that Geoff has had a second guess, his first guess is now not admissible, so there are no winners hey ho!

[This message has been edited by TrimixLeccy (edited 02-26-2007).]

... My first guess was going to be that they were an Obstetrician's tools...so much for that idea...

Only for a baby with a teeny tinyhead.

Here's the sort of situation in which these tools might be useful:

Is it for installing quartz lamps?