We have been doing some cleaning up out in the electronics production area and found the "mystery tool" shown in the two images below. It is made from stainless steel. The blue insulation is dipped and the black insulation is heatshrink tubing. I estimate that it's around 10 years old, but that's just an educated guess. For reference, the quarter is about 1"/25mm in diameter. Does anyone recognize this tool?
Best Answer
It is a Pace brand tip remover tool.
It is used to grab the hot soldering iron tip and swap it out with another one.
The black rubber is not heat-shrink... it's something that will withstand the temperature of the soldering iron tip, perhaps silicone.
If you look closely, there is also a straight-edge screwdriver at the end. This is for loosening the tip lockscrew.
Attached is a small image of a typical Pace set-up.