Canadian Broad Arrow Marked Farriers Tool Question

[Latt]

Hello all! I picked this up a few months ago and have been trying to find any other examples of something like this without any luck. It’s marked Heller Bros on one side and is C broad arrow marked on the other side. It looks like it might be hand forged but I am not sure if it’s WW1, earlier, or later. From what I’ve seen it might be a clinch cutter for hammering the shoes into horses hooves, but I could be wrong. Heller Bros seems to have been in business since 1836 and still is in some capacity today, which provides a wide range of possible dates. Are there any examples of Farriers tool kits during WW1 that something like this may have been a part of?

 

Also, I bought it from a stall at a flea market so the price was quite good but the seller has a one size fits all approach to restoration, the final step being some sort of thick flakey finish. I have a set of 1945 dated wire cutters I got from the same stall that are also covered in the same finish. Any thoughts on whether it’s worth stripping the finish and applying something better or to just leave as is would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[museumtom]

Arrow in C is a Canadian marking.