Unusual Old Carved Whimsy with Chain Links, Cage, Plug, and Expandable Part! Okinawa with what appears to be

with what appears to be some peeling to their varnish/coating--as documented in detailed photos

This hip flask is very old

but it has a lot of character

This is a third printing 1940 copy

which I assume dates to the 1940s

Unusual Old Carved Whimsy with Chain Links, Cage, Plug, and Expandable Part! Okinawa with what appears to beI recently learned it probably should have occurred to me before! that whimsies were often carved from old broom and tool handles, and I'd bet that was the case with this one. It is unlike any other I've seen, with a long cage at one end (with the "ball" more rectangular than spherical), then a series of chain links, then another cage type form with a plug as the "ball" such that one can actually extend it by pulling or contact it by pushing, and then