[jim]

AAAargh , dont touch it, leave it just as it is.

If you paint it or grind it you will lose all the value of it.

You are one lucky chap, I envy you your good fortune.

[ZS-VAN]

Very cool gifts. Nuf said.

[Old Crow]

Thanks for all the sentiments expressed. This may be the first time the Model Hangar community has been in unanimous agreement on anything.

So, any suggestions how I can display these safely? I have young ones around the house and no secure man cave in which to store these, and am not willing to retain a structural engineer to design a method to hang from the ceiling. And the edges really are very sharp and jagged.

[flyXwire]

I would like to suggest a custom made "wall plaque" for your arrester hook...similar to how you'd display a sword on the wall. The picture below is sorta what I'm refering to. I have seen a photo long ago from an issue of "Tailhook" magazine where the stuff gracing the inside of a war room from a carrier squadron unit.

[SKUNKY]

Maybe you could pick up one of these to hang it on......

photographer unknown

[TopHat]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Maybe you could pick up one of these to hang it on......

photographer unknown

Cool pic, Dude....

[zed550]

tailhook aint from a tomcat!
looks like one from an A-6 or S-3?

[Rush104]

If these were my items, this is what I would do. I would leave the B-52 placard alone. I would grind down the sharp edges on the tailhook, however. You never know which visitor will touch it (and if they're like some of my family members, they'll touch it first and ask permission afterwards).
As far as depreciating the historical value- grinding down the sharp edges will not ruin it unless it can be proven to be the hook attached to a plane making the very last trap on a carrier, or involved in a combat mission. If it's just a worn out tailhook, grinding it down isn't going to affect its value at all...

[kingpin]

Pic of a F-14A tailhook


Glen