Quote Originally Posted by CoventryCat86 View Post
As craig said, it's a handle used to remove the metal ashtray from the wooden base so you can empty the ashes.

If you see an ashtray with a large, cork ball in the middle that's about 1" in diameter, can you guess what that's for?

It's a pipe smokers thing. Used to knock the ash and dottle from the pipe when finished smoking.