Leaves or cuttings of tobacco mixed with molasses, honey or other sticky sweeteners are pressed into cakes or plugs. Stores in the 19th and early 20th centuries selling plug tobacco often would have plug cutters on their counter to chop off an amount of tobacco to sell to a customer. Tobacco companies sent plug cutters to merchants to use and as advertisement for their brand. Sorg Spear Head was a popular brand.
This cutter is from the P. J. Sorg Tobacco Company, a division of the American Tobacco Company in Middletown, Ohio. In 1870, Robert Wilson, George Jacoby, John Auer and Paul J. Sorg founded their tobacco company. In 1877, Sorg withdrew from the company and formed The P. J. Sorg Co. After 10 years, Sorg sold his company to the Continental Tobacco Company, later known as the American Tobacco Company.