Not an axe but related??

[the-accumulator]

Here's what I got and what I think:



I would take a tool like this into the timber with me to facilitate attaching a rope high up in a tree. I would sacrifice a 16 ft tall sapling, taper the skinny end to fit into the socket on this tool, connect my rope to the ring, and attach the hook high up in the tree, pull my sapling handle out, and use the rope to persuade the tree to fall where I want it to fall. Am I on the right track?? T-A

 

[jake pogg]

I was hoping that the more experienced people would respond,before i must fess up to my Complete ignorance of what and wherefore this may be.
It Is a hook forged very much according to Hoyle,that's how chain,lifting, et c. hooks are forged to this day,this turning-by-bevelling.

I doubt that it was meant to hook any solid material(especially a tree...i don't see it working very well).
It's more likely it's a part of rigging associated with rope or cable,something used to fish out a mooring line,or carry chokers back up the line,or...
It looks strangely,vaguely familiar...but really i've NO earthly idea...

 

[Old Axeman]

I have never seen anything like this used in logging. So, this would be my use for it -- carry it into the woods, cut the sapling, push it up to a stout branch (it has a very open hook to allow this) with a rope through the ring, and use it in hunting camp to hoist deer, elk, moose, etc.

 

[the-accumulator]

use it in hunting camp to hoist deer,

That's an idea I hadn't thought of. However, it seems awfully overbuilt for that purpose. Perhaps it's not obvious in the photos, but the inside curve of the hook has an axe-like edge to it. It's sharp enough that it would dig in to the bark of a tree limb. That would be okay for a tree you were cutting down but not for one in which you were hanging a carcass. If I was hanging a carcass. I'd want a small block and tackle attached to a rope that I would throw over a limb 10-12 feet off the ground.
If I wanted to persuade a tree to fall in a particular direction, I'd want my rope 20 feet up in the tree. Also. I could easily pull a rope through the ring with no resistance, but hoisting a 250-300 carcass would require some sort of mechanical advantage, or my feet would come off the ground! But, with no comparables to compare to. Your guess is as good as or maybe better than mine.
Thanks for your response. T-A

 

[Arathol]

Put a 3 or 4 foot handle on it and its a rafter grapple, used to hang a pulley or a rope from the rafters of a barn.

 

[the-accumulator]

Could be, but I've used barn hooks that have two points that scissor together to grab the sides of a beam...but that's intended for a beam that you can't go over top of. Hmmmm... but why has my hook got a sharp edge on the inside of the curve if that is what it is intended for?

 

[Square_peg]

I wonder if it could have been used in whaling.

 

[the-accumulator]

I've thought about it being some sort of meat hook, but the relatively sharp edge on the inside of the curve would cut through the flesh, wouldn't you think?

 

[Square_peg]

Unless it was meant to hook on a bone.

 

[the-accumulator]

I have limited experience felling trees and even less whaling!

 

[Square_peg]

Nor do I. But I did read Moby Dick. Placing a harpoon and then pulling the shaft was standard procedure. The same could have been done with hooks I suppose. Though I don't recall reading of it ever done in whaling.

 

[jake pogg]

All kinds of interesting ideas...

In whaling,once the whale was alongside,a hook was lowered from a boom swung over it,and as a guy on top of the whale was making a cut,a continuous ribbon of skin and blubber was getting peeled off spirally,as the whale rotated,and came aboard in one long strip...(to be sectioned across only once on deck).

I remember seeing some hooks in old photos,but of course don't remember any particulars...Pieces of skin+blubber,couple of feet square were manhandled,loaded into try-pots et c.,but those deck hooks were fairly standard,much like today's gaffs...

In modern whaling nothing of the sort is used,(i'm kinda aware of a bit of that action thanks to some friends who are close to it as scientists;but we also get to eat a bit of whale here,it gets passed along out of someone's share of the catch...).

When a whale is muscled around by equipment they seem to always choke up on the tale with cable,i've never heard of whale being hooked(small hooks used to help peel the blubber...nothing of this size though).

Whale skin is very strong,it could take hooking and reefing on it,but that sharpened inside edge would not facilitate any of that....

Dunno...Puzzlement...

 

[Old Axeman]

I could not tell it was sharp, so, no to my thought. I liked the whale idea until I read what Jake posted. Still a mystery. Fallers rarely work in pairs (except USFS fire). Tree felling, at least with chain saws, is best as a one man show, in my experience.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I very much doubt it has anything to do with whaling. Folks often like to call mysterious edged or hooked whatsits whaling equipment but it's very rarely the case that it has anything to do with that particular industry, especially when found outside of known whaling regions or away from other similar tools, much like how commonly coup marc tools are misidentified as executioner's axes and hay knives get misidentified as ice saws.

Reading the tool is the best we can probably do in this circumstance, and there's only so much it can tell us in this case. We can see that the hook portion is quite strong, to the point where it was probably intended to be subjected to strain, as is the eye and ring, but the connection between that and the socket and the socket itself are both fairly thin and this seems to indicate that it was not expected for the socket and shank to be subjected to much force. This indicates that the pole that would have been attached would be for positioning purposes rather than for any form of force or leverage. The thinned inner edge of the hook may be an artifact of the forging process, but may also be to allow it to hold securely on a pole or beam by biting into it a little and the crushing that occurs when under load keeping it from shifting side to side. If this is the case whatever it hooked to was probably sacrificial/replaceable due to wear that would occur, or else one would need something like a notch in an iron bracket to receive the hook. I wonder if perhaps it was used as a portable hoist for hay or the like and would have been used to position the rope for a hay spear or lifting a net up to a loft space. Many more people needed tools for that purpose than ever had call for whaling tools.

 

[jake pogg]

That sounds Very sensible,yes,haying,or other farm chores required lifting,i think that's the more reasonable logical direction thus far.

This one thing i'd disagree with:

The thinned inner edge of the hook may be an artifact of the forging process,

It is actually the opposite of the nature of forging the hook-it's the Outside of the hook that gets beveled,which causes it to curve around.The inside needs to stay as compact as possible,and in fact even upset a bit.(modern load hooks are forged in a similar manner enough to still retain that section)
In this one the outside was deliberately flattened,too,all together a quite deliberate action on someone's part.

The socket on the end may actually be a sort of a fairlead for the line itself,and not meant for inserting of anything.But,I've No idea why that would be,as if a purchase on the very end was wanted then a simple eye would work...

Cool deal though,it's keeping us all entertained in any case!

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

That sounds Very sensible,yes,haying,or other farm chores required lifting,i think that's the more reasonable logical direction thus far.

This one thing i'd disagree with:


It is actually the opposite of the nature of forging the hook-it's the Outside of the hook that gets beveled,which causes it to curve around.The inside needs to stay as compact as possible,and in fact even upset a bit.(modern load hooks are forged in a similar manner enough to still retain that section)
In this one the outside was deliberately flattened,too,all together a quite deliberate action on someone's part.

The socket on the end may actually be a sort of a fairlead for the line itself,and not meant for inserting of anything.But,I've No idea why that would be,as if a purchase on the very end was wanted then a simple eye would work...

Cool deal though,it's keeping us all entertained in any case!

Depends on the method that was used to curve it. If forging the curve you'd get the bevel on the outside, sure. But if bending a bar into the shape and then attempting to broaden the hook while maintaining the form caused by the initial bend one could end up with it on the interior. The hook would want to open up if such a method was used, necessitating repeated re-closing of the form, but it could have been done that way. Most likely is that it was intentional, but one can't entirely rule it out when reading a tool when it's of unknown purpose and appears to not be factory-produced.

 

[TJLyon711]

Interesting piece nevertheless, even if we do not know it's intended purpose. One thing is for sure, it still looks very much usable, for whatever purpose you find for it. My opinion on it, is it could hold quite a load, for lofting purposes. It looks to be 3/8 to 1/2" thick at it's widest point? I agree with the previous observation of it being ground/forged to a bevel through the center portion to aid in keeping it from sliding on whatever it's hooked to. I can see it being used as an anchor for a block and tackle. The same design of hook is used to lock into chains to prevent sliding.

 

[Square_peg]

But if bending a bar into the shape and then attempting to broaden the hook while maintaining the form caused by the initial bend one could end up with it on the interior.

No, Jake is right. It just wouldn't be done that way. I had the same thought as Jake but just didn't express it. It's so much different than how a hook is normally formed that it has to be intentional.

 

[Old Axeman]

I am now liking the barn/hay idea

 

[Square_peg]

Here's what I got and what I think:

My opinion on it, is it could hold quite a load, for lofting purposes. It looks to be 3/8 to 1/2" thick at it's widest point?

Yeah, if your look at the image above it's clear that the weak spot is the ring and the eye it's attached to. The ring will have been forge welded and there's always the possibiity of a weak weld. And there's something going on at the businees end (load bearing end) of the eye. It almost looks like the poll socket was an afterthought and forge welded on later. This may have weakened the eye.