Old forged Mystery Chopper Tool what’s your guess ?

Thanks for posting responses. It sure looks similar to that Garden Planter/Dibble found on a web site. It’s possible the Blade was originally similar and after the fact someone forged it out on a anvil as a knife thin spade blade. It doesn’t appear that was done. I think the tool was originally made thin and knife like for whatever reason or purpose they had in mind.
 
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Snow and Neally offered the stirrup type in the 80's.

Also the large Dibble bars (sometimes called planting bars) sometimes use the pointed or spade head -


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Bernard Levine might have a reference for the shorter flat type, as he kept some dibble examples around to show fledgling Bowie and Civil War collectors.

Anyway, it might have a different name, but I think the "planting tools" subsection of agricultural implements is the right track.
 
Thanks everyone for your input & research. I can confidently say it is a agricultural hand spade. Along the lines of a dibble.
 
I would still personally temper that statement to instead read "most likely" so it leaves open the possibility that it is for another purpose. The truth is that we are merely guessing, and while we are doing so with reasonable supporting evidence, there is still room for error. It's even possible, for instance, that it began its life a stirrup dibble with a thicker probe to it that was then forged out into its current shape, for some other application. It is obviously a piercing tool of some sort, however, and intended to cut into some form of semi-resistant substrate, whether that be soil or turf of some kind, or another similar medium such as hay or peat. Those qualities are not inconsistent with use as a dibble, but I would ask if you feel that the seemingly fairly thin blade is capable of adequately resisting torqueing force when buried in soil, as a spade-like dibble would need to be levered laterally much like tree planting bars are.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I would still personally temper that statement to instead read "most likely" so it leaves open the possibility that it is for another purpose. The truth is that we are merely guessing, and while we are doing so with reasonable supporting evidence, there is still room for error. It's even possible, for instance, that it began its life a stirrup dibble with a thicker probe to it that was then forged out into its current shape, for some other application. It is obviously a piercing tool of some sort, however, and intended to cut into some form of semi-resistant substrate, whether that be soil or turf of some kind, or another similar medium such as hay or peat. Those qualities are not inconsistent with use as a dibble, but I would ask if you feel that the seemingly fairly thin blade is capable of adequately resisting torqueing force when buried in soil, as a spade-like dibble would need to be levered laterally much like tree planting bars are.
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Thanks. The Blade is pretty thin very knife like. I couldn’t see it used effectively in any type of Rocky or hard soil as a planting bar of sorts. Unless it was used in a Nursery where established raised beds and Loamy soil was in play. It’s definitely a plunge cutter tool. I’m thinking leaning towards Peet’ Moss. Anyone know what a Peet’ Moss knife looks like? Possibly a knife used to cut into Tobacco bails? Or maybe Hemp bails? I’m Just throwing possibilities out there. Some type of agricultural tool.
 
Idahawk said:
Thanks. The Blade is pretty thin very knife like. I couldn’t see it used effectively in any type of Rocky or hard soil as a planting bar of sorts. Unless it was used in a Nursery where established raised beds and Loamy soil was in play. It’s definitely a plunge cutter tool. I’m thinking leaning towards Peet’ Moss. Anyone know what a Peet’ Moss knife looks like? Possibly a knife used to cut into Tobacco bails? Or maybe Hemp bails? I’m Just throwing possibilities out there. Some type of agricultural tool.
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Generally peat moss was, in the UK at least, usually cut more with a tool like this peat-cutting spade that allowed for tidy bricks to be cut. I mentioned it as a substrate mostly because of it being a fibrous and dense material that a blade of this nature would be able to penetrate, and it does appear as though there are some peatlands in Idaho, especially in the northern parts of the state, but that doesn't mean that it bears a form that makes it specially adapted as a cutter like the tool shown below is, and other applications are still very possible. However, the fact that the harvesting and use of peat moss in the USA was less prevalent than in the UK, dedicated tools for the purpose were, to the best of my knowledge, not commercially manufactured, and could be a reason for modification/homebrewing a suitable tool.

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Given the location and Idaho's intense agriculturalism a planting device is most likely. The forge weld between the blade and the handle suggest that it was either made by a farm blacksmith or is very old or both. The handle looks like it could be farm forged as well. Does the handle spin at all or is it solidly fixed?
 
It's not made like a hay hook, I believe it was always a dibble. A really nice one...
 
garry3 said:
It's not made like a hay hook, I believe it was always a dibble. A really nice one...
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Except it fundamentally very much is...there were signs that the current blade was forge welded around the stirrup, and while the blade has some possibility of not being commercially produced, the tidiness of the ends of the stirrups and uniformity of the stirrup rod itself up until the zone that would have been worked in forming the blade/stirrup junction definitely looks factory produced and of a quality incongruous with the blade itself and the alterations made to the grip.

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FortyTwoBlades said:
Except it fundamentally very much is...there were signs that the current blade was forge welded around the stirrup, and while the blade has some possibility of not being commercially produced, the tidiness of the ends of the stirrups and uniformity of the stirrup rod itself up until the zone that would have been worked in forming the blade/stirrup junction definitely looks factory produced and of a quality incongruous with the blade itself and the alterations made to the grip.

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Yada yada yada... here we go again.
I don't want to argue with a guy that can't ever admit he is wrong even when it's proven, I'm tired of you.
 
garry3 said:
Yada yada yada... here we go again.
I don't want to argue with a guy that can't ever admit he is wrong even when it's proven, I'm tired of you.
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How am I wrong here -- you said something patently false. If you're tired of me, make use of your block feature or don't spout obviously incorrect information.
 
Handle is Tight. Thanks for the input friends. Best I can tell after everyone’s provided internet resources. Its old. I don’t believe this was any production tool from a factory. Best guess it Was likely Blacksmith made. As a agricultural or farm tool- In the pattern of a dibble but with a wider thinner blade form. Well let the old Dog rest. Thanks again
 
I would add that something that can be helpful in ID'ing its use is if there are any telltale signs of wear. If used to penetrate soil, that should have left scratches on the blade indicating as such. As an example, the US M1917 bolo knife had an asymmetrical primary grind that gave it one flatter face and a thick convex bevel on the opposing side such that the broad blade could be used as a make-do entrenching tool, and they typically exhibit a wear pattern on the blade from being used for that purpose like this example, and often have some rounding over of the point from wear. Similarly, does the edge of the blade have any distinctive features? Does it come to an actual sharpened edge, and if so, how thin is that angle?


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