What did I find? Who can tell me what this tool is for?

jblyttle

jblyttle

Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Messages
3,741
I picked this up because it is cool, but am unsure of it's untended purpose. It is old and hand made, profiled like a froe but taller and has the handle aligned the wrong way for that. It weighs 3.5lb and is built too heavily to be like a machete. It is 17" long with a 12" cutting edge and is made for a socket handle. That is all that I can tell you.


 
Seeing as you're located on the eastern seaboard it wouldn't surprise me if this is a vintage whale processing tool whereby (depending on the length of the handle) you can cut and slice far and deep without having to climb all over such a huge critter.
 
That's a great idea, but a quick google search brought up nothing that matched this. However, I did see a tool that I also have that I assumed was an old ice chopper for making holes for ice fishing. It turns out that I may have a head spade.
 
If going by looks alone I'd call it a billhook, but going by the weight of it I'd agree that it may be a whaling implement.
 
I've chopped and augered my share of ice-fishing holes over the years and your gizmo would have done nothing. 4 or 5 foot long ice spud (looks like a bark spud) is what was traditionally used and are still used to chip out the bottom of the hole when the hand or power auger breaks through.
 
300Six said:
I've chopped and augered my share of ice-fishing holes over the years and your gizmo would have done nothing. 4 or 5 foot long ice spud (looks like a bark spud) is what was traditionally used and are still used to chip out the bottom of the hole when the hand or power auger breaks through.
Click to expand...

Right, I was referring to another tool that I have, not this one.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
If going by looks alone I'd call it a billhook, but going by the weight of it I'd agree that it may be a whaling implement.
Click to expand...

OK, now we have two supporting this idea and I have no evidence to the contrary. A google search of images for whaling tools doesn't get any hits that match this, the only reason that have any doubt. If more people concur or if someone can offer positive evidence then I will have to go with the majority. I am hoping that you two are correct, that would be a cool piece of local history. I'm not in favor of whale harvesting in modern times, but I fully respect the old whaling history and tradition of these parts. I live about an hour away from New Bedford.
 
The socket style does indicate pole-mounted use to me, and a slasher wouldn't have a blade that heavy. It's true that it doesn't match up with the common flensing knives that pop up on image searches, but that seems a very likely application to me.
 
I'll take a wild uneducated flyer.
My first impulse was that the socket is just the handle and not for a pole and that it is some sort of tobacco chopper.
I know . . . wrong, wrong . . . WRONG ! . . . but that was the flash the universe sent down the chute.
 
Hunh ?
Hunh ?
Oh well.

Anyway this was titled : Superb old tobacco knife circa 1920, Lombok, Indonesia.
 
Wowbagger said:
Hunh ?
Hunh ?
Oh well.

Anyway this was titled : Superb old tobacco knife circa 1920, Lombok, Indonesia.
Click to expand...

There are so many old tools with similar designs that are for very different purposes that is it easy to be confused. I see things mislabeled all the time by experienced dealers. It does look similar to that tobacco chopper, but my feeling is that that what I have here is too heavy for that to be likely.
 
It's a pretty sturdy implement! I wouldn't rule out shake or shingle froe but as you say the handle orientation is not typical. Is there any evidence of the spine being beat on by a mallet? With regard to whaling-related gear an Internet site devoted to this directs inquiries to: tom@whalecraft.net Maybe contact him and see what he says.
 
I've seen blades on poles like this before used to harvest syrup, they use them to cut V's the entire length of the base of the tree so the sap drips down, there's a Sunday flea market that has one of the trees on display I'll grab a picture Sunday
 
It could have been used in turpentine harvesting also called Naval stores. Basically sap harvested from Longleaf pine after debarking.
 
All of the whaling knives I have seen looked like super sized butchers knives, skinning knives and ulus on long poles. I don't see how this blade would help skin blubber from a whale. For that reason I have to go with option #2 used for some kind of tree thing.
 
xrayoneone said:
All of the whaling knives I have seen looked like super sized butchers knives, skinning knives and ulus on long poles. I don't see how this blade would help skin blubber from a whale. For that reason I have to go with option #2 used for some kind of tree thing.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd echo this - like long bladed and long handled butcher knives. A 12" blade is short for this work. Ought to have a sharp point to pierce into the flesh. But there are a huge variety in flensing knives. Maybe a local blacksmith made this one to try a different pattern.

Interesting piece. What is that, like 1/4" thick?
 
There was more than just flensing/blubber removal work done with whales. Baleen, for instance, was a valuable commodity, and sperm whales' heads were opened up to retrieve the wax and oils contained within it. I wonder if perhaps this could be a tool used for one of those tasks. It strikes me as being something like a pole-mounted cleaver.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top