Does anyone know what this tool is named and what it was used for? I thought it was a short draw knife with a handle missing but the existing handle is attached with a peened round end. The other end is not chamfered like the handle end. The protrusion looks like it was meant to be struck but there are no marks from a hammer. Works pretty good for splitting kindling. The end opposite the handle is sharp on the tip. Must be some type of froe.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Replies
Could it be custom made? Does it have casting marks or stamps anywhere?
If it is meant to split wood with as with a froe, you're not supposed to use a hammer to hit it with. I asked here at Knots about using my froe and was instructed to make a large mallet-like tool from a dense, heavy wood to hit it with. Was confirmed by some research on the web.
One of the mags has an "whatzit old tool" feature. Might be worth sending in a pic.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Hammer,
You tool is possibly a grafting knife, used by orchardists to create a short, lengthwise split through the end of a stubbed tree trunk or the branch of a fruit tree. Twigs from another tree were then inserted into the split to create a graft.
The split in the tree would be made by striking the back of the larger blade, similar to using a froe. If a wooden mallet were used, the striking post wouldn't show much damage. The underside of the extension opposite the handle would be struck to back the tool out of the split. The sharp end of the extension would then be driven into the split to hold it open while the twigs for grafting were inserted.
All the ones I have seen were lighter in weight than the tool you have and didn't have the striking post on the back edge. Being that the tools were often hand forged, yours is probably just the maker's personal variation on the design. Do you know where the tool came from? If it came off a farm or from an area with commercial orchards, that would help to confirm its application.
For restoration and repair work, I have a small grafting knife that I keep handy for driving into the joint between a molding and whatever it is nailed to. Using the knife and a small pry bar, I can usually remove the molding with no damage to it or the backing.
John W.
I love the post about the grafting knife. Sounds plausible. What sort of tool did they split cedar shakes with? That's what came to mind when I saw it.
J R, A FROE BRO Ya rive (slice) the up end of a sawed off
and quartered log, (billet)
using a froe hit with a mallet
The froe is an ELL shaped metal chisel with a long handle
The blade being horrizontal whilst the 'pry' (handle)
is made of 'hick ree' The froe must be struck repeatedly as
the shake rives off.
Next, you up end the billet t'other way
and rive another slice.
That's what creates the tapered shingle.Edited 1/14/2005 2:21 pm ET by steinmetz
Edited 1/14/2005 2:28 pm ET by steinmetz
Thanks for the replies so far. This came out of the family farm we sold last year, originally built in the early 1700's. We are surrounded by apple orchards. The family has a long history of logging and farming. There was always a team of Percherons in the barn that were used to skid logs across frozen lakes in winter. The community was a rich agricultural and manufacturing area. All of the old trades were flourishing, coopers, wheelwrights, farriers, basket makers. You may be kicking off your Bass Weejuns and picking your teeth with a Forsters toothpick, right now.This is definitely a heavy duty tool. Not really suited to the delicate art of grafting. It is not your common froe. I think the head was meant to be used as a hammer now that I have looked at it more closely. The protruding end would not be good for nailing on flat surfaces. There are no markings on the tool. I'm leaning towards the coopers trade. Potato barrels up here have split sapling hoops that are clinch nailed. There also used to be heavy splint baskets made for fruits and vegetables. I have the feeling, that the knife was used to split something, like a small billet, less than 4" wide. While the tool was in your hand it was used to nail or drive something and the end must have been used to pry. All in a closely related sequence. The way the handle is mounted indicates that this was swung hard into whatever and did not need additional help. Since every other tool in the barn was bent or broken, the unhandled end may have been different at one time. I'm pretty good with old tools but this one stumps everyone so far.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I have pictures of stumps 2 to 3 inches in diameter being split for grafting, this wasn't always a "delicate art". Except for the hammer head on the back side, I have a picture of a grafting knife that looks very similar to yours. Grafting of apple trees was very common in times past, being that the farm was surrounded by apple trees I still vote for the tool being a grafting knife.
John W.
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