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

Apparently the bones were even kept and sold, as well. May have come in handy during such work as well, though they used spade-shaped knives for much of the jointing work.

Part of my suspicion of it being whaling industry related is that the particular shaping of the shank and socket bears strong similarities to the way that the shanks and sockets of flensing knives, heading spades, and the other bladed processing tools are all formed. Similarities in tooling marks can sometimes be a false positive, but reading them can sometimes be fairly revealing.
 
I haven't run out of ideas yet but the fact that you live in Massachusetts immediately got me onto 'arms length' whale processing gear. The fact that this thing uses a socket handle doesn't preclude it from being used to gather coconuts, prune leaves in banana plantations either. Arborist pole-mounted saw pruners are a relatively recent (50-60 years ago?) invention too I think.
 
Well I will throw my two cents in and it is just a guess.
I will lean towards it being a tool for harvesting sap for turpentine.
It is a sheeps foot blade that I think would be just the ticket for making cuts like the ones below.

89678821-tapping-tree-sap-pine_zps5xo9ndge.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Post it up on garage journal. Those guys seem to know everything about every tool ever made.
 
garry3 said:
Well I will throw my two cents in and it is just a guess.
I will lean towards it being a tool for harvesting sap for turpentine.
It is a sheeps foot blade that I think would be just the ticket for making cuts like the ones below.

89678821-tapping-tree-sap-pine_zps5xo9ndge.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
Click to expand...

Wow! Not relevant to this thread but I have to ask: Is this done just before the tree is harvested, or through some miracle does such a conifer actually recover?
 
I cannot say for sure on such an expansive skinning but I have used much smaller examples on fir to harvest resin for firemaking and they scar over and survive well. Cuts were 2-3" wide and maybe 6" long.

Bill
 
300Six said:
Wow! Not relevant to this thread but I have to ask: Is this done just before the tree is harvested, or through some miracle does such a conifer actually recover?
Click to expand...

As long as the bark is left on the back (tree not completely girdled), it will live. There are trees still living that show the scars from this practice long ago.

Anytime bark is removed from a tree it exposes it to increased chance of infection from fungi or other pathogens however so such practices could contribute to an early death.
 
Looks like something you would put on the end of a pole to cut fruit or something down from a tall tree.
 
It looks like an e-toh. A Thailand made coconut machete. The weight and weight-forward design make it great at chopping wood and splitting coconuts. I have one in my Bug Out bag in my car. I bought it at a local Asian supermarket. They are sometimes called an Aranyik.
 
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garry3 said:
Well I will throw my two cents in and it is just a guess.
I will lean towards it being a tool for harvesting sap for turpentine.
It is a sheeps foot blade that I think would be just the ticket for making cuts like the ones below.

89678821-tapping-tree-sap-pine_zps5xo9ndge.jpg
Click to expand...

This is a turpentine knife, used for cutting the "box" chevron pattern you see in that image. It resembles a cross between a timber scribing knife and a scythe blade tang, set in an extended wooden handle and affixed by steel bands, rings, or wire.

sketch42-7.jpg


A blade, only:

200953902443.jpg


Fully mounted antique:

221277407803.jpg
 
There was a type of "axe" called a "Moon Axe" used in making turpentine, and it was used to seal the tin "gutter" into the tree (holding the edge against the tin and hitting the back of the head with a hammer), according to the source linked below.

The socket knife has a thick spine (heavier than those typiclally used for cutting overhead on a pole).

"primitive turpentine moon axe turpentine tool tar tool"
1_56fda33ce8fd7778c70551da0762e59d.jpg

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/primitive-turpentine-moon-axe-137898267


A description of how they were used:
"...Once hacked and scraped, you would lay tin on the tree. This was called a gutter. The moon axe would be placed against the tin and hit with a sledge hammer to seal the gutter....
from http://www.cattletoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37670&p=411041

Cached version since the direct link doesn't seem to work.


Here are some video explanations of the tools used for making turpentine. The "axe" is explained here:
https://youtu.be/STC65cMTJHE?list=PLBdNUFEQhj5GHt6MpVrT-P_EQvFHS2hbD

Another tool, said to be made by Council for one-man use, had a straighter edge:
[video=youtube;_zHo4hFc0sQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zHo4hFc0sQ[/video]
 
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Just doing some googling around I found some images of straight socket handled froes that look similar to what you have. The only difference is these have more of a curved edge, but they are from a single company. It's just that the thick stock makes me think "used for splitting."

Underhill Edge Tool Co



 
Let me say first that I am sure of nothing. Of all of the proposed answers, the two that seem to be the most likely are the flensing knife and the knife froe. Of those two, I personally believe that froe knife makes more sense. Again, I could easily be mistaken. My reasoning is this- almost all of the flensing knife pics that I see show a blade with a bit of a belly, and also show the socket angled a bit up somewhat from the plane of the blade. My too is straight with the socket liked up as well. Also, the heavy weight and very thick spine look/feel like a froe. I imagine that if it were to be used on a long pole, it would be lighter to allow for controlled cutting, and probably be thinner than my tool for slicing. I'll know more when I clean it, but it also looks like the spine is marked up a little from being hit.
 
Those socketed "knife froes" from Underhill look like the same type of tool to me, though I think the "froe" label might be a misnomer (since the handle is not angled to pry like a conventional froe). To me it looks functionally closer to a very large "hack knife" than a froe.

The example in this photo (already posted above) had a description listing it as being from the Underhill Edge Tool Co., and the dimensions were 15" length, 3-3/4" width:

il_570xN.483501996_a6pw.jpg


This old ad (or catalog page) from Underhill Edge Tool Co. has an illustration with many tools pictured, including a froe:

underhilltoolflyer.jpg


Reprints of Underhill Edge Tool's 1859 catalog have been published, and they might contain the answer as to the proper name for the tool (this catalog recently sold for $9):

underhilltoolcat.jpg


A partial page from this catalog is shown below; it shows a "frow" that's the same as the conventional froe:

underhilltoolcat2.jpg


I've looked at photos of a lot of flensing tools, and saw nothing similar. Underhill Edge Tool doesn't appear to sell flensing tools. So I think it's safe to rule out the flensing tool, but that's just my opinion.
 
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It's worth noting that the term "flensing knife" refers very specifically to pole-knives used for removing the blubber from the whale. Think like oversized skinning knives. Other pole-mounted knives and cutters are not called flensing knives. There's a particular spade-like chopper that was used for severing the neck vertebrae to remove the head called a "heading spade", for instance. If this was a whaling tool then it wouldn't have been called a flensing knife because the shape of the blade is clearly not appropriate for flensing work--it would have been better suited to cleaver-like chopping/separating work. However, a knife-froe does seem like a strong possibility now that some examples have been dug up.
 
I'm curious how a knife froe was used. If it were me I would want it to have a shorter handle and a longer blade. It seems like it would be batoned.
 
Square_peg said:
I'm curious how a knife froe was used. If it were me I would want it to have a shorter handle and a longer blade. It seems like it would be batoned.
Click to expand...

I imagine them with shorter handles, but I don't know. My bigger question is how would you apply proper leverage to it.
 
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