And This Tool Is a ...?

Looks like hand-wrought work. The little hook part seems like a harder steel.

Evidently hafted.

Fishing...?

Thanks for looking

 

Maybe something for horses, used when cleaning hooves? Shiloh will know if it is indeed horse related

 

Never saw anything like that for farrier work or cleaning hooves ?

 

Yes, I thought possibly a hoof pick / snow knocker or something similar, too.

Also thought maybe a lumber-grader's stick, but haven't found anything similar, either.

 

Go onto one of those sites like James Townsend and sons that sells Colonial reproduction stuff. It almost looks like it would be to pick up a piece of meat with one side and use the curled side to lift a cast iron pot by the wire handle. Do you think maybe this thing had a long wooden handle that's missing?

 

That's an interesting site, Bev. I'd not run across it before.

Unfortunately, I didn't find anything similar.

Since it came from Big River country in west-central Illinois, I'm still leaning towards fishing / shelling / turtling.... That curled flat end is intentionally made, and forms a fairly narrow slot.

Also, it came from an original homestead / farm lot, that hadn't been otherwise bothered.

 

Could you do a shot of it side on, so the shape shows best, without the ruler (keep the image as simple as possible) then do a Google image search?

 

Great idea. DW is trying this one:

 

I have never seen a 9" hoof pick...I wonder if the owner had draft horses? Just a WILD guess but if it WAS used for a hoof pic I can see the sharp part to clean and the curled part used to unclinch shoe nails then maybe the sharp part used to lift the shoe from the bottom of the hoof,then switch to a shoe puller that looks like a hoof trimmer.. I have a nail unclencher but it had a broad chizel like piece to hammer up the clincked nails. I am also curious as to what it is

 

I already did that, by stealing, and then cropping the photo, but I didn't come up with any matches.

 

Some kind of material handling tool - one side to catch on a wire around something - other side to dig into it? - would have to be more for guiding than pulling like an ice or bale hook. Maybe guiding something on a hoist or down a shoot?

 

Hi,
I used a very similar tool for moving hay bales in the barn. The flat end would "catch" the wire and the forked end would "cut" the bale into the size needed.
greg