large Hook

[Randy769]

any ideas on what this would be used for....middle of the woods on the side of a ridge. I was thinking something for logging. Also this was my first time using electrolysis....it was a big piece of rust

 

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[calisdad]

Just a WAG but looks like an old slaughterhouse meat hook. Any slaughterhouses nearby?

cool find.

 

[mamabear]

I was gonna say logging with horses, but that hook looks a little to mean for that. It's scary!

 

[Teamroper]

It looks a little like a horeshoe that was made into a hook due to the groove that's in the center of it. Like what you see in this homemade horse pick, but I don't see any nail holes so I could be way off base here. Just a thought.

 

[BosnMate]

It looks a little like a horeshoe that was made into a hook due to the groove that's in the center of it. Like what you see in this homemade horse pick, but I don't see any nail holes so I could be way off base here. Just a thought.

My first thought also, but then the lack of nail holes changed my mind. The small, dull hook on one end and the larger sharp one on the other certainly suggests hanging
an animal by the back legs to skin. Little small for beef, but perhaps deer or sheep. I also could be used to hang cooking pots, either over a camp fire or in a fireplace.

 

[Teamroper]

My first thought also, but then the lack of nail holes changed my mind. The small, dull hook on one end and the larger sharp one on the other certainly suggests hanging
an animal by the back legs to skin. Little small for beef, but perhaps deer or sheep. I also could be used to hang cooking pots, either over a camp fire or in a fireplace.

I like both of those ideas, but like you said, too small for beef and they seem to be a little too heavy duty for campfire hooks.

 

[wetfly]

Looks a little like a sorting hook?

 

[calisdad]

After looking again it looks like one could hammer the sharp end into a tree and hang a lantern. Even looks like it was hammered.

 

[AlabamaRelic]

Pound the large end into a log. Hook a chain to the smaller end. Pull log

 

[longcut]

I think Alabama Relic has it ........

 

[Stegner]

could it be a haybale hook?

 

[longcut]

I have used hay hooks ........... not a hay hook ............. hope I never see another one

 

[wainzoid]

Pound the large end into a log. Hook a chain to the smaller end. Pull log

My first thought too, but.... traditionally they are more of an 'L' shape. They are usually driven into the end grain. So I am guessing something else, but I don't know what that is :-)

 

[BosnMate]

could it be a haybale hook?View attachment 968174

To small I'm thinking.

 

[unclemac]

i'm saying it is a blacksmith custom made "one off" made for some guys specific purpose.

 

[Kodiak43351]

It's used to roll big logs or to pull them out to be cut for fire wood. I guess it could be used for other things too but that would suck as a hay hook. I too have used many hay hooks and still do I have quite the selection in my barn. I still have my great grandfathers, grandfathers hay hook. My dad still has his and I've got mine along with a lot of others. When ya get one that works for you don't ever lose it

 

[pa plateau hiker]

My first thought too, but.... traditionally they are more of an 'L' shape. They are usually driven into the end grain. So I am guessing something else, but I don't know what that is :-)

I must correct you on this. Logging hooks were driven into the side of a log, not the end grain. To have a grab driven into the end grain would put stress on the neck of the hook and snap it in no time.

 

[wainzoid]

I must correct you on this. Logging hooks were driven into the side of a log, not the end grain. To have a grab driven into the end grain would put stress on the neck of the hook and snap it in no time.

Hiker
Ill have to look for the thing Im thinking of. If its not in my barn or tractor shed, its at Dads. He used it in the 70's to pull firewood logs. I remember it of being 'L' shaped with a wedge shaped spike on one end and a short piece of chain connected to it, I think on the long end. He didn't use it alot because it wasn't fool proof. He would sledge it into the end of the log and I was impressed that it only took a kick or a bop with a billet of firewood to disengage it. I thought maybe it was something that my pap had, but it might even be something dad made. He made his stove, splitter, and dump trailer, so maybe he made it. I think he used it when the log was tight to the ground and hard to get a chain around it. I do know that once we got a tractor with a 3pt hitch we used log tongs as much as we could. I'll ask dad about it or see if its around. Im curious about it now.

 

[Tony in SC]

It's half of a "log dog" A length of chain , depending on the job or log lenth, would have one on each end. The dogs were tapped into the ends of the log and then the log could be hoisted by the center of the chain. The tension on the chain keeps them tight. We exhibit an old veneer mill and this is how we load the logs. Tony

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Wainzoid, here are a couple pictures showing what I mean. The hook could be the same style your dad used. The first photo shows the hook in the end grain. Pulling on the chain would break the hook. If your dad did this without snapping the hook, more power to him. The second photo shows the hook in the side of the log. Pulling on the chain pulls straight with the shank of the hook. Even with the hook in the side of the log, it was common for the hooks to break.