Tool ID please!

[Jbonevia]

I received this tool in a job lot with some axe heads and garden tool but I have no idea what it would be used for.

No makers mark on it and it is not sharp on the edges, it looks like you would hit it with a hammer at the top and maybe tie a rope or something to it, any ideas?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mason's line pin?

 

[Bm101]

Hazard a wild guess at a roofing tool. Maybe for lifting slates/tiles with a small handle in that hole? But I think Phil is closer. Maybe for stonemasonry. It looks like a bigger version of a brickwork one.

 

[MikeG.]

Hazard a wild guess at a roofing tool. Maybe for lifting slates/tiles with a small handle in that hole?....

No, it's not a slate rip.

 

[kwigly]

would make a strong tent peg

 

[Trainee neophyte]

If you had two of them you could run a string between them for marking out - got to plant your spuds in a straight line. Normally I would use dibbers, or bits of random stick, but a fancy iron stake at either end could work, too.

 

[AndyT]

I think it might be part of a fairly heavy duty hinge. The "blade" could be bedded into mortar in a brick or masonry pillar or wall. The hole could fit over a pin attached to a gate. If there's mushrooming on the end, that could be because it's been kept to use for splitting wood.

 

[Trevanion]

Trepanning Iron, tappy tap tap...

 

[Jbonevia]

Hehe thanks all, some interesting suggestions.

For context it came in with a mix of gardening/woodworking tools, an adze and a couple of axe heads. I really wanted the adze and the axe heads so the rest was a bit of a bonus.

The small hatchet is a brades and is marked 1943 and with the mod broad arrow so a bit of a bonus there.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Tree Stay.

Used with one or 2 more to steady a new planted tree.

A rope is attached to a rubber or leather band and used for one growing season, to allow the tree to set out new roots

 

[AndyT]

Tree Stay.

Used with one or 2 more to steady a new planted tree.

A rope is attached to a rubber or leather band and used for one growing season, to allow the tree to set out new roots

Interesting. It seems an expensively made, heavy item for a job like that.

Would you mind clarifying - are you offering a guess, or have you got experience of using or seeing any like this one?

 

[Bm101]

Want to keep the hammer head or would you be interested in a sale/swopshop type scenario?
Feel free to say no!

 

[Andy Kev.]

I have no clue what it is. However, a bit of reverse logic might be of interest.

If form follows function, then when presented with a form, we can draw some conclusions about possible function.

Let us suppose that its intended use involves the whole of the blade being knocked into the ground (possibly at an angle to increase staying power). That would leave us with an eyelet relatively close to the ground. Irrespective of what the maker intended it for, we can now state some purpose for which it is ideally suited. All of the above seem plausible and it might also have been useful in helping secure a massive tent e.g. a marquee. It would serve any purpose which involves securing a probably substantial line as firmly as possible. It doesn't look like a throw away item (you can usually afford to forget the odd normally sized tent peg) and it possibly appears in a catalogue listed as a kind of peg.

Given that we may never find out what the maker intended it for, we have to say, that it's for whatever purpose it will serve well.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Tree Stay.

Used with one or 2 more to steady a new planted tree.

A rope is attached to a rubber or leather band and used for one growing season, to allow the tree to set out new roots

Interesting. It seems an expensively made, heavy item for a job like that.
15 years ago, helping on a large farm we used very similar items to anchor new trees in place for a about 6 months.
They were pulled out and moved onto then next one.

When we dug under a wonky tree to pull it straight they were left longer.
We had a box of over 150 of them.

Would you mind clarifying - are you offering a guess, or have you got experience of using or seeing any like this one?

 

[AndyT]

That nails it then. Thanks!

 

[Jbonevia]

Want to keep the hammer head or would you be interested in a sale/swopshop type scenario?
Feel free to say no!

Sorry it's been nabbed by my 7yo son who wants to make a handle for it as a school holiday project!

 

[Jbonevia]

Thanks everyone for the great replies and info!

 

[toolsntat]

Want to keep the hammer head or would you be interested in a sale/swopshop type scenario?
Feel free to say no!

Sorry it's been nabbed by my 7yo son who wants to make a handle for it as a school holiday project!

Well done that lad 8) (hammer)
Edit to say for making the hammer whole again, not nabbing it off Bm101 :lol:

 

[Bm101]

Want to keep the hammer head or would you be interested in a sale/swopshop type scenario?
Feel free to say no!

Sorry it's been nabbed by my 7yo son who wants to make a handle for it as a school holiday project!

Even better. (hammer)