older metal tool ? found off a dock

[RCO]

It's difficult for me to think of anything it could be other than a mixing paddle. What would you boil in a large vessel in inland Ontario? . . . Maple syrup? . . . Laundry? . . . Stew for the regiment?

I like the mixing paddle theory , its fairly heavy though but if you had a big enough handle

another large industry here in the early 1900's was tanneries , wasn't one at that lake / area but was a lot of logging to support them . they logged " hemlock " trees and bark for use in them

 

[willong]

another large industry here in the early 1900's was tanneries , wasn't one at that lake / area but was a lot of logging to support them . they logged " hemlock " trees and bark for use in them

Sounds like another reason to suspect it is a bark spud, but the through-slots still puzzle me. They would, IMO, simply weaken the tool if that was its purpose.

Is there any bevel to the edge to indicate that it was ever sharpened like either an ice chopping tool or bark spud would have been?

 

[SandiR]

found this off a dock using a metal magnet , the dock has been there since 1870's . its been a busy location for some time so I had a hard time determining what this item was or when its from .

it appeared to have been down there for a long time , as its very dirty and dark black coloured . size is around 4 or 5 " wide and 7 or 8 " long

not exactly sure what it is ? appears to have had a handle or attached to something . not much of a tool person so not able to id it any further .

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It could be a mash paddle used in brewing.

 

[RCO]

Sounds like another reason to suspect it is a bark spud, but the through-slots still puzzle me. They would, IMO, simply weaken the tool if that was its purpose.

Is there any bevel to the edge to indicate that it was ever sharpened like either an ice chopping tool or bark spud would have been?

doesn't appear to have been sharpened but in its current condition , hard to say for sure

its most likely related to one of our local industries of the past which mostly seem to be - logging , boat building , tanneries

that lake has never had a significant agricultural presence or fishery on it

 

[embe]

Ask one of the other locals, they might know...or know somebody, who knows somebody, that knows. Might even recognize it right off the bat

 

[Bohdan]

found this off a dock using a metal magnet , the dock has been there since 1870's . its been a busy location for some time so I had a hard time determining what this item was or when its from .

it appeared to have been down there for a long time , as its very dirty and dark black coloured . size is around 4 or 5 " wide and 7 or 8 " long

not exactly sure what it is ? appears to have had a handle or attached to something . not much of a tool person so not able to id it any further .

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You don't say how heavy/thick it is
Egg/pancake flipper.

 

[RCO]

You don't say how heavy/thick it is
Egg/pancake flipper.

its heavy cast iron , it does look similar to a modern cooking flipper but seems way too heavy and not flat , has a curve

 

[jarhead67]

I was going to say a spatula or grilling flipper, but the curve throws that out. Weight and cast iron wasn't uncommon for most things back then and it could be a restaurant or commercial item. Fun to quiz over.

 

[embe]

Is it for scooping hot rocks? If you had an outdoor fire, you could scoop the hot rocks into a metal container and bring them inside to heat a small camp (without the smoke or ashes) burning the camp down. The scoop would retain the rocks while the hot ashes would remain in the outdoor pit. I like quizzes too