Posted 10 years ago
georgieboy…
(1 item)
I came across this rough iron object and am wondering what it is. It measures 3" x 1&3/4". It looks like a hatchet or ax head and appears to have been hammered into its current shape. One end is beveled to a not too sharp edge, the thick end appears to have been struck by another tool resulting in a fine curved-over edge. Where you see the hole, the metal has been pressed thin and then a hole punched through it leaving a burr on one side. It did come with the bit of rag tied thru the hole for whatever reason. If it is a tool, I imagine it had a handle and was held over a piece of work and struck with a hammer to split something, sort of like a chisel.
I believe this is a type of logging tool called a "raft shackle". It was used in pairs connected by several feet of chain (hence the hole). The heads were driven into the ends of logs to hold them together when loggers floated large "rafts" of logs down a river rather than shipping them by wagon or rail. They can also be used as "log dogs" to haul a log out of the woods by mule - driven into both sides of a log with the chain hitched to the animal; conversely they can tie logs end-to-end to be dragged in a line, although most log dogs are more hook-shaped.
Rope or leather thong attached as not to loose it when they were in the top of a tree (or on the ground for that matter)
https://www.google.com/search?q=Tree+Logging+Bucking+Felling+Wedge+antique&biw=1024&bih=631&tbm=isch&imgil=Gjjc5WUVZufELM%253A%253BIr9A6UUlfkZYNM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fm-cafr.g.ebay.ca%25252Fitm%25252FVintage-ANTIQUE-
Choppers-Tree-Felling-Bucking-Log-Logging-Saw-Wedge-1-LB-%25252F272172043166%25253Fnav%2525253DSEARCH&source=iu&pf=m&fir=Gjjc5WUVZufELM%253A%252CIr9A6UUlfkZYNM%252C_&usg=__PcvO314vVkZRVOfOxS6yObfAlig%3D&ved=0ahUKEwi3jv3334fOAhUX52MKHY94BFYQyjcIJw&ei=bWySV_ejNJfOjwOP8ZGwBQ#imgrc=_