What is this

Pat and I are out garage saleing. I have never seen anything like this before... what is it/what's it used for?

Our best guess is for digging potatoes.

Tile spade. mike

Potato digger. I remember helping grandma dig potatoes and we always seemed to spear some of them no matter how far from the plant we dug. Hard to do with that fork.

Tile spade

It's a pig castrator (someone was going to say it)

Its a cross cut saw

Turf cutter, for making "Soddies" and cutting peat for heating.

A canoe paddle for the drunk guy

It's probably a peat cutter. It's very similar in appearence to Irish peat cutters I have seen.

Keith

For the guys who say potato fork it's got a solid edge on the bottom so I was thinking maybe it was a variation.
For the sod/peat guys I couldn't find pictures of anything like it but the lever on the top left looked like the blade might make a 90'. I wished I looked better.

Kre- I expected that from someone.

I have one and was told by the farmer who gave it to me that it was a trenching spade used in rocky areas. Don't know how much truth is in that but then I never did the research to find out for sure. I can see it being used for peat though.

Looks more like what they used to dig up sod to build their sodhouse walls.

The handle puts a time frame in perspective.( turn of the century)
The way the handle is protected with a upside protection means it is made for force in lifting.
Peat cutter


if not then a Rocky Mountain Oster chucker much like a Western fish salmon pike thrower.

This was on Ebay as an antique peat cutter. It's very similar to the one at the garage sale.



Did you buy it?

Keith

I'll give you a dollar for it!

They are made that way so clay soil doesn't stick to the shovel, probably the same with peat. Has the wider step on top which is nice in clay soils. Used to be very common around here before machines came along. mikc

Interesting.

you swing it hard enough it'd work as a castrator.

Close, it's a PAT castrator!

Google "Peat cutter", click on "Antique tools", Item # 650. Clay spade

LOL, After I posted this, I followed my directions to make sure I had it correct, and the pic was gone, "No longer in collection"!

Kre
For crying out loud, you dad gummed know that it is not a pig castrator!
You can look at it and tell a pigs castrators would fall through the slots when you tried to lift them up!

Sheesh!!!!

Like said before a tile spade I have 4 of them from relation that dug it in by hand when he started. The idea is mud doesn’t stick as easily and if in water it will leave and the mud would usually stay on so you didn’t slop the water all over yourself.

Keith- Did not buy it, we have no use for it.

160- be nice or we will take your convention gifts away.

Thanks all.for the information. I appreciate it.

Convention gifts? Pat isn’t planning on giving me his “love ewe” is he?

If that's what he's been working on for you I don't think I'm supposed to tell.

That dude needs a hobby. I will have Logan Gusto the bolt handles of some rifles I am bringing and Pat will get it right away.

I'm hoping to contain myself and sell stuff, not buy rifles..... I've been buying up treasures for the last couple weeks just for the convention. I even fired up the welder for a couple projects.

Not I am curious what sort of shenanigans will take place!

Can't do the fake skunk trick again.... you've seen that