WHALE GAFFLE ... or FOIN ???? - Lot 362

Lot 362
Go to lot
Estimation :
100 - 200 EUR
WHALE GAFFLE ... or FOIN ???? - Lot 362
WHALE GAFFLE ... or FOIN ???? Rare and magnificent tool which seems, after research, not to be a Whale Mooring Gaff (collected as such by a former owner) but a Hay Gaff! Forged metal 84cm long. Body ending in a spade, openwork center in 2 branches enclosing a complex mechanism with 2 re-entrant barbs activated by a spring trigger in the center of a handle that serves as a handle. The 2 branches of the body are joined at the head by a double guard which also holds the mechanism: the gaff is planted in the hay, the trigger is activated, the handle is pushed, the mechanism is retracted into its housing and the barbs are pushed out, the trigger is pushed back to activate the safety. Very nice old tool in perfect working order. Rogers & Nellis specialized in agricultural tools in Pittsburg in the 1870s. This tool must have been in the manufacturer's catalogue long enough because we could see a more recent model with slight modifications and labelled "H28". Their tools were apparently "diverted" like this hay bale grapple with an articulated system, of which we can find several examples on the net, which was also used to move... railroad ties! We can well imagine our Gaffe very useful for securing whales along the hull of boats...
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue