A what is this used for?

[Centerplate]

I had a custom baler here last night to bale corn stalks for bedding. My first chance to harvest an bedding for my heifers as it has been too wet all fall. The baler pickup plugged and he brought this tool to help pull the wad out. I have never seen one, but he claimed it was an old tool to pull loose hay out of the pile. Looks like it was nicely made by a blacksmith. I took the photo in the dark. I wish it was better.

 

[Blackhole49]

Looks very similar to a manhole hook.

 

[rrlund]

The ones for pulling loose hay were longer,but I suppose it could have been cut off. I've got a long one on the grinder mixer to keep the auger from swinging. I've got a stove poker that looks about like the one in the picture. I just use a bale hook for unplugging the pickup on the round baler.

 

[ztrmowers]

is that what they were, yea look just like hay hook but a lot longer, I found one in rebale of fatherinlaws barn was full of broken small bales of straw I got drafted to rebale it anyway baler really jumped one day and stayed going fine afterwards, found hook in bales cut right in half talk about luck

 

[PJH]

That's a poker for a wood fired kitchen cook stove. I have my wife's grandmother's poker out in the shop. I wish I had been smart enough to hang onto her cook stove too.

 

[Mule Meat]

Depends on who is using it.
A farmer may use it as a hay hook for moving bales of hay or straw etc. While in the hands of a utility worker it may be used to lift main shut off or manhole covers.

 

[IaLeo]

Or break or rake big clinkers of burned coal around in the boiler.

 

[Moonlite37]

We used a regular hay hook for a handle in scalding a hog at butchering time. Also stevdores used a hook like that when handling wooden boxes

 

[Janicholson]

Or the Round Oak "Octopus" convestion furnace in the basement. Poker it is. Jim

 

[DoubleO7]

We used one or called it a pallet hook to drag an empty pallet to the right spot in the warehouse.

 

[urbancase]

I have my dads hanging in my shed, his was about 5 foot long. I have no reason to use it but I like having it as just one of the thing I have of his that was used on the farm.