What kind of hook is this?

[SmallChange]

What is this hook intended for? I bought it from a junk and curiosity dealer in Oxford PA who had a bunch of them. It's steel, and seems fabricated from half inch by two inch steel bent the hard way, except I can't tell how they formed the eye. Except for a little bit in the eye, I don't see any wear, only weathering.

He said it's for holding things that are spinning. You hang them in the hook and they slow down. That's why there's a small ring attached on the outer bottom. I have no idea what he's talking about.

Thanks!

 

[Streetcar]

It looks like a decorative piece to me

 

[bcp]

I think the little ring at the bottom of the hook is used to secure the bait.

Bruce

 

[SmallChange]

It looks like a decorative piece to me

This thing weighs maybe 40 lbs! Who would make a decorative piece out of 1/2" steel?

Besides, he had a bunch of them, some constructed like this, and some constructed out of I'd guess 3/4" steel rod. They were all pretty nearly the same shape and size. It sure looks like they were for something.

 

[SmallChange]

I think the little ring at the bottom of the hook is used to secure the bait.

I guess that would explain all the blood....

 

[/pine]

Just curious for the OP...how close was the scrap yard from a shipping port ?

 

[Rustyiron]

Pretty sure it part of a hay grab or grapple. Before bailed hay, it was gathered loose and forked into a wagon and driven into the barn where their was a rail and carriage and a mess of rope that was in the peak of the roof. They'd lower the grab that had several of these hooks down into the wagon and pick up as much as it would grab, roll the carriage over the hay "mow" and release it. The lower rings had another rope that opened the hooks for grabbing and releasing the hay.

 

[WranglerX]

EDIT to ZIP because my DELETE KEY DISAPPEARED....

 

[toolslinger]

I'm thinking not for hay. Obviously I can't be sure, but it's really the wrong shape, and built too heavy.
This thing strikes me as part of an overhead gantry system for some kind of treatment line. Object gets put on hook, runs down the line, and dips in tank, or through an oven. Something along those lines. Particularly since there were a bunch of them.

 

[Streetcar]

Pretty sure it part of a hay grab or grapple. Before bailed hay, it was gathered loose and forked into a wagon and driven into the barn where their was a rail and carriage and a mess of rope that was in the peak of the roof. They'd lower the grab that had several of these hooks down into the wagon and pick up as much as it would grab, roll the carriage over the hay "mow" and release it. The lower rings had another rope that opened the hooks for grabbing and releasing the hay.

The hay hooks I have seen are made from rods not flat stock.