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.

 

[toolslinger]

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

The hay fork I have is made from flat stock actually. That said, the overwhelming majority of them seem to be made from round stock. Probably runs in and out of the hay easier.

 

[oosik]

A way to make scrap material into saleable items.

 

[SmallChange]

The hay idea is a good one, as there is plenty of haying around here. There were plenty of these made of round stock there, in addition to flat stock. Some had a mass produced look to them, and there were some that seemed identical and some that were different in minor ways, so I think it must be (or must have been) a somewhat common item made by multiple manufacturers.

Here's an example of what I see when I google "grappling hay hook" (not necessarily in that order):

Vintage Antique Old Hay Fork Hook Grapple Hoist Carrier Barn Farm Tool | #254480479

This is an antique hay fork for use in a barn to pickup large amounts of hay from a wagon and hoist it to the loft of the barn. This would have been attached to a hay fork carrier that moved on a meta

www.worthpoint.com

The things I'm finding online seem to share the size and construction of what I bought. All are obviously for taking a big grab of something not very dense, such as hay. The online examples also have that little ring, apparently to open a grappling assembly.

However, my shape isn't right for this. The online ones are curved on a radius around the eye, so they'd travel cleanly into the hay as they pivot about the eye. Mine is curved around a point far from the eye, and if you wanted it to cleanly penetrate, you'd have to swing the eye backwards.

There's also plenty of tobacco grown around here, and it would be a light bulky product. Could this be for tobacco?

The best bet so far seems to be what I found here, which they're calling an "antique scaffolding hook", and I've found a few other references to that. However, they often put a question mark on it, so apparently not sure.

2 antique industrial hooks? scaffold hooks? LARGE MUST SEE! 24" x 29" | #1784917889

2 Sky hooks at your service. 24 x 29 overall...antique industrial hook? scaffold hook? They are 20 lbs each and almost look like they were pounded out of two very large pry bars, they almost look ha

www.worthpoint.com

 

[workinonit]

All I know is that old rusty hook is gonna scatch your car paint up.

 

[M59]

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.

View attachment 760641


Thanks!

Hay bail hook for moving bails into hay loft. My brother-in-law has one that is 1" dia round stock.

 

[SmallChange]

It might be a cornice hook. That would explain the ring. Look at the first photo here:

https://gbca.com/hard-hat-chat/gbca-safety-toolbox-talk-suspended-scaffolds-components/

 

[blee03]

Maybe its from a slaughter house or meat processing plant?

 

[Gem99ultra]

That little hook on the bottom is for you to hang it on a nail in the wall and call it art.

 

[toolslinger]

It might be a cornice hook. That would explain the ring. Look at the first photo here:

https://gbca.com/hard-hat-chat/gbca-safety-toolbox-talk-suspended-scaffolds-components/

Cornice hook looks spot on.

 

[npalen]

I think we may have a winner!