Whatsit blacksmith tool

[Moses Yoder]

A friend took me to meet his mother the other day and she ended up telling me I could have whatever I wanted out of the left over garage sale stuff, and I mean there was some good stuff. This is one of the tools; I do not know much about blacksmithing. I found some similar images in Google searches but nothing describing it's use. Would be interested in any info you have on it.

Blacksmith stir.jpg

[Myk Rian]

Use it to stir the hot coals.

[Len Mullin]

It's called a Poker, it's used to stir up the hot coals and embers. They're not all that old or rare, a lot of homes that still heat with wood would have one. I own one Identical to the one you posted the pic of, I use it in the workshop as it is heated with wood.
Len

[Rich Enders]

I saw a glass blower using something similar to help shape his object d' art. Maybe it was a re-purposed Poker.

[Alan Rutherford]

A lot of old murder mystery authors would have had to work harder for a plot if there had not always been a handy poker to whack the victim with. It's also used as Lee said and to shift burning logs around. Some are more spear-pointed with the hook an inch or two back from the tip.

[John Lohmann]

I've got one it's used for removing ashes from my Big Green Egg

[Charles Wiggins]

A friend took me to meet his mother the other day and she ended up telling me I could have whatever I wanted out of the left over garage sale stuff, and I mean there was some good stuff. This is one of the tools; I do not know much about blacksmithing. I found some similar images in Google searches but nothing describing it's use. Would be interested in any info you have on it.

Blacksmith stir.jpg

Moses,

It's a poker for use with a coal heat stove like a Chubby: http://nepacrossroads.com/about35883.html

At first I thought it was a blacksmith's rake (AKA rake poker, fire rake, coal rake), but on closer inspection I noticed that the flattened portion seems to be in the same plane as the surface of the table it's sitting on. Normally, a blacksmith's rake would have the flattened portion perpendicular to the table top, and it is usually a bit larger, to make it easier to push or scoop the coals across the forge where you want them. The tool pictured appears to be next to useless in that regard.

Also, it appears to be mass-produced rather than a craftsman made tool. You don't see that wire spiral handle much on craftsman tools, particularly those made for their own use. Often they'll just heat the handle end and twist it to give it some grip.

AH637E22.gif rake1.jpg

[Moses Yoder]

THis makes a lot of sense to me, sounds right. Thank you for posting, and to all the other posters as well.

Moses,

It's a poker for use with a coal heat stove like a Chubby: http://nepacrossroads.com/about35883.html

At first I thought it was a blacksmith's rake (AKA rake poker, fire rake, coal rake), but on closer inspection I noticed that the flattened portion seems to be in the same plane as the surface of the table it's sitting on. Normally, a blacksmith's rake would have the flattened portion perpendicular to the table top, and it is usually a bit larger, to make it easier to push or scoop the coals across the forge where you want them. The tool pictured appears to be next to useless in that regard.

Also, it appears to be mass-produced rather than a craftsman made tool. You don't see that wire spiral handle much on craftsman tools, particularly those made for their own use. Often they'll just heat the handle end and twist it to give it some grip.

AH637E22.gif rake1.jpg