This is on a display table at the Mining Park in Tonopah, NV. I thought I would make one for an upcoming demo I have, but it would be nice to know what it is.

Thanks, mike

 

looks like someone was playing around with a hay hook idea---but that's a random guess especially as it's not scaled to see if that would work as a grip

I have one of these and was thinking it was a hay hook but it would be very uncomfortable to hold with that configuration. So a little bit of Google fu is saying its a butchers hook.  Forgot I even had it until you posted this. 

yup I'd think that the hook would need to come off the middle hole for hay; but then I've seen some odd ball stuff out there.  Never tried to hook a butcher before...

I propose that the top hole is for hanging the load, whilst the the remaining holes receive reverse hooks on the ends of "hoisting poles", operated by stout beefy butcher types.

Robert Taylor

Used to use them to hang offal in the meat cooler . You can link them together on one hook . So yes they are a meat hook.

Thanks, folks! I think this will be a fun demo. fairly fast, simple, and people love to see holes drifted that exceed the width of the parent stock.

Idea borrowed.  Scaled down would make a pretty cool adjustable racking system for all sorts of things.  My roommate sews & might use it to hang all her spools, large & small. 

On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 0:15 PM, ThomasPowers said:

Never tried to hook a butcher before...

Well they say it's never too late to try something new....

This is a French butchers hook. Look at google images lots of examples. Some neat forge welded and twisted examples.