Hand forged iron hook with an eyelet on the end?

[FreeBirdTim]

Found this iron relic near a 1700's cellar hole, but it may not be that old. It's some sort of hook with a large eyelet on the end. No idea what it could have been used for. It's about 10" long and I think hand forged. Any help would be appreciated.

 

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[dts52]

Hi, Tim.
My guess - Item was hung next to fireplace using the eyelet and the hook end was used to lift pots and lids or swing the arm that held the pots over the fire. Just a guess and probably wrong. Nice find in any event.
HH
dts

 

[Joe hunter]

Maybe a button hook .but the hook doesn’t look quite right.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Maybe a button hook .but the hook doesn’t look quite right.

It does look a lot like a button hook, but I think it's too big for that use.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

My guess - Item was hung next to fireplace using the eyelet and the hook end was used to lift pots and lids or swing the arm that held the pots over the fire. Just a guess and probably wrong. Nice find in any event.

That is a definite possibility, but I'm not 100% positive.

So weird that I find a lot of iron relics that are no longer being manufactured today. I have a whole box of stuff that I save only because I can't figure out what they are or what their purpose was back in those days!

 

[old digger]

Most likely the hook that held the cellar door open, is my guess.

 

[dts52]

That's a good thought too.

 

[diggerranger]

Meat hook

 

[A2coins]

fishing hook made by one of the good ol boys back in the day

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Great guesses, but not sure if any are correct. I think the eyehole is too big to be a hook to hold the cellar door open. Meat hook is a possibility. Maybe to hang meat to cure in a smoker? Too big for a fish hook, unless they were snagging fish with it.

Next time I find a mystery iron relic, I'm leaving it behind! LOL!

 

[glass half fool]

My guess is it has some use for the fire place or was used as part of the butchering process that was part of life in those days. Keep in mind all those old tools where hand forged and where often used for several purposes .It had some value to it's owner or else it would not have been made in the first place .My guess is it was used to pull the meat boiling kettle off of the fire .

 

[Breezie]

Since it has an eyelet, it could have been used for several different applications; ie. wall hook, barn hook, or used on a fireplace chain. Below is a photo and website showing a piece similar to yours. It is the hook located on the RIGHT side of the photo.

1800's Antique Hand Forged Wrought Iron Primitive Hearth Fireplace Chain w/Hooks

Neat find
Donna

 

[roy2bears]

Cotton or hay hook

 

[Jesse James]

Cotton or hay hook

That was my first guess also.