The Davistown Museum
The Ancient Dominions of Maine: An Archaeology of Tools

Answers to the Tool Examination.

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1 Mackerel plow TAB1007 photo photo MH
Curved wood handle with a slate cutter, 7 5/8" long handle, 13/16" cutter, unsigned.
Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution Fishing Implements
2 Bark spud TAB1005 photo photo MH
Forged iron, 10 1/4" to the end of the socket, unsigned, 17th or 18th century.
The bark spud is an essential component in the tool kit of the early settlers of the Davistown Plantation (ax, drawknife, sod cutter, spud, bowie
knife, and frame saw).
Historic Maritime I (1607-1676): The First Colonial Dominion Logging Tools
3 Sugar tongs 81801T8 photo MH
Forged iron, 9 1/2" long, unsigned.
These elaborately decorated sugar tongs are typical of a tool that might have been brought to America by a well-to-do family during the great
migration to Massachusetts, 1630 - 1650.
Historic Maritime I (1607-1676): The First Colonial Dominion Domestic Utensils
4 Crooked knife 81101T14 photo MHC
Wood and forged steel, 8 1/2" long, 3" blade, unsigned.
Crooked knives are especially common in northern New England where they were used by Native Americans and European settlers for many
purposes including basket-making and working birch bark. This knife has been reforged from an old file or rasp, one of early American
artisans' most important sources of recycled forged steel. The crosshatched carving on the nicely fashioned applewood (?) handle suggests
a Native American user.
Historic Maritime II (1720-1800): The Second Colonial Dominion & the Early Republic Knives
5 Wig blower (bellows) 12900T10 photo MH
Wood, leather, and tin, 6 5/8" long, 2" wide, 2 1/4" tall, unsigned.
Historic Maritime II (1720-1800): The Second Colonial Dominion & the Early Republic Domestic Utensils
6 Snowball hammer TCM1005 photo MH
Forged iron, 9 1/2" long, iron handle 4 1/2" long, 1/2" round face, unsigned.
Also called a snowshoe hammer or snow knocker, this is a prototypical tool used for removing ice and snow from the shoes of horses. See
Eric Sloane's (1964) "A Museum of Early American Tools" for an illustration of another snowball hammer.
Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution Hammers
7 Grafting froe TCR1001A photo photo MH
Forged iron, 8 5/8" long with a 3 1/4" blade, unsigned.
This tool is refashioned from an old file or rasp. It was a basic necessity for Davistown residents maintaining orchards in the 19th century.
Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution Agricultural Implements
8 Hatchel TCR4000 photo MH
Forged iron and wood, 25 1/2" long x 4 3/4" wide, unsigned.
This flax puller has 108 combs. It is an essential component of the flax dressers' tool kit.
Historic Maritime II (1720-1800): The Second Colonial Dominion & the Early Republic Agricultural Implements
9 Flax hatchel TAB1013 photo MH
Wood (maple?), iron, 45" long, 16" wide, 34" high, unsigned.
It was made in Connecticut (?) in the late 17th or early 18th century and brought to Detroit, Maine by the first settlers. This is an essential tool
for preparing flax for the weaver. After "breaking" the flax, it would be cleaned and sorted with the help of a scutching knife and board, ripple,
and hatchel and then wound on a spinning jenny. For more information on this process, see the reprint on flax dressing available in the
Museum files.
Historic Maritime I (1607-1676): The First Colonial Dominion Agricultural Implements

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