Hook (hand tool)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2023) |
Other names | Bale hook Baling hook Box hook Cargo hook Docker's hook Forestry hook Hay hook Loading hook Longshoreman's hook |
---|---|
Related | Fishing gaff |
A hook is a hand tool used for securing and moving loads. It consists of a round wooden handle with a strong metal hook about 20 cm (8 inches) long projecting at a right angle from the center of the handle. The appliance is held in a closed fist with the hook projecting between two fingers.
This type of hook is used in many different industries, and has many different names. It may be called a box hook, cargo hook, loading hook, docker's hook when used by
Smaller hooks may also be used in food processing and transport.[1]
Dockwork
The longshoreman's hook was historically used by longshoremen (
Longshoremen carried various types of hooks depending on the cargo they would handle. Cargo could come in the form of bales, sacks, barrels, wood crates, or it could be stowed individually in the
Some cargo items are liable to be damaged if pulled at with a longshoreman's hook: hence the "Use No Hooks" warning sign.[3]
A longshoreman's hook looks somewhat intimidating, and as it was also associated with strong, tough dockworkers, it became a commonly used weapon in crime fiction, similar to the ice pick. For example, in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents entitled Shopping for Death, a character is murdered (off-screen) using a longshoreman's hook. It was sometimes used as a weapon and means of intimidation in real life as well; the book Joey the Hit Man: The Autobiography of a Mafia Killer [4] states "One guy who used to work on the docks was called Charlie the Hook. If he didn't like you he would pick you up with his hook." In the 1957 New York drama film Edge of the City, two longshoremen settle their dispute in a deadly baling hook fight. They are also the primary weapon of Spider Splicers in the BioShock series, so named due to their use of the hooks to crawl on ceilings and attack unexpectedly.
Haying
A hay hook is slightly different in design from a longshoreman's hook, in that the shaft is typically longer. It is used in hay bucking on farms to secure and move bales of hay, which are otherwise awkward to pick up manually.
Gardening
In gardening and agriculture, a variant with a long shaft is used to move large plants. A hook is placed in either side of the baled roots, allowing workers to carry or place the heavy load.
Forestry
Called a "Packhaken", "Hebehaken", or "Forsthaken" in German, this type is used in forestry mainly to lift or move firewood. In Sweden, this tool, though slightly different, is called a "timmerkrok", which translates as "timberhook". It is used mainly by two people to move logs by hooking them in each end.
See also
- Cant hook
- Fishing gaff
- Pickaroon
- Prosthetic hook
References
- ^ "Hooks". Horniman Museum and Gardens.
- ^ "The Rusty Hook online". 2007-02-24. Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
- ^ "International Pictograph, flexible packaging, poly bags, hazardous packaging, packing list envelopes, packaging, barrier pouches, laminated films, laminated rollstock, shockwatch, desiccant, converters, general packaging". 2002-08-16. Archived from the original on 2002-08-16. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
- ISBN 1-56025-393-2 [1]
External links
- Media related to Hooks (hand tools) at Wikimedia Commons
- Smithsonian Institution exhibit on the mechanization of the cargo shipping industry.
- prohandymantools.com
- Images of longshoreman's hooks: [2] [3] [4]