Hatchel

Object Name:

Hatchel

Object ID:

1976.071.11 a

Description:

Hatchel. Steel and wood. Medium-tan hardwood. Spike base rectangular, slightly longer than wide. Straight side leads to right-angle shoulder, which leads to semi-circular curve, that leads to straight-sided handle. Round end to handle. All edges top and bottom slightly chamfered. Spike bed array: 5.1" wide, 4.2" deep. Spikes square in cross-section. Approximately 0.18" on a side. Tapered to their sharp ends. Typical length: 3.6". Driven through holes in wood with 90 degree corners facing front and back. In an array of alternating rows of 13 and 12. Rows of 13 are five, 4 rows of 12, total of 113. Vertical alignment of first 5 or 6 rows varies, bent backwards irregularly, between 5 and 7 degrees. Not sure why. Front row, irregularly bent probably due to damage or use. The other rows are bent back about 7 degrees. Two rivets with large heads that pass horizontally before and behind rivet bed. On right side, rivets about 0.6" diameter and slightly sunken. On left side, rivets pass through diamond-shaped slightly recessed washers. The peened-over ends of rivets extend over washers to indicate wood shrinkage. Some longitudinal cracks, checks on right side of spike bed. Spike bed slightly concave when viewed from top. From bottom, two or three spike heads that stick below surface relatively far compared to rest of them. Ends of spikes all irregular due to way they were shorn from their original stock. Some scribe lines on bottom surface for alignment of rivets and decorative edges. Handle tapers slightly from 2.5" wide to rounded end, 4.1" diameter. Central 0.75" diameter hole in the middle of rounded end.

Material:

Wood
Metal
Steel

Dimensions:

H-5.2 W-7.7 L-17.6 D-1.5 inches Weight-101.8 oz

Provenance:

From Clement family homestead, Clement Hill Road, Deering, NH.

Credit Line:

Given in Memory of Ruth Ethel Clement Farr