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Posted 9 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5051 items)
I found this shovel yesterday at Urban Ore in Berkeley and have never seen one like it. it's about nine feet long, and has 'Wood's Big Fist Shovel' and 'June 54, Heat Treated' and the number '2' etched into it. it's extremely well-made and reinforced like crazy. i can't imagine that it was used like a dirt shovel. maybe it was for loading coal into some giant, hot boiler somewhere? anyone know?
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Coal shovel just. Guess.
Sorry meant coal shovel for a ship boiler or something you don't want to stand beside.
thanks Caperkid. i guess that makes sense, but it sure is heavy without any coal in it!
The coal shoves I have used were heavy not as long but with a bigger head 8 to 10 inches wider than this one. Growing up we used coal stoves for heat. Two tonnes a month into the basement coal room.
what confuses me is the type of shovel. this pointed type of shovel is not really meant to move loose material like coal, but to dig out or scrape packed soil. ?? big mystery!
In early times the shovel was a paddle,axe, defense weapon,pry bar i think this is from the 1930,s so it might be made for multiple tasks to save money.
The long metel piece covering the wood indicates to me it was used near something hot or caustic perhaps.
Didn't see the date stamp june 54 hmm
It's a possibility that it was reinforced to keep the handle from breaking when used to pry with. The long handle would help to provide more leverage.
A nice ad for this company from 1929
https://www.tias.com/1929-woods-big-fist-shovel-with-shovel-692990.html
the reinforced iron piece is 3.5 ft long and the iron used is a much thicker/stronger iron or steel than a normal shovel. it's super strong - even the wooden handle is extremely strong. it's also flatter than most shovels.
Can you read the ad i couldn,t .
OK, looks like youngsters on here. I have seen a good many of these years ago and had the good fortune to not have to use one. Back in the day you didn't have city sewer or even a septic tank, you had a cesspool. Usually just made from stone with an outlet for liquid waste. The problem was getting the solid waste out to make room for the winter months ahead. A normal shovel wouldn't come close to reaching bottom. Gotta have a long handle. The size of the head is right because sludge is not only heavy but the pool opening was usually fairly small and the cover was just a flat stone or piece of steel. We called them a shit shovel. If you want to see a grown man gag, puke and his eyes water and nose run.....have him shovel out a cesspool.
That would be rough, good to know what it was for.
ewwww! that was too vivid flhrjr2!! now i don't like it so much... even though i really like big/unusual tools!
7 people love the poop shovel.
Caperkid - yes i could read it. it talks a lot about this particular mark's super strong, construction and steel. it's as strong as the 'molybdenumite' shovels. etc... advertising,,,,
I could have found a use for the poop shovel many times over. I love it too :)