Item NA16 - Manhattan Tool Mfg. Co. Hawsing Iron.
This
smaller size hawsing iron is marked, “Manhattan Tool Mfg. Co” but I can find
little info about the Co. The EAIA DAT is silent on this, and other sources
suggest that the company did exist in Orange, Conn. Hawsing irons were used by
caulking teams on 19th century wooden ship when especially tight
seams were desired, both in the hull planking, and especially in deck planking,
When the seams were mostly filled with caulking, two-man teams—one positioning
the captive caulking iron in a seam, and the second swinging a large caulking
mallet (a ‘beetle”) would drive the final layer of caulking with great force.
The hawsing iron here is of traditional shape, with a long slightly curved flat
handle having a rat’s tail hanging end, and diamond shaped eye that loosely
holds the captive, yet moveable caulking iron. This example has a handle 24 ½
inches long (which is on the short side of many hawsing irons) and is made of
steel ½ inch thick. The caulking iron, itself has an edge length of 3 7/8
inches and quite sharp, as befits a decking iron. The head of the iron has been
split, but is still tight, and there is a welded repair to the eye of he
handle. About half of the original black paint remains on the tool Easily Good
Price - $45.00
RETURN to forsale list.