Mystery Carpentry Tool?

Hi ho,

So my buddy up the street works at a gravel pit and often brings home these strange old hunks of rust he finds when running his loader. This thing is very small (about 4-inches square), so no idea how he spotted it. Anyway, he asked me if I knew what it was, and I have no idea. I had the electrolysis tub running recently, so I tossed this in as well to see if there were any makers marks. No such luck.

It looks to me like some manner of roofing tool for shake shingles, but what I can't figure out is how the thing gets a handle connected to it. The two prongs of the heavier puller side of the thing are snapped off (or perhaps that's where a handle used to wedge into it some how?), but the rest looks to be all there. I suspect it's quite old judging by the pitting from many years of rust.

Any idea as to what this is?

Thanks in advance,
-JeffK

Try this without the handle. Broken off most likely.

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?c=&p=32016&cat=1,43456,43407

Wow - that didn't take long at all! And to think I get stuff from Lee Valley all the time, and ever remember seeing that thing in their catalogs. That's gotta be it, which would explain why the broken off bit looks like it does. I should get one next time I order from them and pass it to my neighbor that gave that hunk of rust in the first place - he won't believe it!

Thanks for the quick answer!
-JeffK

I used to see those things all the time in my younger days, but haven't seen one in years.

Looks dangerous. I like it!

When I worked for a motorcycle dealer in the 1970's, we used crate hatchets like those for opening the crates the bikes came in.