Object number
56/124
Description
This is a peat knife, a tool used for undercutting peat. After a peat bank has been cut downwards with a long-bladed peat knife, this knife is used for cutting it into blocks: the front part is pushed under the peat, while the wing blade at right angles to the other makes the vertical cut. It originally came from Dartmoor, but little else is known about its origins or place of use.
Physical description
knife: metal
Archival history
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ This peat knife is similar in many respects to the Irish ( see Evans, E. E. - Irish Heritage) but it differs from the slane(?) in that the tool is used in undercuttiing the peat rather than for down cutting. After a peat bank has been cut downards with one of the long bladed knives (56/125, 56/126) this knife is used for cutting it into blocks. The front part 7.5 inches wide is puished under the peat, while the wing blade at right angles to the other and 5 inches long makes the vertical cut. Then in one operation, a block of peat is cut.'
Object name
Material
Associated subject
External document
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\60 series negatives\60_2252.tif - High resolution image
