HARPOON SPEAR ?

[Jim McDougall]

Not sure of the ID on this..........but where the heck did that white whale go!!!???


These examples from c. 1887

[thinreadline]

But what puzzles me is the pointed iron shoe .... not something you would want in a boat harpoon .... even boarding pikes did not have pointy shoes ! So I assume this harpoon was designed for use 'from the bank' as it were.

[Kmaddock]

Maybe the pointy shoe is another harpoon head.
Might have been attached when the harpoons were been decommissioned to keep the items together.
It definitely does not look like it would have been practical to have such a pointy end on the harpoon during its working life.
Looking at the last picture might there have been a folding barb
There looks to be a curviture on the LHS swooping to the right. Might have followed the shape of the fold out barb. Is there any hinge or remnants of a pin on top?
Or this end might have been the top of the socket where the detachable part of the " other" harpoon went?
Just taughts I know nothing about these
Regards
Ken

[thinreadline]

Originally Posted by Kmaddock

Maybe the pointy shoe is another harpoon head.
Might have been attached when the harpoons were been decommissioned to keep the items together.
It definitely does not look like it would have been practical to have such a pointy end on the harpoon during its working life.
Just a taught.
Ken

Yes that is a possibility but the 'shoe' is relatively smooth sided with no sign of ever having had a barb and the socket has a hole in it where it is pinned to the shaft.