Erroneous information about whalecraft is common, primarily due to misunderstandings about their use and creation. Misinformation often arises from decorative reproductions misidentified as authentic, outright fakes, and implements from other industries mistaken for whaling tools. Frequently confused items include hay forks, hay knives, block knives, draw knives, silage choppers, slicks, logging tools, and even a patented sewer cleaner misidentified as a whaling harpoon! For accurate identification, consult books on vintage farm implements such as Eric Sloan's "Museum of Old Tools," Frank Barnes' "Hooks, Rings & Other Things," or John Vince's "Old Farm Tools: An Illustrated Guide." Additionally, implements from other fisheries, such as swordfish darts, boat hooks, and fish and eel spears, are often incorrectly labeled as whaling items. Harpoons, lances, and spades from the Azores whaling industry, which continued until the 1970s, are also frequently mistaken for vintage New England whalecraft. It's important to recognize that even museums can perpetuate misinformation. An implement labeled as authentic whalecraft in a museum is not necessarily so, especially if the museum does not specialize in whaling or fisheries. Local historical societies may lack staff with specific knowledge about whalecraft, leading to misidentifications based on insufficient or incorrect information. Many people accept museum information as absolute truth, which can spread inaccuracies.
This page aims to keep information about whalecraft accurate and provide a resource for those seeking details about specific implements. If an item is not covered in the whalecraft pages, it might not be a whaling implement at all. This information is intended to help collectors avoid contaminating their collections with non-whalecraft items and to further understand whalecraft by clarifying what it is not. Hopefully, it will also help prevent the spread of misinformation.
When examining a harpoon or other whaling implement, consider the following:
Head, Pivot Pin, Socket, Markings, Protective Finish, Shaft, Pole, Seizing and Short Warp Harpoon Heads
Above: Two common styles of toggle heads. Compare to the Azores toggle head below. Azores toggle head. The head of a toggle iron or any whale iron was always iron, never brass or bronze. Brass or bronze swordfish darts should not be confused with whale irons. Some experimental harpoons and guns used brass for parts of the firing mechanisms to avoid sparking in the presence of gunpowder.
While some guns and gun mechanisms in cold climates used brass to avoid brittleness, standard harpoon heads were typically made of cast iron or wrought iron.
Bronze swordfish dart, 4-3/4" long.
Use a magnet to test the head; if it is attracted, it is iron. Toggle heads, including Temple irons and improved toggles, and some experimental and patented irons, were made of malleable cast iron rather than forged by blacksmiths. They should have a smooth finish and pivot smoothly on the shaft. There should be a small hole completely through the head and shaft for a wooden pin, about the size of a matchstick, which kept the head streamlined for darting but would shear under strain to allow the head to toggle. This small hole is located aft of the pivot pin.
The head of a toggle iron was typically around 7 inches long, while the head of an Azores toggle iron was slightly longer, about 8 inches, and appeared narrower or "sleeker" (see examples above). Additionally, Azores irons were made by forging the socket around the end of the shaft, meaning you won't see the socket tapering to a fine point inside, especially in later Azores irons.
The heads of two-flue or single-flue irons were also made of iron and were forged by blacksmiths. A close inspection of these irons will often reveal lines where parts were forge welded together and attached to the shaft. These forge welds are smooth and well-crafted (only wrought iron could be forge welded; cast iron could not).
Back to top. Pivot Pin
The toggle iron pivot pin was made of wrought iron, allowing the head to toggle open. The pin itself was 3/8 inches in diameter, but the visible
part on the side of the head flared out to 1/2 inch, securing it like a rivet. Since both the pivot pin and the head were iron, there should be no corrosion in that area. Using dissimilar metals would result in galvanic corrosion and significant rusting of the pivot pin, which is why brass or bronze was never used, aside from their lack of strength. The pivot pin was always smoothly finished and flush with the side of the head, never protruding.
It should be firmly installed and rotate with the toggle head. If the pivot pin is smaller but the iron otherwise looks authentic, it may be a blackfish or porpoise iron. These irons did not need to secure the load of a whale towing a fully loaded whaleboat, so the pivot pin could be smaller. The head and shaft were usually smaller as well since they did not need to penetrate thick whale blubber.
Both pivot pins shown above are authentic. Note that they are flush with the side of the toggle head and measure about 1/2 inch in diameter on the outside (Author's collection). Back to top. Socket
When examining the socket of any whalecraft, use a small flashlight to look closely inside. The cone was forge welded with the shaft, not around it. The socket was hammered flat into a fan shape and then rolled into a cone to form the socket. Inside, you should see the socket tapering to a point, not the cut end of the shaft. This applies to all whalecraft with a socket. If you cannot look inside the socket, closely observe the outside where it joins the shaft.
The transition should be very smooth and gradual, not abrupt. An abrupt transition indicates the socket was forged around the shaft.
Left:Socket tapers to a point inside. Right: Cut off end of the shaft is visible. (Author's collection). Harpoons were designed to detach from the pole once they were fastened to a whale, preventing the pole's weight from pulling out the harpoon. Consequently, there should not be any pins, rivets, screws, or small holes for such fasteners in the socket of a genuine harpoon. This detail is often missed by those creating fakes and reproductions. In contrast, spades and boarding knives, which were not meant to detach, often do have such holes in the socket. Harpoon sockets should have an open seam along their length, providing a spring clamp action to grip the pole when inserted. Authentic harpoon sockets may appear uneven and hammered into shape, unlike the very straight and uniform seams seen in some reproductions. Other tools like spades, boarding knives, pikes, and bailers, which required more strength, had closed seams and were often pinned to their poles.
Back to top. Markings
Not all harpoons are marked or "signed." When they are, the blacksmith's mark is typically stamped into the head, made by a steel stamp while the head was red hot. Superficial chisel marks usually indicate the whaleship and whaleboat identification, not the blacksmith's mark. Spades and lances generally only carry the blacksmith's identification, if any.
For more detailed information and examples of these marks, see the page on Markings.
Back to top. Protective Finish
Traces of red or orange paint on whalecraft are normal and were used to prevent corrosion. When a piece was selected for use, it was cleaned, sharpened, and marked with the whaleship and whaleboat
identification before being mounted to a wooden pole. This preparation was typically done on the ship, not on shore, except at shore whaling stations. Some whalecraft have been cleaned recently to remove this paint, but traces may still be visible in crevices or around stamped marks.
Orange protective paint on a lance blade.
Back to top. Shaft
A typical harpoon, or whale iron, was about 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 feet long, excluding the pole, with a 3/8-inch diameter wrought iron shaft. The shaft should not be perfectly straight but should show signs of having been forged by a blacksmith. Wrought iron was used because it could withstand the twisting and bending caused by a struggling whale. It was soft and easily deformed, capable of being tied in a knot without breaking, unlike modern extruded rods.
Author's collection
Back to top. Iron Poles
Finding an authentic harpoon still mounted to its original pole is rare but not impossible. Whalemen generally did not carry mounted harpoons ashore, as they were cumbersome and had no practical use on land. These implements were seen as tools, not collectibles or souvenirs. Iron poles (poles for whale irons, not poles made of iron) were crude and rough to provide a better grip for wet hands. They were usually made from hickory or other hardwood tree branches or small trunks, not smoothed out or turned to make them round. Authentic poles are often light-colored, like driftwood, due to age, and may have lost their bark. If a pole is smooth, uniformly round, and straight, it is likely not authentic. The wood of old poles would have shrunk over time, making the fit in the socket loose. A rigidly tight fit suggests a recent assembly.
Authentic harpoons mounted on their original poles can be quite expensive. Be cautious if considering such a piece, as some dealers may have assembled authentic harpoons with authentic poles that were not originally together. This practice does not necessarily devalue the piece but does affect its authenticity. Additionally, many harpoons from the Azores whaling industry, which operated from shore stations, are available today, often still mounted to their original poles.
Back to top. Seizing and Whaleline
The seizing around the socket, if present, and the whale line, if there is a short warp, should exhibit signs of age, such as a dark color and some degree of deterioration.
Whale line was made from natural fibers like hemp or manila, never from modern synthetics or cotton. The short warp was secured to the iron pole at two points with marline or "small stuff," and tied around the socket with a double round hitch and splice.
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Many reproductions are easily identified by their incorrect wrapping of the line, often just a few turns around the socket. An authentic harpoon’s short warp ended in an eye splice just forward of the pole's butt end and was not excessively long or doubled.
Above: Proper method of securing line with double hitch and splice.
Below: Obvious reproduction; wrong line, wrong knots, wrong pole, abrupt socket transion to shaft.
Whale line had a circumference of about two inches, roughly 5/8 inch in diameter or more. It was compact and smooth without loose fibers sticking out, unlike the reproduction shown above. Careful inspection can reveal whether the line is original or a modern replacement. See more information about whale line on the Harpoons page.
Back to top.
Tools mistaken for whaling implements.
Various tools from other industries are often mistaken for whaling implements. These include farm tools, logging equipment, other fisheries gear, woodworking tools, and even sewer cleaners—essentially anything that might resemble whaling equipment. Commonly misidentified items include hay forks, hay harpoons, draw shaves, block knives, slicks, brush cutters, barking spuds, silage choppers, hay knives, grapples, eel spears, peaveys, and more. (Note: None of the following examples are from the New Bedford Whaling Museum).
This hay hook is often mistaken for a harpoon due to its large size, iron composition, and two outward-opening barbs. It was used by dropping it into a bale of hay on a wagon
, and as tension was applied to the attached rope, the barbs opened, allowing the bale to be lifted into a barn loft. A trigger released the barbs for withdrawal. This tool closely resembles a hay hook patented by F. H. Bolte in 1884 (U.S. Patent No. 307,906, Nov. 11, 1884).
Hay hook for lifting bales of hay into the barn loft.
A slick was a large wood chisel used for
smoothing surfaces, such as the edges of ship planks where they butted together. The carpenter pushed the slick with his shoulder, and it was about three feet long.
Slick; a large wood chisel.
The hay hook is frequently mistaken for a whale harpoon, likely because it looks somewhat like a single flue iron. However, the hay hook was shorter and attached to a wooden pole. It was thrust into a haystack and then withdrawn to pull out a sample of hay from the center, allowing farmers to judge the hay’s dryness. Refer to "Hooks, Rings & Other Things, An Illustrated Index of New England Iron, 1660 - 1860," by Frank T. Barnes, p. 40, items 82 and 264.
© Website originally created by Thomas G. Lytle.
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