View source for Hook (hand tool)

{{Short description|Hand tool for securing and moving loads}}
{{About|the tool|the artificial hand replacement made from a hook|Prosthesis}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox Tool
| name       = Hook (hand tool)
| image      = Aa dockershook 04.jpg
| image size = 150px
| caption    =
| other_name = Bale hook<br/>Baling hook<br/>Box hook<br/>Cargo hook<br/>Docker's hook<br/>Forestry hook<br/>Hay hook<br/>Loading hook<br/>Longshoreman's hook
| classification =
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| related    = [[Fishing gaff]]
}}
A '''hook''' is a [[hand tool]] used for securing and moving loads. It consists of a round wooden handle with a strong metal hook about {{convert|8|in|cm|abbr=in|order=flip}} long projecting at a right angle from the center of the handle. The appliance is held in a closed fist with the hook projecting between two fingers.
This type of hook is used in many different industries, and has many different names. It may be called a '''box hook, cargo hook, loading hook, docker's hook''' when used by [[stevedore|longshoremen]], and a '''baling hook, bale hook''', or '''hay hook''' in the agricultural industry. Other variants exist, such as in forestry, for moving logs, and a type with a long shaft, used by city workers to remove [[manhole cover]]s.
Smaller hooks may also be used in food processing and transport.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hooks|url=http://www.horniman.ac.uk/collections/browse-our-collections/authority/term/identifier/term-503654|publisher=Horniman Museum and Gardens|access-date=2015-07-20|archive-date=2015-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924031251/http://www.horniman.ac.uk/collections/browse-our-collections/authority/term/identifier/term-503654|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Dockwork==
<!-- linked from redirect [[Use no hooks]] -->
[[File:Handhaken.jpg|thumb|right|Longshoreman's hook]]
The longshoreman's hook was historically used by longshoremen ([[stevedore]]s). Before the age of [[containerization]], freight was moved on and off ships with extensive [[manual labor]], and the longshoreman's hook was the basic tool of the dockworker. The hook became an emblem of the longshoreman's profession in the same way that a hammer and [[anvil]] are associated with [[blacksmith]]s, or the [[pipe wrench]] with [[pipefitter]]s, [[sprinklerfitter]]s and [[plumber]]s. When longshoremen went on strike or retired, it was known as "hanging up the hook" or "slinging the hook", and the [[newsletter]] for retired members of the [[International Longshore and Warehouse Union]]'s Seattle Local is called ''The Rusty Hook''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2007-02-24|title=The Rusty Hook online|url=http://www.ilwu19.com/rustyhook/|access-date=2021-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224131013/http://www.ilwu19.com/rustyhook/|archive-date=2007-02-24}}</ref> A longshoreman's hook was often carried by hooking it through the belt.
Longshoremen carried various types of hooks depending on the cargo they would handle. Cargo could come in the form of bales, sacks, barrels, wood crates, or it could be stowed individually in the  [[cargo hold]] of the ship. The primary function of the hook was to protect the hands of the longshoreman from being injured while handling the cargo. Hooks also improved the reach of the worker and allowed greater strength and handling of the cargo.
Some [[cargo]] items are liable to be damaged if pulled at with a longshoreman's hook: hence the "Use No Hooks" warning sign.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2002-08-16|title=International Pictograph, flexible packaging, poly bags, hazardous packaging, packing list envelopes, packaging, barrier pouches, laminated films, laminated rollstock, shockwatch, desiccant, converters, general packaging|url=http://www.lpsind.com/IntlPicSeries.htm|access-date=2021-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020816115155/http://www.lpsind.com/IntlPicSeries.htm|archive-date=2002-08-16}}</ref>
A longshoreman's hook looks somewhat intimidating, and as it was also associated with strong, tough dockworkers, it became a commonly used weapon in crime fiction, similar to the [[ice pick]]. For example, in an episode of ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' entitled ''Shopping for Death'', a character is murdered (off-screen) using a longshoreman's hook. It was sometimes used as a weapon and means of intimidation in real life as well; the book ''Joey the Hit Man: The Autobiography of a Mafia Killer'' <ref>''Joey the Hit Man: The Autobiography of a Mafia Killer'', by Joey with David Fisher, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002, {{ISBN|1-56025-393-2}} [http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9781560253938]</ref> states "One guy who used to work on the docks was called Charlie the Hook. If he didn't like you he would pick you up with his hook." In the 1957 New York drama film ''[[Edge of the City]]'', two longshoremen settle their dispute in a deadly baling hook fight. They are also the primary weapon of Spider Splicers in the ''[[BioShock]]'' series, so named due to their use of the hooks to crawl on ceilings and attack unexpectedly.
==Haying==
[[File:Two hay hooks with scale 1.JPG|thumb|right|Two hay hooks with scale]]
A hay hook is slightly different in design from a longshoreman's hook, in that the shaft is typically longer. It is used in [[hay buck]]ing on farms to secure and move bales of hay, which are otherwise awkward to pick up manually.
==Gardening==
In gardening and agriculture, a variant with a long shaft is used to move large plants. A hook is placed in either side of the baled roots, allowing workers to carry or place the heavy load.
==Forestry==
[[File:Packhaken.jpg|thumb|right|A "Packhaken", used for moving firewood]]
Called a "Packhaken", "Hebehaken", or "Forsthaken" in German, this type is used in forestry mainly to lift or move firewood. In Sweden, this tool, though slightly different, is called a "timmerkrok", which translates as "timberhook". It is used mainly by two people to move logs by hooking them in each end.
==See also==
* [[Cant hook]]
* [[Fishing gaff]]
* [[Pickaroon]]
* [[Prosthetic hook]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Hooks (hand tools)}}
*[http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_17_4.html Smithsonian Institution exhibit] on the mechanization of the cargo shipping industry.
*[https://prohandymantools.com/ prohandymantools.com]
*Images of longshoreman's hooks: [https://web.archive.org/web/20051217163846/http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2003/janfeb/images/showcase/hoffer.items.jpg] [http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/upload/img_200/H4360.jpg] [http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/img/media/l/424.jpg]
{{Forestry tools}}
[[Category:Hand tools]]
[[Category:Forestry tools]]
[[Category:Food processing]]
[[Category:Maritime culture]]