Hazard A Guess: Week of Jan. 15, 2009

Hello from Hazard!

A note of clarification on Item No. 851, which we identified last week as a hay knife: Reader Lloyd Wiseman says he thinks it’s a tool to pick up loose hay, not cut hay. Lowell Reed was the reader who tagged it as a hay knife.

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John Yanice of Sherrodsville, Ohio, quickly identified Item No. 852 as an armor rod tool. Mr. Yanice, a retired member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (and therefore knows of which he speaks, er, writes), explains that an armor rod protects the transmission line as it rides atop a pole insulator.

So there you have it, and our thanks to John for e-mailing his quick response!

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This week’s hazard-ous item comes from Daryl Fink of Salem, Ohio. He kept asking friends and family how it was used and never could get an answer, until Dorothy Conser pointed him to Hazard. If our readers can’t identify it for him, no one can! (So the pressure’s on, team!)

It measures about 6 inches and we’ll even include a tip: It contains the embossed information: “Pat. Feb 22 76” (and I don’t think it means 1976, folks).

What say ye? What’s Item No. 853?

Write to: Hazard a Guess, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460; or via e-mail to: editorial@farmanddairy.com.

And if you’ve got a Hazard-ous item in your shed, barn or basement, send us a photo or digital photo file, along with a complete description of the item and its use. You can use the contact information above, or even send a photo via our Web site.