In German-speaking countries, the miner's toolset is known as a ''Gezähe'' (derived from ''gizouuun'', zu ''zawen'', ''gezawen'' – to be usable, advantageous
at www.uni-heidelberg.de. Accessed on 19 Aug 2012.) formerly also abbreviated to ''Gezäh''. It is a set of personally-owned mining tools and equipment needed by the

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

in his daily work. In coal mining in central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries, every miner had his own set of tools. So that they could not be stolen, before the end of his shift they were either locked in a tool chest (''Gezähekiste'') or threaded onto a tool ring (''Gezähering'') which was then locked. To that end, all tools had a hole or eyelet. Tools that were not part of a miner's personal equipment and were only needed now and then, could be issued to the miner in the tool store (''Gezähekammer'' or ''Magazin'') in return for a token (''Gezähemarke''). Most tools were marked with a number, which was either

stamped Stamped may refer to: * Stamped (application), an iPhone app * Stamped (song), by The Verve *'' Stamped from the Beginning'', a book by Ibram X. Kendi See also *Stmpd Rcrds Stmpd Rcrds (stylised in all caps; pronounced "stamped records") is ...

welded Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as braz ...

to the tool.

Typical implements

* ''Abbauhammer'' or ''Boxer'': a mechanical pick for mining by hand * ''Bohrgezähe'': blasting or shooting toolsErnst, Dr.-Ing. Richard (1989). ''Wörterbuch der Industriellen Technik'' (5th ed.). Wiesbaden: Oscar Brandstetter, p. 155. . and accessories * ''Dicker Hammer'' or ''Bello'' (colloquial): a 20 kg

sledge hammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...

* ''Grubenbeil'': miner's hatchet, a special type of

hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be use ...

with a

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

head at the blunt end ** ''Kaukamm'': a hatchet sharpened on one-side * ''Gezähekiste'': lockable tool chest * ''Gezähering'': lockable ring made of a circular iron ring * ''Keilhaue'': a pick (tool) with a single point ** ''Flügeleisen'': a pick with two points, mainly used in historical coal mining to create the undercut and to extract coal ** ''Breithaue'':

mattock A mattock is a hand tool used for digging, prying, and chopping. Similar to the pickaxe, it has a long handle and a stout head which combines either a vertical axe blade with a horizontal adze (cutter mattock), or a pick and an adze (pick matt ...

adze or hoe with a wide blade for soft rock like clay or

brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

* ''Kratze'' and ''Trog'': paddle and basket or tub. The coal or ore material was shovelled into the basket using the paddle and then transported to the loading point * ''Säge'': historically a mechanical saw, in modern times a compressed air or electric chain saw used to cut wood for

shoring Shoring is the process of temporarily supporting a building, vessel, structure, or trench with shores (props) when in danger of collapse or during repairs or alterations. ''Shoring'' comes from ''shore'', a timber or metal prop. Shoring may be verti ...

* '' Schlägel und Eisen'': miner's hammer and chisel, also the symbol of mining

hammer and pick The hammer and pick, rarely referred to as hammer and chisel, is a symbol of mining, often used in heraldry. It can indicate mining, mines (especially on maps or in cartography), or miners, and is also borne as a charge in the coats of arms o ...

* ''Seifengabel'': a type of fork, used open-cast tin mining, similar to a pitchfork. A washer (''Seifner'') diverted streams in order to wash out the granules of

tin ore Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains ...

present in surface layers, a process called streaming or

hushing Hushing is an ancient and historic mining method using a flood or torrent of water to reveal mineral veins. The method was applied in several ways, both in prospecting for ores, and for their exploitation. Mineral veins are often hidden below ...

. The fork was used to throw clumps of earth into the sluice or channel used. The names of the German towns of

Seiffen The town of Seiffen is located in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, which is in the central south of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. The earliest record of the town dates to 1324 when it was referred to as "Cynsifen". Seiffen nestles in the h ...

(= "streaming") and Graupen (= "granules") were derived from this activity. *''Schlackengabel'' or ''Firke'': a slag fork, part of a smelter's tool set

Gallery

File:Keilhaue2.jpg, A modern pick File:Fluegeleisen1.jpg, A pick with welded number and eye for the tool ring File:Bello1.jpg, Sledgehammer with welded number File:Kaukamm1.jpg, An atypical ''Kaukamm'', the eye and the nail claw are missing, the original number was ground off

References

Literature

* Walter Bischoff, Heinz Bramann: ''Das kleine Bergbaulexikon.'' Zusammengestellt am Studiengang Bergtechnik der Fachhochschule Bergbau. 7. neu bearbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Verlag Glückauf GmbH, Essen 1988, . * Konrad Wiedemann: ''Deutsches bergmännisches Gezähe von 1500 bis 1850. Aus dem Mittelalter in die Neuzeit. Ein Bericht.'' In: ''Lapis.'' 34, 6, 2009, , pp. 19–24. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gezahe Mining equipment