A hook is a

hand tool A hand tool is any tool that is powered manual labour, by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutter (disambiguation), cutters, File (tool), files, hammer, striking tools, chisel, struck or hammered tools, ...

used for securing and moving loads. It consists of a round wooden handle with a strong metal hook about 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 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 A manhole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, an opening large enough for a person to pass through that is used as an access point for an underground vault or pipe. It is designed to prevent anyone or anythi ...

s. Smaller hooks may also be used in food processing and transport.

Dockwork

The longshoreman's hook was historically used by longshoremen (

stevedore A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockwork ...

s). Before the age of

containerization Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or International Organization for Standardization, ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuf ...

, freight was moved on and off ships with extensive

manual labor Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual'' ...

, 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 An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually Forging, forged or Steel casting, cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are massive because the hi ...

are associated with

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

s, or the

pipe wrench A pipe wrench is any of several types of wrench that are designed to turn threaded pipe and pipe fittings for assembly (tightening) or disassembly (loosening). The Stillson wrench, or Stillson-pattern wrench, is the usual form of pipe wrench, e ...

with

pipefitter A pipefitter or steamfitter is a tradesman who installs, assembles, fabricates, maintains, and repairs mechanical piping systems. Pipefitters usually begin as helpers or apprentices. Journeyman pipefitters deal with industrial/commercial/marine ...

s, sprinklerfitters and

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

s. When longshoremen went on strike or retired, it was known as "hanging up the hook" or "slinging the hook", and the

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...

for retired members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's Seattle Local is called ''The Rusty Hook''. 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 In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

items are liable to be damaged if pulled at with a longshoreman's hook: hence the "Use No Hooks" warning sign. 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 An ice pick is a pointed metal tool used to break, pick or chip at ice. The design consists of a sharp metal spike attached to a handle. Though traditionally made out of wood, modern variants may have a plastic or rubber handle to improve safet ...

. For example, in an episode of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' 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'' ''Joey the Hit Man: The Autobiography of a Mafia Killer'', by Joey with David Fisher, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002,

/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 ''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 ...

'' series, so named due to their use of the hooks to crawl on ceilings and attack unexpectedly.

Haying

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 Hay bucking, or "bucking hay", is a type of manual labor where small square bales, ranging in weight from about , are stacked by hand in a field, in a storage area such as a barn, or stacked on a vehicle for transportation, such as a flatbed tra ...

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

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.

References

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