18TH CENTURY ANTIQUE WHALING WROUGHT IRON SET OF FLENSING TOOLS
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With our highest compliments we're proud to offer for sale this fantastic set of 3 wrought iron whaling flensing tools. Once a whale was caught it was time to strip the blubber and extract all the valuable resources. A series of tools would have been used to cut into the whale with a wide array of knives, scrapers, & cutters used to expedite the process. Whales can be flensed at sea along side the ship with a crew below or at port after the whale is towed back. These have a series of notches and indentations used for measuring. We've visited numerous whaling museums throughout the Northeast and can confidently say these are museum grade tools in exceptional condition. Most we encounter are only the iron heads attached to a wooden pole. These three are hand wrought from a single piece of iron with rounded spear heads. The flensing tools are mounted on an old display board with hand cut nails and measures 15" wide x 3" deep x 30 1/2" tall. The three knives are slightly different sizes with the shortest being 25 1/2" long with a 2 1/4" wide head. The second measures 27" long with a 2 1/2" head. The largest of the three tools measures 29" long with a 2 3/4" head. We enjoy maritime / nautical antiques and understand the importance of whaling throughout modern history. Whale oil was a tremendously useful substance used in lamps that lit up early homes, making soaps, & even used by clockmakers as a lubricant. This is a true set undoubtedly crafted by the same hand. For a set as fine as this to remain together all these years is truly remarkable.
