Research

The grass hook is used by the gardener and do-it-yourselfer to cut some grass and weeds on small areas. It is a small scythe consisting of a slightly curved sharp steel blade (approx. 30-40 cm) with a wide back and ending in a point, which is fixed at right angles to a wooden handle (approx. 10-80 cm). The scythe with short handle is used stooping with one hand; the one with a long, usually straight handle is held with both hands and used while standing. Sometimes the long stem has a slight kink about 12 inches from the tip. See also the grass whip. [MOT]

Grapes can be harvested with a grape knife or grape shears. With the latter one obtains a much nicer cut than with a harvesting knife. The shears have two narrow blades (approx. 1 cm) with a straight cut; the arms can be made of metal or consist of a wooden covering around a metal plate. They are held together by a ring that is located on the bottom of one arm and that can be fastened around the other arm. There is a spring between the arms. See also grape scissors. [MOT]

You can roast a slice of bread, a piece of meat or fish over hot coals or a flame on this roasting grid. Such a grill is made of iron (wire), may or may not have legs and can be single or double. The latter can be squeezed shut; the axis is at the head end. [MOT]

With grape scissors you can easily cut grapes from a bunch at the table. They are scissors with short (approx. 3-5 cm), narrow (approx. 5 mm) blades with a blunt tip and long (approx. 10 cm) arms. The tips are blunt so that the grapes are not damaged when cut. These scissors are often decorated with grape motifs.See also grape shears. [MOT]

A miniature pruning knife (approx. 15 cm) with a short blade (approx. 4-5 cm) with which grapes are harvested. Not infrequently, the end of the suture forms a ring where the little finger can be inserted. The knife is mainly used in the Bordelais area. [MOT]

Garden tool consisting of a usually 130-150 cm long (1) wooden handle with three to five - but always in an odd number - curved iron teeth for opening and turning the soil. The working part (approx. 10 to 25 cm wide) can be fixed or exchangeable. In the latter case, you can choose the number of teeth. The tips of the teeth are oval or triangular flattened. In contrast to the garden hoe, with the hand cultivator the solid underlying soil, with the sharp flat points and by its pulling movement, is slightly raised and opened up. The middle tines of a hand cultivator are slightly shorter so that the soil clod can be crumbled. To be distinguished from the grubber, which is narrower and mainly serves to break the ground superficially. See also the manual towed hand cultivator and hand wheel hoe. [MOT]

The halfmoon knife is used by leatherworkers and in particular by the saddler, to cut rigid leather to size. It has a semicircular blade (approx. 20 cm) and a straight handle attached exactly above the center of the blade. With the medieval halfmoon knife, the handle is horizontal to the top of the blade. You can make a long, beautiful cut with this knife, while the hand exerts full pressure force. The angle of the halfmoon knife is placed on the leather and according to the circumference of the knife, the leather is cut through on the marked line. At the end point, the knife is repositioned until the entire cut has been completed. Keeping the knife horizontal, you cut into the thickness of the leather or bevel the edge. [MOT]

The hand harrow is a small harrow that is pulled by one worker to loosen, crumble and flatten the top layer of digged or plowed soil. It is also used to work fertilizers and seeds into the soil. The hand harrow consists of a wooden or iron, usually triangular, frame in which wooden or iron round, square or diamond-shaped teeth (approx. 12-16 cm) protrude at an angle. Sometimes the distance between the teeth is adjustable (1). Depending on the slope and the direction of pull, the tines penetrate 1 to 7 cm deep into the soil. The pull rope is attached to one corner of the frame. It is pulled by means of a cross stick or a shoulder strap (2). See also soil rake, rotary tiller (hand) and hoe with rake. [MOT] (1) Eg. Manufrance: 697. (2) Eg. Manufrance: 697.

This text can only be consulted in Dutch <https://www.mot.be/resource/Tool/hair-brush?lang=nl>