Ice auger ID

[Chainbreaker]

I was wondering if anyone here has ever seen an ice auger like the one in the photos below. Others have suggested that it could be a post hole digger or an earth anchor. I haven't been able to find any just like it elsewhere on the web.

[Guest]

Thats not an ice auger. the cutting edge is not sharp, and the centerpoint would never go anywhere turning it by hand.

That is some type of post hole digger or something similar.

Show it to an elderly farmer.. My guess is they will give you the answer in a heartbeat... and might have an old handle for it laying around somewhere.

[bwtrout]

It's an earth anchor, mainly used for cable support of power poles ect.

Google earth anchor and you can see how they are used.

[efgh]

Right on bwtrout.

[Dry_Fly]

Earth anchor is correct. Something like the ones they use to anchor mobile homes down in the past.

[Waterbeater]

The bit end looks like an anchor but the top end looks like it was made for a handle for digging holes. But it can't be an ice auger.

[efgh]

I have put in a few of these, in the ground, put a 5 or 6 ft. pipe threw the loop, works best with one guy on each side, push down and turn the anchor a half turn, change sides of pipe and repeat till the anchor is deep enough to hold what ever you want to anchor.

[Chainbreaker]

Thanks for the replies, looks like I can delete ice auger from the list of possibilities. I'm still not sure if it's a post hole digger or an earth anchor, the top end looks like it was made for a rod, but might be a little too sharp for tying a rope to it. There is more discussion on this one over at the newsgroup rec.puzzles in the "What is it? XCVII" thead. This was originally posted on my web site:

What is it?

[iffwalleyes]

It's a anchor like others are saying it isn't a post hole digger because after it is in the ground a 1' you won't be pulling it out. The loops is for as mentioned putting a pipe in to turn it down once it is where you want wire or cable goes through the loop and attaches that whatever you are anchoring. As mentioned these are similar to the anchors that are used in powerline construction. After in the ground it is what the guy wires cables attach to.

[Walterwontfalter]

It's a swamp anchor for power poles. My dad was a lineman for 27 years so I've seen a few. It's screwed in the ground in soft boggy or wet areas that power lines go through. The loop on the top is for the guy wires to stabilize the pole.

[cold one sd]

It looks too short to be a downguy anchor to me. A down guy anchor is about 10 feet long. It looks like an old mobilehome anchor to me. They used to turn them by putting a handle through the loop and turn it in by hand in the distant past.