Eye on the "Head spade"

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Head spade
A head spade is an instrument used in whaling. It is the heaviest spade used in the process of cutting up a whale, with the entire length (with pole) measuring approximately 1 meter, or 3.5 feet, and can be wielded like an axe. It is used to facilitate the chopping of large bones, such as the vertebrae.

Use in Whaling
The head spade is used to break the whale into smaller, easier to manage sections during and following flensing (the skinning process). It is primarily used to facilitate separating a whale's head from its body, by thrusting it through several layers of blubber and muscle until striking the vertebrae.

Other prominent whaling instruments include a variety of other spades, the harpoon, the blubber pike, and the gaff.

Use as a Weapon
The head spade was first used as a weapon on Harper's Island during the Wakefield murders in 2001. Harbormaster Christopher Cullen was impaled by a head spade in the woods, while attempting to flee from the harbor.

The head spade's next use was seen in the episode "Crackle", where it was used to decapitate Reverend Fain. Later, in "Thwack", the head spade falls from the chandelier in the church, impaling Thomas Wellington below.

The head spade may also have been the weapon use to kill Marty Dunn in "Whap", as it has the ability to easily cut through bone, and Marty's entire lower half was bifurcated.

http://wiki.harpersglobe.com/index.php/Head_spade

Harper's Globe Timeline on HGPedia.

See: http://www.whalecraft.net/Spades.html