[Growster...]

Can anyone recognise this piece of work please?

It's been hanging around here since we moved here, and after all the twenty-five years we've been here, I still cannot work out what it's for or what it does!

The two 'tines' actually fit together very snugly, almost as if they're meant to become a handle of sorts, but from there on, I'm flummoxed!

The kink in one of the tines is probably my fault, as I might have bent it once...

[Steveharford]

They look as though they might have been driven in to the ground for tethering a bull to while it grazed. Or some other animal.

[grinling]

if you had a few you could use it for temporary fencing with netting

[3 allotments]

It looks like some sort of thin dibber or bulb planter, i would use it for dibbing leeks in with 

[Steveharford]

Or.....how about  a raised guide to keep the hose pipe off the plants. ?

[R Tallentire]

Apple picker?

[Snoop]

How tall is it and what diameter are the hoops/rings?

Might it have been used for supporting wires for training fruit trees?

An elderly neighbour might have the answer.

[JayG]

First thought was a prehistoric skewer (stuffed dinosaur, for the roasting of) until I realised there were probably no humans around at that time to use them. 

From the pics it looks as if it was made in one piece, and then sliced vertically almost all the way through to make 2 separate rings - the fact there are 2 rather than one must be the clue to the function, but whether they are handles or have some other function is a complete mystery to me too. Intriguing! 

[mumofstig]

It looks like one of those lifting tools..........You push the sharp end into a slot, in a log or something, and a person on either side pulling up and out, pulls the tool apart and can then lift the log 

[Growster...]

I think we may be getting there with these ideas - thank you!

It's about two ft long, and clearly made in a local smithy, but the two rings, which are about two inches diameter, actually 'nest' very neatly in each other to make a whole ring at the top!

You could use it - say - to carry a flat item safely - perhaps even glass, but you'd probably need two to do this safely!

If it was just to keep wires off the ground, there presumably would be no need for the thing to be split down the middle!

[JayG]

Do you think it could actually be a tool the blacksmith made for his own use - for poking the coals, for example?

[Growster...]

Do you think it could actually be a tool the blacksmith made for his own use - for poking the coals, for example?

Interesting thought, JayG, but why split the 'stem' and have such a neat ring connection at the top?

The two rings nestle so well together, It seems that the main function is just that, the split lengths come together very tightly and are clearly meant to be like that, rather than stay apart!

[jaydig]

It's a giant's dowsing rod!

[Steveharford]

More like his wifes darning needle!

[Growster...]

Just to add that the insides of the two split pieces are flat, so it looks as though a metal rod was sawn lengthways, and then given the handle treatment afterwards!

As none of us have a clue what it is, I suggest that the silliest answer must be the way to go..;0)