Hi,

I became the holder of this cleaver a couple of years ago and just stuck it in my workbench drawer assuming it was some sort of meat cleaver. The other day I stumbled across it again and decided that since I received it along with a set of old wood chisels, it must be a wood working tool. It is marked "Foster Bros." with the trademark arrow through the diamond, PATD MAR 1895, and by the tear drop hole (nail puller?) a larger "2 1/2".

Any ideas as to its use? I showed it to a bunch of guys around here and the best guess was that it had something to do with shake shingles.

Since you are so deep into Foster Bros., I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you,

Fred Jarosz   
ohiozona@yahoo.com