The Fish Hook Remover
We were in Ireland and he was about eight years old and asked if he could have a go – a lovely lad with a distinct twinkle about him. I explained the options of what we could make, but he had his own idea – he wanted to make a disgorger. I hadn’t a clue what one of those was but it turned out he was an enthusiastic fisherman and it was a tool for getting hooks out of fishes’ mouths. He drew it very crudely with chalk on the face of the anvil and it looked like a kind of screwdriver, but with a broader and split tip.
Together we drew it to a scale to fit his hand and set about making it. He did a lovely job and was rightly very pleased with himself and it.
As he wrapped it carefully, I explained that it wasn’t terribly strong – that most tools are made from a high carbon steel but this was only mild steel, which had been all I had with me.
He looked up at me with his lovely twinkle and without missing a beat said:
“I won’t be going shark fishing with it, you know!”
Kate The Wordsmith 