Talk:Hawk (plasterer's tool)

Origin of name

Where does the name Hawk come from, why is this tool called that? This has been bothering the people I work with and myself for some time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.179.175.182 (talk) 03:13, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

Shakespeare quote "I know a hawk from a handsaw"

This is also a pun - "I know a throat clearing from an answer". 210.50.143.21 (talk) 07:53, 3 November 2010 (UTC) Ian Ison Also worth noting here is a possible play on the word hawkshaw - detective. Thus "I know a spy or lookout from a detective". 210.50.143.21 (talk) 08:04, 3 November 2010 (UTC) Ian Ison

Ian, I like your ideas; I could see the stage direction having Hamlet hawking up a loogie and spitting before Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. That would fit with Shakespeare's earthy and easily perceived humor. And the Bard was certainly fond of puns, but did "handsaw" ever actually mean a clear answer? In Chaucer's time the word "saw" could have meant something said, but by Shakespeare's age, "saw" implies a proverb or maxim ("the holy saws of sacred writ").

As for your second idea, I do think Hamlet is punning that he knows the two are spies, but I think that is because they are the "hawk" (a predator trying to catch him). Also, I would be very surprised if the term "hawkshaw" was in use in Shakespeare's time.

And finally, I am curious if hawks (for plastering) were ever used to fill the gaps in wooden walls such as a handsaw might cut through? Is Hamlet concealing to the North and opening to the South? 24.16.239.30 (talk) 11:28, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

Etymology

According to Partridge's (whom one might expect to be authoritative on the subject), the bird takes its name from Old English "hafoc" (whence "havoc") meaning to heave or heft. Modern English still preserves the verb "hoik" with the same meaning of lifting or throwing up a weighty object. 210.50.143.21 (talk) 21:02, 3 November 2010 (UTC) Ian Ison

Illustrations

I agree that in use a hawk looks like a FALCON, but did they ever use hawks for falconing? I think the profile of a hawk when you set it down is much like the profile of some birds of prey. The handle will take the position of the bird's legs, and the sloping square will form the bird's body to its tail below the legs/handle and up to its head or high over-sloping shoulders above the legs/handle. A photo of a hawk in profile might show this better than the full-face portrait that is there now.2604:2000:C682:2D00:7413:2650:321E:B740 (talk) 19:15, 25 August 2018 (UTC)Christopher L. Simpson

They did use hawks, such as the goshawk, for falconing. That's why the verb "hawk" means to catch something using a bird of prey trained for the purpose. Also, true falcons are sometimes called hawks, "sparrow hawk", "pigeon hawk", "duck hawk", "prairie hawk"... Of course, this is all irrelevant as I'm pretty sure that the superficial resemblance is coincidence. Partridge's etymology from "hafoc" (to heave) is much more likely. 24.16.239.30 (talk) 11:09, 30 December 2023 (UTC)