The Gaff 

A gaff was and still is a hand-held metal hook with a sharp tip used to latch onto an object, usually for the purposes of moving it. Most commonly, a gaff was a meathook used in pairs by butchers to move large slabs of meat. Farmers have also used gaffs in pairs to move bales of hay. Fishermen used a gaff attached to a long pole to help lift heavy catches from the water. Pictured at upper and lower left are the meathook versions of the gaff. Pictured at upper right is a very interesting adaptation of the gaff we could not resist placing here:  this gaff is attached to a rooster’s leg for use as a weapon during cockfighting.