Oyster Shucker

This is a tool for digging out or opening oysters. It is used to pick oysters attached to rocks by the sea, and to extract oyster flesh out of the shell. Since oyster shells are hard and generally attached to rocks, it is difficult to collect oyster without using a tool such as an oyster-shucker. Its handle and round head are made of wood, and a sharp, beak-like iron blade is embedded into the head, while a small, outward-curving iron hook is embedded into the end of the handle. When collecting oysters, the sharp iron blade would be used to peck away at oysters attached to a rock. And when opening oyster shells, they would be placed on a cutting board, grabbed using one hand, and the other hand would insert the blade in between the two shells, pry them open, and rake out the oyster flesh using the iron hook. If the flesh remains stuck to the shell, the edge of the iron hook would be used to push the flesh and remove it from the shell. This tool is still used in fishing villages today.