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Head spade
From Harper's Globe Wiki
A head spade is an instrument used in whaling. It is the heaviest spade used in the process of cutting up a whale, with the entire length (with pole) measuring approximately 1 meter, or 3.5 feet. It is used to facilitate the chopping of large bones, such as the vertebrae. Due to its shape and size, it could be thrust straight, as well as swung like an axe.
Use in Whaling
The head spade is used to break the whale into smaller, easier to manage sections during and following flensing (the skinning process). It is primarily used to facilitate separating a whale's head from its body, by thrusting it through several layers of blubber and muscle until striking the vertebrae.
Other prominent whaling instruments include a variety of other spades, the harpoon, the blubber pike, and the gaff.
Use as a Weapon
The head spade was first used as a weapon on Harper's Island during the 2001 murders. Harbormaster Christopher Cullen was impaled by a head spade in the woods, while attempting to flee from the harbor. Fisherman Randall Martin was later killed with the head spade.
In the episode "Crackle," Sheriff Charlie Mills investigates an apparent break-in at the Maritime Museum. He notes that a head spade, gone from a display of whaling instruments, is the only item missing. The head spade is later used to decapitate Reverend Fain. In "Thwack", the head spade falls from the chandelier in the church, impaling Thomas Wellington below.
The head spade may also have been the weapon used to kill Marty Dunn in "Whap", as it has the ability to easily cut through bone, and Marty's entire lower half was bifurcated. It may have also been used to kill Malcolm Ross in "Thrack, Splat, Sizzle". It may have also been used to kill Beth Barrington in "Seep".