Fireplace poker
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
A fireplace poker is a short, rigid rod, preferably of fireproof material, used to adjust coals and wood fuel burning in a fireplace. It is often metallic and has a point at one end for pushing burning materials (or a hook for pulling/raking, or a combination) and a handle at the opposite end, sometimes with an insulated grip. Similar tools may be used (with care) in tending a wood or coal stove. The larger the fire, the longer the poker needed to avoid radiation burns from the fire.
There are three types of tools commonly used to tend a small fire, such as a campfire or yule log: the spade, the tongs and the poker. These tools make it possible to handle a fire without risk of burns or blisters. Many fireplace sets also include a small broom.
Large bonfires are not amenable to the use of tools of the size commonly used in an indoor fireplace. However some pyromaniacs have been known to weld rebar into clever shapes with which to move the wood in a moderately large bonfire.
There is evidence that fireplace pokers have been in use by humans since the paleolithic period.
Fireplace pokers have also often figured in crime fiction as the weapon.
