Is this absolutely sure this is actually a polearm, and not an agricultural tool some antique dealers managed to make a huge margin on? Cause it strongly reminds me of tools know in French under various names: coupe-marc, hache de chais, etc, that were used to cut and slice the cake in the vat of press. Of course, they are often sold, and even displayed in museums, as polearms. The difference is factor 5-15 on the price, and that's why it's still a lucrative business, combined with ignorance. Another kind of tool knows the same fate, and they're called in France taille-pré, coupe-pré, etc, that were used to cut gutters in meadows to drain them, or to create channels in which the rainwater would run and optimize irrigation (especially for vine and where the soil was poor). Coupe-marc are usually more nicely made than taille-prés, and for example it's a bit unlikely to find a closed socket on a taille-pré, but it's more common on coupe-marcs.
Since in Portugal there is also a long lived tradition of wine making and oil making, it wouldn't be surprising similar tool exist, and the same monkey business about them.
As illustration, a few pictures of various French coupe-marcs et taille-prés.
|