help with Adze/something ID please

[BILLy]

Hi All
I have this tool that I need some help with its maker, purpose, and origin please.
I have tried to clean some rust off the makers stamp but didnt want to do to must scuffing incase it came off.
What best i can see are the words
"Harry ***" (could be Henry)
Cast Steel
Dronfield ??

I have had a trol through the net but just come up with Henry Silcock [FONT=Times,Times New Roman]Industry and Mining in Dronfield 1792 - 1888

Thanks for all your help
Cheers
Bill[/FONT]

 

[launditch1]

It looks to me like some sort of Mattock type tool rather than an adze.

 

[spandit]

Mattock was the first word that came into my head too - very useful in the garden but less so for bushcraft. You might be able to cut/grind it down into something more useful but it would be a shame

 

[hobbes]

Odd little thing! Yes, my first thought was definitely digging, but then I noticed the scale - that's far too small for any conventional mattock. Still doesn't look like a woodworking tool to me though. A hoe perhaps?

Or! Maybe Victorian miners used miniature mattocks for delicate work... mind you, half of them were children - maybe this is just a mattock for a six year old boy?

 

[robin wood]

can imagine that being a very useful tool in mine or garden, sort of midway between hoe and mattock.

 

[mrcharly]

Gardening hoe and very useful it would be. Looks like a really great tool for breaking up compacted soil