Ice Saws

  How did the Great Lakes spearfishermen break through the thick winter ice
so they could fish?
  They pierced holes through the thick ice (sometimes up to two feet in depth) with long punches called "punks"and then lowered long black saws through the holes so they could create large openings to lower their lures and spears

Cast Iron with hardwood handle, Central Michigan, circa 1875, Length 35"

As with the heavy wooden and metal spears the fisheremen used, the Ice Saws were best utilized by very strong men. The weight of the saws was substantial and it sometimes required hours of hard sawing to cut through the ice to create a hole to retrieve fish which could be twenty inches long. Ice sawing was a delicate art learned through experience. Too small a hole could knock a fish off the spearhead when it was pulled out of the water and holes which were too big quickly froze over again.