THE CAS-CHROM

135

ing spade on this factor, even though the earli-
est known illustration (fig. 3) shows a one-piece
caschrom.
Composite caschroms. Most surviving cas-
chroms are in two pieces. The shaft is often
splayed out at the lower end, and to this the
head is attached by pins of wood and iron, and
usually one or more metal bands. Where the
piece of wood is suitable, the splay includes a
heel under which the end of the head lies (fig.
4, 5). Alternatively, the head is simply carried
back to serve as a heel (fig. 6). Whichever
method is used, the important point is that the
caschrom should have a heel, as a fulcrum
for use in levering, and serving also as a kind
of anti-skid device when the sod was being
swung over.
Very rarely, a caschrom may be found which
is made in three pieces - a shaft, head, and a
linking knee (fig. 7). Again, this is a matter of
making use of available wood, which, in the
islands, was usually driftwood. Many existing
caschroms are, in fact, of oak, whose close
grain wears well.
It is indeed more practical to have a compo-
site caschrom with a separate head and shaft,
for the simple reason that the head is the part
subjected to most wear. Examination of the
undersides of the heads of caschroms shows
how intensive the wear could be (fig. 8). At the
tip, the socket flanges of the iron blade protect
the sides, and in the space between the flanges
the wood assumes a concave form. Behind the
blade, the head tends to take on the curved
shape of the instep of the human foot. Occa-
sionally, strips of metal were used to reinforce
this vulnerable part (fig. 9). In a composite
caschrom, replacement of the worn head was
relatively easy. However, the heads of one-piece
caschroms were equally subject to wear and it
is possible that after they had become useless,
they could have been cut off, and a separate,
new head fitted. Fig. 5 is almost certainly an
example of this kind of transformation. Thus a

one-piece caschrom could become composite.
The conclusion is that no special stress should
be laid on the fact that both one-piece and
composite caschroms exist.
Dimensions. There is a considerable variation
in the size of caschroms. It may be assumed
that the size was to some extent adapted to
that of the user. For the most part the imple-
ment was used by men, but sometimes also
by women. The minister of Stornoway in Lewis
Fig. 7. A three-piece caschrom
from South Uist. In the South
Uist Folk Museum at Ardken-
neth.
Ein caschrom des dreiteiligen
Typs aus South Uist. Im South
Uist Folk Museum zu Ardken-
neth.

thought it a disgrace to see women using the
caschrom (NSA. XIV. 1845. 131). It was said
to be going out as a woman’s tool in Barvas at
the same date (NSA. XIV. 1845. 148). It may
be, therefore, that the smaller sizes were those
used by women.
Observation of surviving examples in con-
junction with documentary evidence shows that
the shaft could vary in length between 4 feet
(122 cm) and 6 feet 3J^ inches (183 cm),
though the majority measure just over 5 feet
(152 cm). The head ranges from 1 foot 11%
inches (61 cm) to 2 feet 8 inches (81 cm) in
length. One eighteenth century writer gives a
length of 4 feet (Buchanan 1793. 153), but this
is either very unusual or entirely erroneous.
The majority measure just under 2% feet (76
cm), though the addition of the blade can add
another 5 or 6 inches (13-15 cm), which is
gradually reduced through wear. Variations in