A blacksmith's tool with a square shank that fits into an anvil's hardie hole, used for cutting and shaping metal.
Of uncertain origin, possibly from Old English or Scandinavian sources. The tool's name may derive from 'hard' due to its hardened steel construction, or it may be a proper name that became generalized to the tool.
The hardie hole in an anvil is one of the blacksmith's most ingenious design features—it allows a single person to manipulate large pieces of metal with leverage and precision that would otherwise require an assistant.
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