It could be used for carving fruit also.

Interesting. In pre WWII days, watermelons were plugged at farm stands/fruit markets so that the buyer was assured of a good melon. Faded into the past with the advent of super markets. Usually the tool was a big pocket knife. Thta device would be a lot quicker.

I had a relatively country-boy friend from Michigan point out it looks like a seed sower-and, after searching, there are some with that similar cone shape.

The place it's from, farmerdill, is a super old fashioned place. They assure quality, let you taste test melons(and some apples, grapes, or other small things if you ask nice). They don't know where they got this from, but supposedly it was from the original owner who also owned peach trees and sold local peaches.

I'm just curious, there seems like there'd be a lot of history behind this and I'm having trouble finding it.

I would also try in the Vegetable Gardening forum.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/cornucop/

It looks like a rope splicing tool. Are the edges very sharp?

Al

The edges have some teeth to them, but they're not very sharp. I'd say similar to a butterknife.

Visiting Korean friends a few years back I had a chance to sample some of the almost perfectly round watermelon offered by Busan's street vendors who, incidentally, still offer sample "plugs" as did US green grocers once-upon-a-time (ie my grandmother's time!).

BTW, their melons, those of Korea, resemble the type currently marketed in the US as "personal melons", the difference being that the Korean melon absolutely beats the pants off of what we're stuck with here in the US. The only US watermelon (I sample a lot of watermelon) I've found which can compare in flavour and sweetness to those of Korea, are Oregon's, "I think I've died and gone to heaven" Hermiston, and the "to die for" Sweetheart variety from the SouthWest region of the Country–the best of which I have found, are those grown in Georgia or Louisiana.

Farmers used it to cut a hole into the watermelon to give you a taste to see if it tasted good. The farmer by our house used it at his roadside market. I would love one!