"Perica" - Angled Cutting Tool - Guatemala

3D ModelNoAI

A small, curved, iron tool, used for cutting into the stalks that hold banana and plantain bundles.

Exact implementation is still unclear, but one source in the dept. library described one case of similar usage, probably of the same tool.

I was able to corroborate with a farm worker about it, adding that it is not a handheld tool, but instead mounted on a 15-20 foot pole, for reaching the banana or plantain stalks.

The “stair” or “step” that runs along the tool shaft, into the curve of the blade, is not present in newer, similar tools. It is also quite solid and heavy.

Exact age is out of the question by now, but the tooling of the iron and details is quite similar to tools of the industrial era.