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:Firestick redirects here. For the Aboriginal practice, see Fire-stick farming
Fire-stick farming

Fire-stick farming is a term coined by Australian Archeology Rhys Jones in 1969 to describe the practice of Indigenous Australians where fire was used regularly to burn vegetation to facilitate hunting and to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area....
.

A fireplace poker (also known as a "stoker") is a short, rigid rod, preferably of fireproof material, used to adjust coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
s and wood fuel
Wood fuel

Wood fuel is wood used as fuel. The combustion of wood is currently the largest use of energy derived from a solid fuel biomass. Wood fuel can be used for cooking and heating, and occasionally for fueling steam engines and steam turbines that electricity generation....
 burning in a fireplace
Fireplace

A fireplace is an architecture structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a Firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue directs gas and particulate exhaust to escape....
.






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Fireplace Poker
Hand Made Fire Stoker
:Firestick redirects here. For the Aboriginal practice, see Fire-stick farming
Fire-stick farming

Fire-stick farming is a term coined by Australian Archeology Rhys Jones in 1969 to describe the practice of Indigenous Australians where fire was used regularly to burn vegetation to facilitate hunting and to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area....
.

A fireplace poker (also known as a "stoker") is a short, rigid rod, preferably of fireproof material, used to adjust coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
s and wood fuel
Wood fuel

Wood fuel is wood used as fuel. The combustion of wood is currently the largest use of energy derived from a solid fuel biomass. Wood fuel can be used for cooking and heating, and occasionally for fueling steam engines and steam turbines that electricity generation....
 burning in a fireplace
Fireplace

A fireplace is an architecture structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a Firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue directs gas and particulate exhaust to escape....
. It is often metal
Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
lic and has a point at one end for pushing burning materials (or a hook for pulling/raking, or a combination) and a handle at the opposite end, sometimes with an insulated
Thermal insulation

The term thermal insulation can refer to materials used to reduce the rate of heat transfer, or the methods and processes used to reduce heat transfer....
 grip. Iron
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
 is the most popular metal
Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
 from which the pokers are wrought. Brass
Brass

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin....
 is a more expensive alternative for a home poker set.

Similar tools may be used (with care) in tending a wood
Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
 or coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
 stove
Stove

A stove is an enclosed heated space. The term is commonly taken to mean an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating, either to heat the space in which the stove is situated or to heat the stove itself, and items placed on it, for cooking purposes....
. Small pokers are adequate for small fires but, to avoid radiation
Thermal radiation

Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted from the surface of an object which is due to the object's temperature. Infrared radiation from a common household radiator or electric heater is an example of thermal radiation, as is the light emitted by a glowing incandescent light bulb....
 burns to the user, they must be increasingly long as the size of the fire becomes larger.

There are three types of tools commonly used to tend a small fire
Fire

Fire is the oxidation of a combustion material releasing heat, light, and various Chemical reaction products such as carbon dioxide and water....
, such as a campfire
Campfire

A campfire is a fire lit at a campsite, usually in a fire ring. Campfires are a popular feature of Camping , particularly among organized campers such as Scouting or Girl Guide and Girl Scout....
, indoor fireplace fire, or yule log
Yule log

A Yule log is a large wooden log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures....
: the spade
Spade

A spade is a tool designed primarily for the purpose of digging or removing earth. The first spade was made of riven wood. After the art of metalworking was discovered, spades were made with sharper tips of metal....
, the tongs
Tongs

Tongs are wikt:gripping and lifting tools, of which there are many forms adapted to their specific use. Some are merely large pincers or nipper s, but the greatest number fall into three classes:...
 and the poker itself. These tools make it possible to handle a fire without risk of burns
Burn (injury)

A burn is a type of injury that may be caused by heat, Temperature, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction. Burns can be highly variable in terms of the tissue affected, the severity, and resultant complications....
 or blister
Blister

A blister is a small pocket of fluid within the upper layers of the skin, typically caused by forceful rubbing , burning, freezing, chemical exposure or infection....
s. Many fireplace sets also include a small broom.

Large bonfires are not amenable to the use of tool
Tool

A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
s of the size commonly used in an indoor fireplace. However some individuals have been known to weld
Weld

Weld most commonly refers to a joint formed by welding. Weld may also refer to...
 rebar
Rebar

A rebar, or reinforcing bar, is a common steel bar, and is commonly used in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures. It is usually formed from carbon steel, and is given ridges for better mechanical anchoring into the concrete....
 into clever shapes with which to move the wood
Wood

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs, etc....
 in a moderately large bonfire.

There is evidence that humans have used pokers since the paleolithic
Paleolithic

The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic or "Old Stone" era is a Prehistory era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools, and covers roughly 99% of human history....
 period. Theoretically, pokers were invented immediately after the discovery of fire. The earliest and most primitive
Primitive

Primitive is a subjective label used to imply that one thing is less "sophisticated" or less "advanced" than some other thing. Being a comparative word it is also relative in nature....
 pokers were likely made from the same material as the fuel (that is, wood in the form of a hefty branch). This ersatz
Ersatz

Ersatz is a German language word literally meaning substitute or replacement. Although it is used as an adjective in English language, Ersatz can function in German as a noun on its own, or as a part in compound nouns such as Ersatzteile or Ersatzspieler ....
 wooden-type fire-tool may be called a poker or a "firestick" in colloquial terminology
Terminology

Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that are used in specific contexts. Not to be confused with "terms" in colloquial usages, the shortened form of technical terms which are defined within a Academic discipline or speciality field....
. The first successful mass production of stokers as a part of an entire fireplace-regalia set was designed and manufactured in Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Missouri

Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....
 by the RL Hendrickson Manufacturing Corporation in 1898 at a cost of $1 USD. Today, one of the sets in fair condition can garner more than $3500 USD at auction.