The World of Gor
Tools & Implements
Tool
Etymology:Middle English tol, tool, from Old English tol; akin to Old Norse tol tool, weapon, Gothic taujan to do;
1: an instrument (as a hammer or saw) used or worked by hand; an instrument used by a handicraftsman or laborer in his work; implement;
2: an implement or object used in performing an operation or carrying on work of any kind; an instrument or apparatus necessary to a person in the practice of his vocation or profession. — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2004-2006.
Tool Time with Talena
There are various tools and implements mentioned in the books. Some of these tools can double for a weapon in times of necessity. I've divided this page into sections: one, tools of the kitchen (knives); two, agricultural tools; and, lastly, tools of various trades, such the shipwright.
Kitchen Tools
• Butcher Knife
Those described of the red savages, are small knives ground to a narrow concave shape, used in the butchering of animals. These knives are not sturdy enough for combat, but can be used in taking a scalp.
"Grunt's goods, on the other hand, of course, were distributed over his eleven beasts of burden, the kaiila and the ten other pack animals. My goods, substantially, consisted of blankets, colored cloths, ribbons, mirrors and beads, kettles and pans, popular in the grasslands, hard candies, cake sugar and chemical dyes. Grunt carried similar articles but he, as well, as I had not, carried such items as long nails, rivets, hatchets, metal arrowheads, metal lance points, knife blades and butcher knives. … The butcher knives are usually ground down into a narrow, concave shape. They do not have the sturdiness for combat. They are used, generally, for the swift acquisition of bloody trophies." — Savages of Gor, page 145.
• Ulo
The ulo is a small knife fixed in a wooden handle, the blade semi-circular. It is known as the woman's knife of the red hunters of the arctic region. The blade is designed for women's work; namely, cutting meat and slicing sinew, versus carving capabilities as a true dagger used by men. Mistakenly, I've seen women use a "ulo" describing it as a kitchen knife, or dagger, used in all sorts of places, from the city of Ar, to the plains of Turia, to the sands of the Tahari. The ulo is found only in the arctic north.
"The ulo, or woman's knife, with its semicircular blade, customarily fixed in a wooden handle, is not well suited to carving. It is better at cutting meat and slicing sinew. Also, carving ivory and bone requires strength." — Beasts of Gor, page 262.
Agricultural Tools
• Harrow
An agricultural tool used primarily to level the ground after plowing, smoothing the soil, mulching and covering seed.
Etymology: Middle English harwe; perhaps akin to Old Swedish harf harrow, Greek keirein to cut;
1: a cultivating implement used primarily for pulverizing or smoothing the soil and sometimes for mulching, covering seed, or removing weeds;
2: a formation that resembles a harrow. — Merriam-Webster Dictionary ©2004-2006.
"It was Dietrich of Tarnburg who had first introduced the "harrow" to positional warfare on Gor, that formation named for the large, rake-like agricultural instrument, used for such tasks as the further leveling of ground after plowing and, sometimes, on the great farms, for the covering of seed. — Mercenaries of Gor, page 31.
• Rence Knife
This knife is not actually a weapon, but rather it is a tool in which to harvest rence with. With its mere two-inch (2") curved blade, it would not make a formidable weapon. Because of the very little threat, this knife is often a tool given to slaves to use.
"One holds the stem of the plant in the left hand and, with the right, with a small, curved, two-inch knife makes a diagonal upward stroke." — Raiders of Gor, page 27.
"The rence knife flashed through a stem and then I cut the tufted, flowered head, it falling in the water, and threw the stem on the rence craft, with the numerous others." — Raiders of Gor, page 30.
"The rence knife, with which I had cut rence, she had left in the packet in her rence craft." — Raiders of Gor, page 33.
• Turf Knife
Sharp, shovel-like bladed tool of the red savages.
"The turf knife is a wooden-bladed, saw-edged, paddlelike tool. It is used to cut and saw sod and, when the handle is held in the right hand and the blade is supported with the left,it may be used, also, rather like a shovel, to move dirt." — Blood Brothers of Gor, pages 311-312.
Tools of Trade
• Adze
The tool known as the adze serves for smoothing rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. 
Generally, the user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze downwards towards their feet, chipping off a piece of wood, and walking backwards as they go, leaving a relatively smooth surface behind. However, in general usage, the adze can be used for other cutting operations. The head of the adze is oriented to the haft like a hoe, or plane, and not like an axe, whose cutting blade would be perpendicular to the blade of an adze.
The shipwright's adze is a more versatile adze than the carpenter's adze. This was designed to be used in a variety of positions, including overhead, as well as in front on waist and chest level. Typically, the carpenters of ships on Gor use the adze. In times of extreme measures, it would make a useful weapon of the hammer class.
"The gangplank was then thrust over the rail of the serpent and struck on the heavy, adzed boards of the dock." — Marauders of Gor, page 83.
• Mattock
A mattock is an agricultural tool similar to a pickaxe. It is distinguished by the head, which makes it particularly suitable for breaking up moderately hard ground. A mattock has a broad chisel-like blade, which twists so that the side of the blade is pointing upwards. 
This broad bladed end is effectively an adze that could be used as a hoe as well. If the reverse has a pointed end the tool is called a pick mattock and if it instead has an axe-like splitting end it is a cutter mattock. A combination axe and mattock used for fighting forest fires is a pulaski. In some regions of the southern United States, the mattock is called a grub hoe. Mattock heads range from 1.5 to 3.5 kg (3 to 7 pounds) in weight, and are normally mounted on a 90 to 120 cm (3 to 4 foot) shaft. The shaft is often heavier than the head, sometimes possessing twice the mass and density of a baseball bat. During the Middle Ages of Europe, the mattock served as an improvised pole weapon for the poorer classes.
A peasant tool of the hammer class; again, though it is first a tool, it can be utilized as a weapon.
Her man, carrying a mattock, was not far behind. Over his left shoulder hung a bulging sack filled with what must have been the paraphernalia of his hut. He circled me, widely. "Beware," he said, "I carry a Home Stone."
I stood back and made no move to draw my weapon. Though I was of the caste of warriors and he of peasants, and I armed and he carrying naught but a crude tool, I would not dispute his passage. One does not lightly dispute the passage of one who carries his Home Stone. — Nomads of Gor, page 1.
• Snow Knife
Large bone knife of the Red Hunters, used both as a weapon and building tool.
"I did as I was told, and Imnak, with a large, curved, bone, saw-toothed knife, a snow knife, began to cut at a nearby drift of snow." — Beasts of Gor, page 26.
"He continued to cut blocks of snow, though he now made no effort to place them in the walls. One normally places such blocks from the inside. When the domed shelter is completed, as ours was not, the last block is placed on the outside and the builder then goes within, and, with the snow knife, trimming and shaping, slips it into place. A hole is left for the passage of air and smoke. Imnak's walls were rough, and not too well shaped. The snow knife suffices, when there is time, to shape the dwelling. Chinks between blocks are filled with snow, as though it were mortar." — Beasts of Gor, page 26.
• Trident
The three-pronged spearing fork used by fishermen and sailors of the islands of Gor. 
It is also known as the Fish Spear. It is briefly described as being approximately seven feet in overall length, with prongs of 10" inches or more. Often used with a line attached, for retrieval should it be thrown.
"My name is Clitus," he said. "I am a fisherman. I can guide ships by the stars. I know the net and trident." — Raiders of Gor, page 85.
"Consider the wounds," I said. There were three of them, in the back.
"He was struck three times," said a fellow. "No, once," I said.
"There are three wounds," said the man.
"Consider them," I said, "the rectlinear alignment, their spacing."
"A trident," said a man.
"Yes," I said. "The three-pronged fish spear."
"That is not a weapon," said a man. "It may be used as such, obviously," I said. "And in the arena, it is," said a fellow. He referred to one of the armaments well known in the arena, that of the "fisherman," he who fights with net and trident. There are a number of such armaments, usually bearing traces of their origin. — Vagabonds of Gor, page 91.
Special Note
Because of the differences in publishing the books, depending upon whether published in the U.S. or Europe, depending upon whether a first publishing or a Masquerade Books release, page numbers will often vary. All of my quotes are from original, first-printing U.S. publications (see The Books page for a listing of publishers and dates) with the exception of the following books:
- Tarnsman of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Outlaw of Gor (11th Printing, Balantine)
- Priest-Kings of Gor (2nd Printing, Balantine)
- Assassin of Gor (10th Printing, Balantine)
- Raiders of Gor (15th Printing, Balantine)
- Captive of Gor (3rd Printing, Balantine)
Disclaimer
These pages are not written for any specific home, but rather as informational pages for those not able to get ahold of the books and read them yourself. Opinions and commentaries are stricly my own personal views, therefore, if you don't like what you are reading — then don't. The information in these pages is realistic to what is found within the books. Many sites have added information, assuming the existences of certain products and practices, such as willowbark and agrimony for healing, and travel to earth and back for the collection of goods. I've explored the books, the flora, the fauna, and the beasts, and have compiled from those mentioned, the probabilities of certain practices, and what vegetation mentioned in the books is suitable for healing purposes, as well as given practicalities to other sorts of roleplaying assumptions.