Dibbles

Dave Hoskins said:

At least we have acquired some knowledge. Now, the big question is this: Who named it a dibble or why?

Click to expand...

mid-15c., perhaps from Middle English dibben (which means to dip, but mostly as in a cup so I'm dubious about that one although they probably share similar origins) + instrumental suffix -el.

Root word is "dib"
1) To dig a hole by poking; especially, to dig a small hole in soil for the purpose of planting a bulb or seed
Probably arising from norse or danish to old english as dyb (modern danish has dyb meaning "deep" so the stretch from there to "hole" isn't to far).

el is a suffix for forming nouns, originally denoting an agent, from verbs, usually spelt -le except after n and e. So literally a thing to dib or dyb or "make a hole" with.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-el#English

Also called a "dibber"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dibber

The later use of "dibs" to mean "first claim on an item" doesn't arise until the early 1900's which probably arose from the game of jacks which were originally called dibstones. The relationship between dibstones and jacks isn't to hard to trace, originally it was placed with the dib bones (or huckle bones or more familiarly pastern bones) which are small bones taken from the knees of sheep.

Why sheep knuckles where called dibstones I have no idea.

Dibble boards are used extensively in the green house industry to dibble holes in soil filled flats. Depending on size of flat or or pots. Then automatic planter will plant plugs into flat. Hanging baskets are also dibbled for multiple plugs being planted. Each industry to its own. I made my own from dowel and T handle with inch marks on it. Works great for garlic.
David

Dave Hoskins said:

At least we have acquired some knowledge. Now, the big question is this: Who named it a dibble or why?

Click to expand...

I did a little research and found this on a blog from the university of Minnesota Blog.

The Oxford English Dictionary, that venerable authority on obscurity, tells us that to dibble is simply to “make a hole in the soil” for purposes of planting. Moreover, the word, although it sounds like an invention of Lewis Carroll, actually dates back at least to the 15th century. One of the (apparently lazy) characters in Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale” warns that “Ile not put The Dible in earth.” The great John Keats, too, seemed to have a strange aversion to dibbling, and wrote in his romance “Endymion,” that “In sowing-time ne'er would I dibble take, Or drop a seed.”

In a way, a dibbler (also known variously as a dibble or a dibbling-machine) is a non-tool. No invention was required. It is literally a hole-poker, a sharp stick. Even a dull stick might suffice, depending on your soil type.

One can easily imagine the dibbler's presence at the very birth of agriculture. The conversation probably went something like this:

World’s first farmer:
“Hey, I bet this seed will grow if I can find some way to get it into the ground.”

Prehistoric pioneer of the agricultural implements industry:
“Here, dibble it with this stick, dummy.”

Inevitably, though, from these humble beginnings the dibbler was refined over centuries of use. Some have crossbar handles, like the now-classic Oxford dibbler, and others make multiple holes at a time—what we call a “compound dibbler” here on the farm. An entry from the “catalogue of implements” published in an 1846 Edition of the Farmer’s Magazine from England gives us a peek into the stunning variety of the dibbler. The esteemed Philip Fowler Hidgkins, of Chipping Norton, Oxford offered the following:

A patent self twisting single hand seed dibbler, and a double hand seed dibbler, invented, and manufactured by the exhibiter; (new implement) a single hand seed dibbler, and (new implement) a two row horse seed dibbler, invented and manufactured by the exhibiter.

Now you know "the rest of the story"

opps sorry Ryan I didn't see you last post.

OK guys. I am downright impressed!!!

Some more dabbling in dibbles. Mostly oak with a couple of lighter walnut pieces in the back.

Added the Rogeresqe lines with a wee twist on some where I used the number of lines to match how many inches in it is (bottom line is the match). Works OK on smaller ones but the bigger ones one line per inch looks cleaner.

Oh and the third one up from the bottom was a bit of an off center attempt. Has some promise as a theory but needs work (only three centers here, I think 5-6 might be needed to avoid post carving).

boy that's more than dabbling in dibbles you becoming a true dedicated dibble devotee.

A dastardly dibbler as it were.

So Danske version makes a lot more sense to me, but I incorrectly assumed that a deeper hole would be smaller seed, but that's not necessary the case. I guess a Dibble is also needed for a bulb so now your chubby ones make perfect sense.