Kho Pla Lot (Isan Spiny-Eel Hook) — 2-Hun Iron, 45 cm, Hammered Flat, the Tip Bent Like the Thai Vowel โ, on a 150 cm Bamboo Pole, Raking Spiny Eels from Mud

"Heat it and hammer-bend it, turning a curved corner upward and back toward the rear, then bend the tip to a point like the vowel sign โ in Thai script." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author ทำนุ วรธงไชย (Thamnu Worathongchai), CC BY 4.0)

Take iron of about 2 hun, about 45 cm long. Heat it red-hot and hammer it slightly flat from the base for about 23 cm. Red-hot iron burns: use tongs and beware of sparks.

Heat it and hammer-bend it forward about 10 cm, giving a thick plate curving forward. Heat it again and hammer-bend a curved corner upward and back toward the rear, and bend the tip to a point like the Thai vowel โ. Dress it smooth and let it cool.

Force the base of the iron into the end of a bamboo pole about 150 cm long and clamp it tight with an iron ferrule.

Photos of a real kho pla lot from the Nong Bua Khok Folk Museum (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author ทำนุ วรธงไชย (Thamnu Worathongchai), CC BY 4.0).

Use it in shallow water or mud where spiny eels hide. Hold the pole in both hands and rake the hook under the mud like sweeping with a broom, drawing it toward you, then lift it to see whether a fish is caught between the prongs. Work one patch, then move on.

The spiny eel (pla lot) is about a hand-span long, hides in the mud under leaves and feeds at night. In the flood season villagers take it with a fine-mesh cast net; when a pond is pumped or dries out, they use the kho pla lot. It is tasty and fetches a good price. Red-hot iron burns: use tongs and beware of sparks. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "ขอปลาหลด", author ทำนุ วรธงไชย (Thamnu Worathongchai), Nong Bua Khok Folk Museum, Buriram (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** The source gives no iron type and no ferrule size, and there is no listing for the ferrule, so it is named in the text.