You might consider contacting Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder and ask them your built their climbing-hardware bench. If s/he is still building art like the bench, it would be kind of cool to get your decommissioned gear to him/her and have it be part of another piece of art.

I like the hood ornament idea.... if you angle it right you could maybe get some kind of deer warning effect

make a handle for a beer tap.

Do you homebrew?