OK, OK, I know they’re not for woodworking, but these are fine, heavy old hoe heads that are needed in service around our property. But the modern handles are too whimpy to fit (head end is too small), and it’d be nice if the handle for the big one had the curve of the original (like a fire hoe).
Any ideas where we might find some suitable handles?? See pics…..
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
The one on the right looks an awful lot like a mattock. If you would come here and get it I would give you the whole thing. I've used them as one time I dug a ditch 72" deep to get a water line below the frost level. It was pick, shovel and mattock all the way. They are too much work for a seventy five year old. In fact, while here, I have this ditch to dig....Ha, Ha.
I think you should copywrite your method of quoting. I see someone else using it now. It is a neat way of presenting a quote.
Hi, Tinkerer. I looked around on the web last night, and that narrow style "hoe" is also called an adze hoe or Hazel hoe by firefighting folk. Although I'm not sure it's the case here, many of the firefighting hoes, rakes and choppers are named after a firefighter who designed them.
These two hoe heads are the equivalent of "old iron" in the hoe world. They are so much heavier than the new ones, feel totally different. I know what you mean about the work though -- which I leave up to someone else to do, sorry I can't help with your ditch, LOL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Uhhhhhhhhhh.
Make'Um.
F.
Those look more like adze heads. There is a seller on the bay. Do a search on adze handles and you'll find the guy.
Well young lady, you live in the Northwest. I'd suggest a big stick of Vine Maple or Mountain Ash and a drawknife for a start :-)
Yes, I speak from experience, I still have a few tools with less than perfect handles.
That said, if you're using those for hoes, can you trim a pick handle to fit?
Yeah, after we'd looked through a half-dozen handles yesterday at Cenex, I told hubby he might have to make one. He wasn't thrilled. I don't have time.
None of the handles that are available new have enough wood at the bottom to fill those "eyes". I'll check out the RR picks. I looked through some firefighting equipment web sites, but no joy there either.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Some elm logs a drawknife and shaving horse and you'd be all set. Out here in the midwest I'd use pecan, hickory, or hackberry (of the elm family). I've lived in Idaho though and there is quite a bit of elm available from yard grown trees which is excellent handle stock. A drawknife and shaving horse combo makes shorter work of this than you can probably imagine. These type handles are NOT wedged... you just leave them large on the top and slide the handle end through the eye of the tool.
Railroad pick handles should work if you don't have logs to work with. You'd just have to adjust the top end cross section to fit properly.
I've recently rehandled several hammers, cold sets and adzes that I picked up at flea markets for between $1.00 and $4.00. It's very satisfying work and the handles are better than any you can buy from factory stock. I keep the sanding to a minimum so that I can enjoy the feel of the nice tool marks and the excellent grip they offer. Keep your diameters on the largish side as that gives you better tool control. No finish is the best as the grip of bare wood is hard to beat.
In the past I have bought and ordered those sort of handles from an Ace Hardware store.
The hoe on the left is a grub hoe, not sure about the smaller hoe. A farm supply should carry handles for the grub hoe. This hoe is used for chopping heavy roots and clearing vines and brush.
mike
Forest Girl, I just did a google search, both hoes are grub hoes. I am very familiar with the large version,never saw the narrow one. Amazon dot com has the handles for $13.29 or something like that,forgot the change.
mike
Hi, Mike. The general run-of-the-mill handles, including those at our local farm store (Cenex) are not large enough at the far end to fill the "eye" where the handle goes. They are made for newer heads that don't have such a large opening there. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Try Peavy Manufacturung Co. I can,t find the website,but there number is 888-244-0955. They are located in Maine, but I,m sure they have what you want.
Thanks ADM, I'll give them a call tomorrow after taking measurements. We've had two problems trying to find these replacements. One is that the far end of the handles haven't been near big enough. The other is that all the handles are straight whereas the original handle of the larger hoe had that fireman's tool curve to it that makes it much easier to use than a straight handle.
Reminds me of a very old pitch fork I used to use at my stable. Brought it up here with me, and somewhere along the line the handle got broken. There's absolutely nothing that works as a replacement. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I'am following this one closely as I have two the left hoes with dry rotting handles. Great tool ! We call them "Hunky Hoes". Dug many trenches and the worst was digging out a crawl space and making it into a basement. And, yes the handles need to be crooked like an adz.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Edited 6/29/2008 5:42 pm ET by BruceS
Hi, Bruce. I have one that's not quite as heavy as that one, but a big, wide and pretty heavy blade. I've had it since the 1980's when I had my boarding stable. I call it "Mongo Hoe". It now resides out at the stable where I train, safely away from hubby's mitts. He tends to demand a little too much from these tools, LOL!
I'll let you know what I hear when I call Peavy. It'll be neat if they can turn somethin' up that works.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 6/29/2008 7:52 pm by forestgirl
I didn't know you had horses. What breed or discipline?I just spent a good part of the weekend fooling with ours and with our fences.Joe
Hi, Joe. I'm a re-invigorated Dressage trainer. I went back to riding last summer, after an 18-year break. Showed in Dressage and Combined Training back in the 1970's and 1980's, taught a little, trained a little, bought a broodmare, ran a boarding stable for 11 years. I moved up to the Seattle area to have a full-time trainer (the woman who original taught me dressage, and for whom I worked for many years), but I got hurt badly just before I moved, and ended up selling my two fillies and quiting horses completely.
Took several years for the docs and PT's to straighten out the back problems from the accident, had shoulder surgery in 2001, and gave riding a try last summer. BINGO! No problems! So I'm back working with the same woman, she's a major Dressage trainer in this area, and I work horses for her at a local stable and ride for a couple of owners who can't ride regularly enough. Great horses, light-years ahead of the horses that were available in the 70's, so I'm in 7th Heaven.
I like riding different horses, and am quite happy not being an owner for the time being. What kind of critters do you have? I don't envy you the fencing duties! Click here for my jubilant post after I'd taken my first clinic with Henrik Johansen. I'd only been riding for about 4 months, and only a little while on that upper level horse. Since I began, I've lost over 20 pounds, and still working on it, makes the whole activity much easier, LOL!
Edit: Ah! Breeds! Both the horses I'm riding regularly right now are Dutch Warmbloods. Ivan, seen in the pictures, is the old-fashioned style warmblood. The other horse is more the modern sporthorse, elegant build, lots of elasticity in his joints and movement. Much more of a challenge to ride gracefully.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 6/29/2008 11:13 pm by forestgirl
We don't show, compete or get involved in breed activities, but we get a lot of satisfaction out of our two Arabs. Both are solid, square old-fahioned Arabians with good bone and lots of bottom.I grew up on a Standardbred mare, Highland Lady, and still have a lock of her mane. Also recall with great and wistful fondness several other animals of my youth.Despite not competing, I am a serious student of the animals, and find as I grow older that despite a lifetime with horses, I am still remarkably ignorant. Heavy into anatomy right now, using Deb Bennett's books on conformation analysis, which are the best I have ever seen for anyone who is not in vet school. Also slowly learning more about how the critters think. I wish I have know some of this about 20 years ago, and so would have had more time to learn and perfect whilst still flexible and bouncy.Joe
Love the "old fashioned" Arab. Americans tend to really screw up purebred anything -- dog breeds haven't faired well, and the Thoroughbreds are so inbred it's quite distressing. A good Arab is an incredibly sturdy beast!
I learned to ride on big ponies down in S. California, riding in the Santa Ana River bed, jumping bareback, just generally having a good time. Took quite a long time to get good at riding in an English saddle, LOL!
I'm having trouble finding my box of books from way back when. Bennett's book sounds very good, would probably revive memories from some lectures and demos I attended on conformation long ago.
Have you read Animals in Translation? The woman I work with places heavy emphasis on how horses think (being prey, not predator, for instance, influences greatly their behavior). That book and one other one are her first recommendations. I'll ask her the title of the other one when I see her.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Unless you just want a "traditional" digging tool (no arguments there - I love old tools), I've a much better suggestion for your mattock heads. Those very much look like they were forged, and might be wrought iron.
A local blacksmith would LOVE to have them to make adzes out of. A local blacksmith near me does this quite often - he just forge-welds a piece of tool steel onto the cutting edge, works them into a nice curve, fits a handle and has an adze that can be sold for $85.
The fiberglass-handled mattocks and digging tools at Tractor Supply last much longer than wooden-handled ones, and they sell for about $20.
These are hubby's tools, I don't think he wants to give them up and go modern.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
T-breds have become so greyhoundish and fragile it is scary.J
Did you hear the NPR segment, just before the Kentucky Derby, about how inbred the racing-industry Thoroughbreds have become??? Something like 90% of the national-scene horses are descendants of Native Dancer!!! He was incredibly speedy, but had a very light skeletal structure. Not good! This is the major reason we're seeing so many horses being put down on national TV.
So, owners are racing the best in just a few races to qualify for the Derby, and rushing them to the breeding shed immediately thereafter. They never prove themselves as far as durability goes, breeders are going purely for the speed aspect. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that this kind of breeding dominates the Thoroughbred indudstry since Warmbloods now dominate the Sporthorse industry (jumpers, Dressage horses), and Thoroughbreds aren't making much of a mark there any longer.
I've always been against racing these horses before they turn 3, therein lies another problem, they're raced hard before they're fully grown.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Right. Agree fully.Therein lies a very big problem. I have pictures of turn-of-the-century T-breds who are solid in every respect. They were being used as cavalry officers' chargers, and hunters who had endurance year in and year out. Today's racehorses could not survive normal usage from that day in time. The greatest of all races of equine athletes is being wrecked. They are bred for speed but not endurance, raced long enough to make a record, and then put out to breed some more.Frankly, though, I do not like the trend towards very large horses -- half drafts and the like in the guise of warmbloods. Lots of soundness problems there, too under any less than idea conditions.
ALso, I have literally seen smallish riders who couldn't remount if they got off or came off for any reason in the field. They needed mounting blocks. Maybe there is a potential market for portable winches? Perhaps we could brand it as the barn-wench winch?On the other hand, some animals, such as well-bred Trakhners are breath-taking athletes. A friendly acquaintance of mine owns Windfall, the superb TK stallion that did well in the last Olympics. Look at the videos of him and you will see North European horseflesh at its best. There are also good Arabs left, despite the worst that could be done by fashion breeders. Some lines of Q-horse are still sound and handy, although some have serious foot problems and a horrible genetic skin disorder. The remnants of the Iberian breeds are still sound for the most part. And there are lots of solid backyard grade horses. Fashion and greed are the enemies of horseflesh. Now that horses have very limited practical uses, both run untrammeled.Now, there is a rant worthy of FWW, eh?Cheers!Joe
Edited 6/30/2008 6:25 pm ET by Joe Sullivan
"Now, there is a rant worthy of FWW, eh?"
You forgot to mention shellac.
-Steve
Well, that's true, but I took it for granted that people who buy today's T-breds often take a shellacing.Cheers!J
Sounds like you may be referring to some "backyard breeding" that people indulge in thinking they can produce a quality warmblood with one successful romance. As I'm sure you know, most of the European warmblood registries have been around for quite a long time and are now producing more elegant individuals such as the Trakehner stallion you mention. European standards vary by country, but in general they are very strict, and the most highly-ranked stallions achieve their level not only by the quality of their gates, their temperament and their trainability (usually in a 100-day test), but also by producing several get that are similarly successful.
I totally agree with your last statement about greed and fashion. The last 15 years have shown an ugly side in Dressage that is directly related to those two factors. The tide is slowly turning though. If you want to know the down and dirty, drop me an email, LOL!
Windfall looks like a phenomal Combined Training horse. Trakehners, at least the ones I've known and/or ridden, are a little "hotter" than other warmbloods and thus have the speed and intensity that make them more likely to succeed in that discipline.
Below is linked one of the most highly ranked of recent years in the Dutch Warmblood registry, he is the sire of two of the foals my Swedish friend's mare foaled out. (Her mare is the product of a stallion she imported from Sweden in the 1980's who was bred lightly but with excellent results, and now stands in New York.) At the following web site, you'll also see Freisian stallions, a breed which has become a mini-fad in the Dressage world and which is not designed to be a "sport horse" but rather to haul big heavy wagons through mudflats! Anyhoo, here's a link to Contango, who is now deceased. If you have time, read through his accomplishments, it gives me goosebumps!....http://www.ironspringfarm.com/horses/profile_stats.php?unid=801&sidenav=profileforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I will email you -- and Contango is a lot of horse.Hate to say it, because I get sick of the folks who always upgrade anything done in Europe and downgrade anything done in the US, but you are absolutely right; they are breeding better horses and have more rigorous standards.J
The libertarians among us would condemn all that oversight, ROFL!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Well, yes. However, the breed associations could do it on a voluntary basis. They can be bloody minded enough about many things -- why not quality?Joe
Take a look at "Falcon" on the following page. That was my trainer's stallion, he's probably 20+ years old in that picture. I was able to ride him a couple times before I got hurt way back when, but he was gone to NY when I got back in the saddle last summer. http://www.normandymanorfarm.com/stallions_standing_at_normandy_m.htmforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I hope you won't mind if I digress just a bit but this recent project of mine just seems to fit in this thread. Handmade handle, horse related, heavy duty tool... I can't resist. These are two views of a hoof pick that I made and handled with pecan. I antiqued the handle so it looks very old and left some natural and tool mark textures which add to the rustic appeal. I love this tool and can fondle it for hours! I am so fond of it that I am considering making a few to sell.
A favorite dream of mine is to make useful tools that are also sculptures, satisfying the imagination and the artist within while providing practical service. It seems to me the elegant way to accomplish things.
Edited 6/30/2008 11:29 am ET by bigfootnampa
Peavy makes a lot of big picks, shovels , and hoes. They also claim to make handles per request so I think they will be able to help you.
"broken handle" My luck, I had a a couple forks I like to use when I burned brush. One had a long handle like I've never seen before or since. I could stand away from the fire and throw the brush on. They came up missing. Next year when I started throwing more brush, I found them, only with the length of handle greatly reduced.
Some of the firefighting tools I found yesterday had extra-long handles so the workers could keep their distance from the flames. Bummer that your's were "modified"!! We don't burn anything here any longer, it either goes into our compost pile, or gets hauled to a commercial outfit that makes compost. We leave a couple small piles in our little front field for the snakes to hibernate under during the wintertime.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
forestgirl,
I have two of the narrow ones hanging in my garage, right next to 3 solid core doors! :-)
Seriously though, I do have two of them. My dad and grandfather called them grub hoes as others have said. If I remember correctly, the blade is fitted loosely so it slides on the handle, centrifugal force keeps it on the end as it's swung. A Mattock has a pick on the other side of the blade.
I'll check mine tonight but I think both ends of the handle are larger than the hole in the blade............... Now one might wonder how they were made?
They're great for grubbing out places (hence the name) that might be gravely and tough to get a spade into. They'll power through roots and small rocks etc. but will give you a good tingle when you happen upon a large boulder or ledge! They're also great for levering out large rocks too. They also work good for chopping ice and frozen piles of horsey doo doo. :-)
Oh, I almost forgot: DON'T sharpen them, think splitting maul vs. axe and don't Evaporust them either. That rust is really patina.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 6/30/2008 9:48 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Edited 6/30/2008 9:57 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Try Hardwicks in Seattle (U district) 42nd & Roosevelt - they have been there for more 70 years & if you go there they have a lot of great Woodworking tools too. They carry a large selection of just handles. Caution - this is an old style of hardware store - narrow ilses & tools stacked everwhere - New & used ph -206 632-1203
I think Hardwicks closed last year. Tom (of Knots Fest pig-roasting fame) took us there the last time Peter, he and a visitor from England were looking for local colour, it was a great place!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Those look like some great knappy headed hoes! Good luck.
Lee
I was thinking of something along similar lines but didn't want to post it...
Kudos to you.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Those are grub hoes. Look at replacement pick and mattock handles at the farm store. They are wide at the bottom, and could easily be trimmed to fit your blades.
I wouldn't think of trying them in the garden, though. Best go for a long handle sna a very light sharp blade for gardening.
Joe
Hi, Joe. Oh, he doesn't use them in the garden! We have lots of mean and nasty, thorn-bearing, evil plants to use them on. Invading blackberry (non-native), salmon berry, other stuff I don't know the names of. And hubby will be making paths on some acreage he has out toward Port Gamble that's been sitting untended for years and years. Machete gets ''em down and out of the way, but the hoe gets the knobs out that would yield another plant.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Wineman,
I called the local Blue Seal Feeds store and asked the lady how to install the blade on a new handle for a grub hoe. She said she didn't know but they have new ones for $32.98!
I said, "Oh, kinda like putting a ship in a bottle"?
She hung up on me,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I don't have time to fool around with learning the lathe by making a handle, especially one that has one or two curves in it. Have just gotten the shop in basic running-condition and have two barn projects backlogged already -- 2 steps, and 10 Dutch door sets.
Try "Hardwicks" in Seattle. Roosevelt Ave. in the "U" district about 3 blocks South of 45 St. on the East side of the st. They have a handle for anything ever made!!
Regards,
Mack
"Close enough for government work=measured with a micrometer, marked with chalk and cut with an axe"
Mack: It turns out we can probably get them ordered by Ace Hardware here on the Island. A trip to Seattle is almost $20 round trip now, and we rarely go over there with a car (walk to Mariners games ;-)
All: Hubby found a wholesaler called "Link" something, put a call into them and it was returned by the manager of the plant! He identified the hoes as having "teardrop" size #8 and #9 holes, and told Nick which retailers can order them for us and what the different models are (straight, curvey). Yes!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 7/3/2008 1:27 am by forestgirl
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled