Lawnmower blade hoe

I was showing a buddy of mine the famous Folkin hoe. He was keen to make one and this is the prototype. One lawnmower blade bent with a small torch and sharpened with a flap disk. The handle is a ripped 2X4 and needs some work. I’m not sure what the best way to do that is but I’ve hit it with a chisel a couple times. There’s probably a better way and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You can probably make the handle more comfortable with a draw-knife or a lathe. If that's a pine board, it may not last. You could buy a commercially made handle or cut one from a tree. I'm no pro at this, but people seem to like hickory or ash for this. I have a hunch that oak or what we call hedge around here (bois d' arc, bodark, osage orange) would do well.

Scott Stiller wrote:The handle is a ripped 2X4 and needs some work. I’m not sure what the best way to do that is but I’ve hit it with a chisel a couple times. There’s probably a better way and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

A drawknife is a good tool for just such a process. I also think a rotary/random orbit sander or even a belt sander with some rough grit paper could be used to put a shape to the handle with a little hand sanding to finish things up.

Thanks for the suggestions on the handle. I certainly Have my eyes open for a better, lighter handle. I was really impressed we were able to bend the blade with a little Bernsomatic torch. I thought we’d need something more hefty to handle that job. If I had an anvil I’d have flattened the blade out a bit too.
Take a look at it. I love hearing all suggestions to make it better.

Here’s what I’ve done. A draw knife has worked wonderfully and using the tool has become pleasant. Here’s what I didn’t realize, I love using it like a left handed scythe. Now I want a straight lefty model! The blade angle isn’t right but the edge is sharp and it does ok. Way better than I’d expect.