I like to use tools that are broken. The handle on our shovel broke right at the connection. My husband removed the broken part, reinserted what was left of the handle, and it has become my favorite shovel. The long handle kept getting in my way on other shovels, but this is a good length in tight spaces.
I need to find a short handled or handleless hoe head for mucking in corners or cleaning in the chicken house. Anybody else find that "broken" tools are useful?
I have a plastic leaf rake with wood handle that has several tines missing on both sides, making the rake much narrower. Sometimes the job just calls for a narrow rake. Too bad it's plastic, I hate plastics. But it works so I keep it.
Liz Hoxie wrote: I need to find a short handled or handleless hoe head for mucking in corners or cleaning in the chicken house.
It's not broken, and I really don't know enough about hoes to know if this is what your looking for, but I have Corona Expendable Hoe and Cultivator. It shrinks down to a size for working up close, and extends long enough that I (I'm 5'4") can use it while standing. I usually use the cultivator part...but that's because I honestly have no idea how or where to use a hoe!
One interesting note- most axe handles are made of hickory, which has a finer, less splintery wood. I have a dog obsessed with wood chewing, and I gave him the cut off nub from the end of a repurposed axe handle. He carried it everywhere, chewed on it all the time. We would tell him "go get 'Old Hickory'" nd he would fetch it and lie down to chew. No mouth splinters, and a calm, occupied dog. Keeps him from leaving shredded firewood around the house. I have a few more axes to repair, my wife says "can you get Reggie another Old Hickory?"
Thanks Nicole, but that's too tall. My first set of in-laws had been sharecroppers and they spoiled me. They had a hoe from their cotton chopping days. The blade was longer than regular hoes and it wasn't as tall. They kept it sharp and taught me how to use it. One of these days I'll find a good one!
I have been having fits with the winch on my skidder lately. It would sometimes reel in when it should have been locked on brake. Well today the other half went, that is it would not release. In any case the winch just needs some work, but with mud season here, wood has got to come out.
I hitched a length of cable to the rear fenders with some tear-drops and just hooked the chokers onto the trees that way. It is less than ideal as a winch is half the skidder, but it got wood out. Granted I will not run it like that forever, but it will get me by until mud season.
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