This amazing tool comes by several names such as a polaski, mattock, grub hoe to name a few. As I said above it is not for the faint of heart as there is good deal of weight to the head and after you have been swinging this tool for a period of time you will feel each and every muscle used the next day! Truly versatile it makes short work of digging through just about any soil type, including rock, and it is wonderful for loosening the soil and chopping through the roots of shrubs and trees that need to be lifted, not to mention breaking up the ice bank the snowplough leaves behind in the middle of the night. The only downside I have experienced is how many water lines I have sliced through, crushed or basically lifted out when I am in full swing. Thank goodness I have a patient husband who is quite happy to mend my ways! Now that I’ve talked about the big boy to be fair I must mention the little one. He was a garage sale find about 35 years ago when I first started to explore gardening. I don’t use him much except to lift spuds but I don’t have the heart to part with him.
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Good for digging out all those Comox Valley boulders too! Btw…after reading your post, I think you should consider changing your CVHS Forum name to Green thumb uber granny… 