Mattock Handles. Why?

[AchingBack]

Why are mattocks not fixed on their handles? In other words, why aren't they fitted like axe handles, pick handles and sledge hammer handles? The old mattock I have has two nails in the handle under the head to keep it from slipping down. Been that way since I was a child.

I'm asking because I recently got a mattock head from my father-in-law's garage. It is less than half the size of a normal mattock which is really cool. It has some surface rust but is otherwise in great shape. I'm going to clean it up and make a handle for it. I have a lathe.

The opening for the handle is round but slightly cone shaped like a normal mattock so that the handle is installed from the top and is supposed to snug down on the handle which is also slightly cone shaped.

I'm just wondering if I should install the handle that way or should I consider wedging it like an axe handle.

Any advice appreciated.

The handles are not attached because they can be switched for use with a pick/mattock when not used with a standard mattock. However, my local farm supply sells mattocks with attached handles.

 

[Egon]

It does not have to be a full swing. Any portion of an arc will do.

 

[N80]

It does not have to be a full swing. Any portion of an arc will do.

Not when the head slides down as soon as you raise it.

I understand what you are saying but as mentioned there are plenty of situations where there is not an opportunity to add momentum in that way and if you are constantly creating momentum just to keep the head on then that’s just wasted effort in a job that is usually already pretty taxing.

Anyway, I suspect that is why there are nails in the handle of my mattock which have been there since I was a child. But maybe I just come from three generations of people who can’t understand how to use a mattock.

Stranger things have happened.

 

[Egon]

Not when the head slides down as soon as you raise it.

I understand what you are saying but as mentioned there are plenty of situations where there is not an opportunity to add momentum in that way and if you are constantly creating momentum just to keep the head on then that’s just wasted effort in a job that is usually already pretty taxing.

Anyway, I suspect that is why there are nails in the handle of my mattock which have been there since I was a child. But maybe I just come from three generations of people who can’t understand how to use a mattock.

Stranger things have happened.

If’n the head slides down the Mattock hasn’t been used for a time and the handle is dry.

I can also go back three generations of mattock use. Got one in the shed that only goes back a verifiable two generations.

 

[N80]

I just don’t know how to use it. Don’t know how to sharpen a chainsaw chain either. It’s a wonder I’ve made it to 59.

 

[SandburRanch]

When i was a kid awhile back ( the wife doesn't agree with the awhile back part ) i thought it was amazing that on the way from gathering eggs i could swing a 3 gallon Pail nearly filled with eggs round and round and over my head and not 1 single egg fell to the dirt or on my head .

 

[Egon]

I just don’t know how to use it. Don’t know how to sharpen a chainsaw chain either. It’s a wonder I’ve made it to 59.

Knowing how to use a mattock may be a skill best ignored. It’s just plain hard work!

 

[Jstpssng]

When i was a kid awhile back ( the wife doesn't agree with the awhile back part ) i thought it was amazing that on the way from gathering eggs i could swing a 3 gallon Pail nearly filled with eggs round and round and over my head and not 1 single egg fell to the dirt or on my head .

Did you ever break any of them? Eggs can be amazingly tough... I've had them fall off the console of my pickup onto the floor without damage.

Of course I've never dropped a maddock handle onto them, but have composted them with the tiller on my tractor... just to get back on topic and not offend people who don't like posts which aren't about tractors.

 

[Rockbadchild]

if you don’t care to secure it with screws then drilles a tapered hole on each side and screw it in place

 

[N80]

Knowing how to use a mattock may be a skill best ignored. It’s just plain hard work!

Agreed. I wrote a short, sad but true story about it once. But I think in the story I used the term pick axe rather than mattock but I’m not sure. Been a long time since I looked at it.

 

[Egon]

Agreed. I wrote a short, sad but true story about it once. But I think in the story I used the term pick axe rather than mattock but I’m not sure. Been a long time since I looked at it.

Pick axe/ mattock all the same Just plain hard work.

 

[Jstpssng]

Pick axe/ mattock all the same Just plain hard work.

They're just shaped differently.

 

[AchingBack]

If’n the head slides down the Mattock hasn’t been used for a time and the handle is dry.

I can also go back three generations of mattock use. Got one in the shed that only goes back a verifiable two generations.

I bought my mattocks in 1978. The only time I loaned it, the handle broke.

 

[N80]

Follow up to post #9 above. Cut a blank from the ash slab. Dried it over a heater vent for a week or so. Turned handle on the lathe. The handle hole is round and tapered. The ash was very hard. Took a long time to cut it down. Got a little tear out in a few places but sanded it smooth. Made handle long enough to use with two hands if needed. It is a fairly small tool and I gave it to my wife for her gardening. The handle is in the head firmly but I put a stainless screw in just in case.

 

[Rockbadchild]

looks very good !!

 

[N80]

I thought about narrowing it in the middle down through the grip for better appearance and lighter weight but figured I’d keep it thick for better strength.

 

[Jstpssng]

That came out good!

 

[JethroB]

I think this is called a grub hoe. It has probably been in my family for 80+ years. The handle is pretty loose and looks fragile. Sort of want to keep it as is.

 

[Jstpssng]

I was at my mother's house last weekend and decided to dig out a tree stump. I picked up my father's maddock and went to work. Talk about a loose head! It was held on with a screw, similar to what the OP did yet it was sloppy and I was a bit concerned about it coming off. About that time my dog came over to supervise, so I had to be extra careful.
It got the job done, though.