Rototillers and hoes and spades.

Got my old Wards tiller started and it was reluctant to move, like gear box bound. Its really not great to break ground anyway, the tines are worn badly and dont dig in well.

So spaded most of it with heavy duty garden fork (16x32 garden). But ran across video on sharpening grub hoe. Ok, got out my old "grape hoe" Its really not a grape hoe, but more like a worn diamond shape bladed grub hoe, so you have triangle pointing down. Its a heavy hoe though. I put bevel on edge on outer side. Yea apparently hoes supposed to be sharpened this way though you see lot of them with a bevel or remnant of bevel on the inner side.

Ok, make lot difference. Much easier to use and the long handle lot less stress on my old back than using short handle mattock. Then I see old light duty hardware store stamped hoe. That thing has always been worthless and only useful for mixing concrete in wheelbarrow. But I sharpen it with new bevel not only on bottom edge but sides too. Amazing, its really too light to dig with but it now will actually dig in, even on untilled sod. Light weight means it requires more effort on my part to chop down. If this was all you had available, guess you could dig a small garden plot with it. Definitely could now weed with it, though think a 1.25lbs to 1.5lbs eye hoe be better. I just dont see usefulness of hoe less than a pound. Maybe if you have super healthy sandy soil with lot organic matter.

Anyway looking and ran across a video of English fork hoe. Three strong tines. Guy was busting top layer sod with it, just bury the tines and push up using leverage of handle. I found that Easydigging.com would sell just the head for $26 shipped. The same fork hoe head were lot higher on Amazon. They really want to sell $30 handle to go with it. Uh, no. Its the old eye hole type handle fit. Originally meant that if you broke handle out in field, you just go cut a sapling or branch right size and pound it in on rock, the hole is tapered. No walking home and then to town to buy a handle. Hey its not factory look, but you can make it look ok with draw knife. Got the head today, its nice looking piece and actually bigger than I figured it would be. I will at least make a temporary handle to try it out. I got it cause frankly never used one of these before. Just not at all common in USA.

While looking at hoes, wondering what the big 3 pound grub hoe with flat edge like. It would be faster than my pointed grape hoe, but not deal with rocks as well. Watched youtube of it. Its biggest commonly found 8 inch grub hoe, though you can get heavier mattock head of course but only 3 to 4 inch wide. Ordered Mexican one off Amazon. As per the reviews, all these hoe heads come dull if not outright blunt. But then so do the light weight stamped hoes from hardware store. You have to sharpen them for them to be effective.

Actually if one were super serious about quality of tools, maybe best to buy an antique and restore it. Tools back in the day were expected to last. Those that didnt hold up didnt survive.

Now before I got into sharpening hoes, was considering mini Honda tiller. I looked at lot mini tillers and the Honda FG110 seemed best buy for the buck if you are going to take care of it, meaning checking lube in gearbox, change engine oil, etc. One guy demonstrating on youtube said his was 19 years old and still working fine. He obviously took care of it. Waste of money if you arent going to take care of it. But honestly until I get feeble, suspect sharp heavy hoe be way to go. A tiller can wear you out nearly as fast as a hoe used properly.

Top soil in my garden only like 2 or 3 inch deep, subsoil clay under that. Well it was wet enough to spade it with garden fork, but turning over soil, I brought up lot that clay so have cement hard clods when sun came out. Using the grape hoe, gave much better result since it just chopped up the that top 3 inch, and didnt bury it under clay. Breaking up those clods going to be a job all summer I am sure. The clods were what had me looking at mini tillers. Though those mini tillers will turn soil into dust if you arent careful. Looks nice, but destroys soil structure and likely in heavy clay, you will get equivalent of bricks in summer sun.

I had found a dead sapling right size (rotted at base so just pushed over) before I even got the fork hoe. Cleaned it up with drawknife today. Bark off and bumps reduced so eye could go over them. Amazingly did ok. Not great handle, but took fork hoe out in garden, it works nicely smoothing down clods where I spaded. also takes small bites of sod. This I think pretty much what it was designed for. Even with great strong handle you wouldnt want to pry rocks or big roots with it. You would most likely bend the tines. For heavy duty stuff really need a sharpened mattock I think.

Says made in Thailand.

Like most of my little obsessions, interest lingers beyond just immediate question,  keep looking at antique hoes, both grub and cultivating.  Probably lucky for me many are grossly overpriced as antiques or wonder of wonders... decorations???

I do have that 3# grub hoe head (new made in Mexico) on way with 7 inch edge.  Its wide heavy one.  As comparison, full size mattock with pickax handle usually around 4# or 5#, though some lighter ones and mattock around 3.5 or 4 inch wide blade.  So was curious on the 3# wide grub hoe.  I think for a garden without lot rocks, it could be quite efficient and till soil better than small tiller and just as fast (if sharp).  Narrower hoes take too small of a bite and lighter hoes arent really designed for digging.  You need around half pound of weight for every inch of blade.  You can get by if necessary using the corner of light hoe if both edges are sharp.  Its not fast but it does dig in.  You wont get much effect chopping straight (flat wide edge) with a light weight unless your soil is in really good shape.  Light weight hoes primarily designed for cultivating.  Unfortunately many of them have 90 degree angle between blade and handle, which is more appropriate to digging hoe.  A cultivating hoe should have more like 60 degree angle and used by pulling it to skim off weeds and very thin layer soil.  

Its interesting looking at old hoe heads on ebay and etsy to see even older light weight hoes tend to have that 90 degree angle between blade and handle.  You know those with around 60 degree angle were meant to be used.  You may be able to bend or otherwise modify handle on those with the 90 degree angle, the swan neck versions probably easiest to do so without access to a torch. Some I think the neck would have to be heated red hot to bend them. Only want to heat the neck where it bends, not the blade. You heat the blade and you will end up having to retemper it and without a small forge or large acetylene torch, not going to happen.

Also lot of light weight hoes were designed with separate ferrule.  You basically drill hole in end of slightly tapered wood handle, insert shaft of hoe head and then clamp down the ferrule over the wood to strengthen it.  Truly stupid engineering for longevity.  But cheap to manufacture and thus profitable and if only used for light cultivating use, probably last least for while.  Unless hoe head is one piece with a solid socket for handle to fit, then I would just weld on a short piece one inch iron pipe to the hoe head neck and put wood handle into that.  Holding it either with splint in end or with couple screws.  Yea welds in stress areas not as good as forged one piece head-socket,  but lot stronger than that sheet metal ferrule used on cheap hoes, rakes, etc.

Oh did watch an interesting youtube of some guy making a hoe out of length of two inch diameter pipe with forge and anvil.  I watched whole thing, scratching my head how he was going to temper mild steel thinking maybe he was going to add bit high carbon steel to edge of hoe.  Answer, he wasnt.  To his mind garden tools dont need to be high carbon steel.  Either he isnt a gardener that uses hand tools or else he lives where soil is super soft or sandy.

It was interesting and creative, but pretty useless.  Even most factory garden tools have some tempering.  HINT: dont buy the no name $5 or $10 hoes and shovels sold in variety stores, they were wholesaled in volume for less than $1 each. These are NOT tempered.  Though dont think the $50 light weight hoes at hardware are anywhere close to being worth the money.  At best they maybe tempered steel blade.  If shaft/neck is spot welded RUN.  Even saw an Ames hoe or True Temper or one of those old names that used to make medium to good quality tools on Amazon that I would swear was relabeled el cheapo crappo variety store hoe and probably not tempered.  If it shows signs of cheapness in assembly, you can bet the metal was low quality too.  A good light hoe will "sing" when it hits a small rock, like ringing a bell.  The cheapo ones wont.  I dont think there are lot singing garden hoes out there anymore....  Hand tools are seen as low profit toy in modern marketplace.  Engineered by accountants that never used a hand tool in their lifetime. The best garden tools are the antique ones made back when farmers used them in the field. Sell cheap pretend tool back then and that guy will drive to next town over to do his shopping.