Home Gardening

My Favorite Garden Tools - Part 1
The Coast Gardener Newspaper and Web Column - May 19, 2008

Every gardener has his/her favorite tools. Be it the trusty trowel, your grandfathers pruners, or the latest garden gadget the Home Shopping Network is selling. Who hasn’t been tempted by these items? We all have our favorites.

Starting with this article I will be introducing you to my favorite garden tools. Some are traditional while others are well, unusual.

WWII Aircraft Crash Ax

If there was one tool that I would recommend to every gardener this would be it. At 14” long (total length) and about two pounds, the five inch blade of this tool is perfect for chopping roots. There is also a pry bar that is about three inches long that makes it perfect for working really hard ground. This usage is a far cry from its first duty which was to help our airmen escape an aircraft by chopping through the fuselage in the event of crash landing.

I was introduced to this tool while helping remove shrubs from my in-laws' house in Detroit. I was having particular problems with some Taxus that had been in the ground for 40 plus years. My father-in-law Joe, who had been watching the issues I was having, suggested that he may have the tool for the job. He went to the garage and produced the crash ax. I immediately became a believer.

So, where do you get your own crash ax? There are new models being made and cost around $100, but I found mine on eBay for about $20. I appreciate that my crash ax is genuine military. And while using it to clear my garden, I contemplate its original purpose.

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Written by Dr. Gary R. Bachman, Assistant Extension Professor of Horticulture, Coastal Research & Extension Center.