Anyone know where to find a digging tool called a dukee?
Years ago my father was foreman in an oilfield pipe line department. It was before the days of backhoes and most ditching was done with shovels by hand. The most useful tool was a mattock-like tool they called a dukee (or some similar sounding spelling.) Like a mattock it had two blades in planes 90 degrees to one another – one edge parallel to the handle and one crosswise to it like an adz. Unlike a mattock it was more ax-like in construction even to the point of having a single bit ax handle affixes with wedges as done with axes rather than the reverse oval head found in picks and mattocks. The cross blade was thinner and a bit narrower that most mattocks and sharper. The verticle blade was almostly exactly like an ax blade, thin and sharp. Due to the different handle and the thinner blades the tool was lighter than a standard mattock or pick. They were a very useful tool for assisting in digging a new ditch in either rocky or root-filled ground. they were especially useful in redigging an old line where roots have encroached into the fill. The blades could slice them far better than a mattock. Also the approximately 2 1/2 inch wide “adz” blade could remove material from either side of the burried line without needing a n unnecessarily wide ditch. (In that veign my father had the welding dept. cut standard shovels to a narrower width to save effort in digging the minimal to get the job done.)
I never saw the name on any decal or such but the whole crew called it a dukee. They had dozens. This was in the fourties and fifties.
I would dearly love to find a source for these tools. I am sure others would find them useful as well. Can anyone help me?
lazyman
Replies
I believe I have what you are describing. I started out digging ditches by hand for a few years when I worked for a contractor installing rail road signals. I don't recall now what the heck we called it. But it was handy. If I go outside today I'll dig it out of the shed and see what's on it.
It's a pulaski.
Yep, You got it , a very common fire fighters tool in woodlands fire fire fighting.
Here is a good one. Lots of cheap junk out there. http://cspoutdoors.stores.yahoo.net/snownealpula.html
and to think I thought you were making fun of Polish laborers.
is it Saturday yet?
Markh,
Thats it! Great find. Now I just have to justify the price rather than buying a backhoe attachment for my tractor. Just kidding, but it is a bit pricy. But it can't be beat for hand work.
Thanks.
Lazyman
I carried one of those things for years (trail crew and wildland firefighting). I've never heard it called a dukee though.
There also exists a super pulaski- wider adze and heavier axe head. It's kind of ungainly though. Pulaskis are great for chopping out roots, but otherwise not a great digging tool. Hazel hoes are better for rocky ground, since they're a lot harder to break.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
I have a BIG eye hoe. No idea who made it, but it has an alligator graphic and Jacare #3 on it. It's very heavy forged steel. But I never heard of a Hazel Hoe.
Hazel hoe may be a trail working term. . . anyway, it's a forged hoe, and the handle socket is about 2" x 2". They're normally easy to take down (remove the head from the handle) for easy packing or handle replacement. They're not like a garden hoe, with a weak spot between handle and the blade. The handle is curved, and about 3' long. More like a single-bit axe than a double bit, but thicker.
They're good tools. Heavy and hard on the back, but you can do an amazing amount in a day with a hazel hoe, even in tough ground.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
Like a grape hoe, I suppose, with a square hole? My eye hoe has a round 1 3/4" hole.
Like so:
View Image
What's a Grape Hoe?zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
View Image
I call that a grub hoe. I used to do backcountry trail repair work for a BSA camp. Worked and traveled in a three man crew, packed in everything for 4 day trips. Work kit was a pick mattock head, an ax mattock head, a handle, a Pulaski with handle, a McLeod, a come-along with strapping and 30" crosscut saw.
I've heard it called a grub hoe also.
I spent 7 years doing trail work for the USFS- my tool kit was usually a bit different. I almost always had a crosscut saw, but usually 5'6" or 6' long, and sometimes up to 8' long. Almost never packed a mattock, unless the project was entirely stonework. Always had a pulaski and a shovel, and occasionally carried a hoe. Rock bars were common too, although it's not much fun to hike 20 miles with a 60 lb pack and a 25 lb rock bar in your hands. Especially since I only weighed about 127 lbs in the summers, when I was in shape.
Good times, they were.zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
I've long wondered why mcleods are not sold at garden centers. For all of those jobs too heavy for a garden rake, too large for a plain old garden hoe, and not large enough or too delicate for a rototiller.
"If the trout are lost, smash the state."
Sadly I can no longer afford to disappear into the boonies for four months at a time, but those were indeed some good times. I looked at my list and I forgot loppers and the mini sledge (8lbs with a 24" handle) used to put in rebar stakes. If the job required anything bigger like a rock bar or chainsaws, they would get cached for us near the next job site by the trail boss when he dropped the resupply. We went out for 3 to 4 weeks at a time carried a radio, packed "light" (80lbs packs including tool kit) and traveled fast between jobs. Installed lots of water bars, horse steps, retaining walls, and a couple bridges. The mattocks got used a lot because we did a lot of shallow trenching. Both ends of the Pulaski were kept sharp to do the cutting and the mattock end was used to flatten the tops of logs when needed.
There also exists a super pulaski- wider adze and heavier axe head. It's kind of ungainly though.
The good ol' Super-P! Our helitack crew never had guys with muscles big enough to operate one, although one ranch gal was pretty close. Both are fun to look at. :-)
I packed the same combi-tool for 4 years and still have it to fine tune footers and other such things. Now that's a handy sonofagun. What I ment to say is IF the govt gave me a combi-tool I would still use it...hypothetically speaking of course.
How funny it would be to have a grass flapper siting around a job site. What would people think it was for? Mouse control, keeping carpenters in line? A head scratcher for sure. Give it to the rookie carp and have them flatten the deck before setting plates? *chuckle*
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
they sell them at Lowes
they sell them at Lowes
Ranch gals? Grass flappers? Super-P? Combi-tool?
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
Edited 2/21/2007 2:19 am ET by IdahoDon
Grass Flapper? never heard of that one. Is that a combi or a mcleod? I never grew to like either of those tools- I apprenticed under a master of the shovel in my trail crew days, and I could move more dirt or duff or anything else with a shovel all day long than any of the fire crew guys could with any tool they chose.
Besides that, a shovel (fire shovel specifically, not those dumb long handled jobs) is a wonderful lever, very useful for moving logs or rocks.
Ah yes, if the govt had seen to entrust me with a nice true temper pulaski and a fire shovel, I would see to it that they were kept up well and used ; )zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
Again, Thanks to all who replied. I had never heard the term Pulaski Ax, but once I had that information I did a dogpile search and found several vendors, some as low as about $22. Thanks again. I am sure the quality varies, but as I will omnly be an occasional user, although it will get a workout at times, I might try one of the cheaper ones. I will pass on my review when I do.
Lazyman
why would a lazy man be thinking about digging....?
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
By the way, here's a cheaper Pulaski:
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=1572
It doesn't look as good as this one, though:
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=1571
The first one has a twisted neck on the Adze. I never thought that kind was as durable as the other one. The second one is probably a Barco brand, that was the newer style at the USFS when I was there. The steel wasn't as good as the old True Temper Pulaskis, cast at the Kelly Works in Ireland, if I remember correctly. You might look on Ebay for a Pulaski head- most people are too lazy to rehandle them when they break, because it's a bit of a hassle. You might be able to find a deal.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"