Full size mattock vs mini mattock

The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Full size mattock vs mini mattock

Considering a mini mattock to dig walls with.

We are getting to the digging stage where the walls need to be cleaned up.

A full size mattock feels like overkill here so I decided to order a 1 pound mini mattock to smooth out the walls and delete roots easier.

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.

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Application is everything

I guess it depends on your soil, and how you want to use the tool. I was all over our ladies mattock, when digging into the side of a mountain, which was taller than us. Because I had to lift it above my shoulders. But at foot level, I prefer the heavier mattock. One swing and you can take out a big chunk of clay. I didn't like having to chip away with the smaller one, barely making a dent. I actually found the jarring is worse, without the weight behind a heavy mattock. For finishing though (shaving off small amounts to make the ground even) the lighter mattock is great.