Something with a handle

One of my cousins joked that you should never buy anything with a handle. That always means work.

Guess I didn't listen as I just bought another snow shovel. There's nothing wrong with my old shovel. When I saw one that looked good I had to buy it. You certainly don't want to be caught without one when it snows four feet overnight. (I continue to question my decision to remain here most of the winter)

Even better than having backup tools is being able to issue them to friends and family with strong backs. Nothing makes a job go better than a few more willing hands. If someone's willing to pitch in, I'm going to make sure I have enough tools to go around.

When the kids were still living at home we had a massive ice storm. School was closed. The grid was down. The kids needed something to do. I issued them all handsaws. They gathered and cut up big piles of dead branches the storm took down. They cut enough wood to keep the kitchen woodstove going. I believe I tended the coffee pot.

Right now I'm in the market for a lot of handles. All my backup axes, mauls, and sledge hammers need new handles. The quality of replacement handles has gone way down, but the price sure hasn't. Making them from scratch is an option, but time consuming. Maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and buy some. Next time the local lumber supply has a new shipment I'll dig through the pile and hopefully find some that aren't half bad.

I'm at the point where a lot of my tools have no backup ready to go, and that's a bad thing. At least I'm set on snow shovels.

-Sixbears