Pick Mattock

A pick mattock combines the function of a pick and adze, with a pointed end opposite an adze blade. Both are used for grubbing in hard soils and rocky terrain, with the pick mattock having the advantage of a superior penetrating tool over the cutter mattock, which excels at cutting roots.

But not surprisingly, the company also makes one of the best mattocks you can buy in its famous IsoCore 5-lb pick. This is a serious mattock pickaxe. Some common tasks you can use the IsoCore pick for include digging footings for decks or severing and removing tree roots.

Marketed as a gardening tool, this Tabor Tools small pick mattock has a comfortable 15-inch handle and makes common gardening or landscaping tools easy and effective. It is the best mattock we looked at, based on features and design.

A mattock has a shaft, typically made of wood, which is 3–4 ft (0.9–1.2 m) long. The head consists of two ends, opposite each other and separated by a central eye. A mattock head typically weighs 3–7 lb (1.4–3.2 kg). The form of the head determines the kind and uses of the mattock: