Nice. A lighter pick my wife can swing with mallace! Now if only the handle was 8" longer I could play too. A light pick deserves a longer handle, after-all if you can't pick up a 5lb pick you probably don't bend over too good no more either, ya?

So this is the story of my garden pick:

1) I open the box. The handle clearly is not hickory as described, I believe it's pine. I think "Oh well it should still do the job".

2) I pick up the tool and immediately notice how light it is. I'm not sure how I'm going to get any momentum with it but my wife appreciates the weight. I decide not to attempt a return.

3) Time to do yard work. Less than 2 minutes into hacking some old bush roots the handle snaps. I have experience with these tools and I'm not overly strong, so this is unacceptable.

Unless you intend to use this as decoration, I would look elsewhere. I hope this helps.

Used a lot in a short period of time. Worked splendidly. Very happy with purchase. Held up well to our rocky soils and cleared everything I wanted cleared with ease.

I was somewhat concerned, buying this online, that it might not be durable enough. But it is very well made, and hefty enough to effectively dig a hole and/or loosen the soil in some seriously hard-packed, unforgiving ground. The handle is very securely attached.

First of all, I need to say that the 36" handle is a "Plastic" type material, while the head of the handle (the part onto which you place the metal pick-axe) is a plastic/rubber type material. As you can see in the pictures, the handle is black and the head is yellow. This was very easy to attach the metal head. I just slipped it on the bottom of the handle and slid it up to the top and then dropped the top (or head) of the pick-axe handle onto my cement driveway about six or eight times, and I was done. I did not opt to cut off the 3/4" that extends above the metal pick-axe head, but it would be very easy to cut off if you have some sort of powered saw, such as a Band Saw. I can imagine that doing it by hand would be a job for a burly man who typically removes beer bottle caps with his teeth (or thumb), and who will straighten a bent, 10-penny nail with his fingers. While rather strong for my age, I am capable of neither, so personally, I would opt to use the band saw, if I chose to remove the excess material. Anyway, I like this handle a lot and I honestly believe that one could not do a lot better. I must admit that if someone is used to a wooden handle, this might be a little uncomfortable to use. In my youth, I used wooden handled axes, and my memory is clear enough to tell me that the feel is quite a bit different. But for the minimal amount I use this pick axe now, this handle is actually more comfortable, particularly as an older man who likes to have the handle absorb much of the vibration.