Fifth & Washington

That’s a mattock.

Yes, a mattock (some people would call it a pickaxe). Adzes are more curved, for pulling along the grain of the wood, and they’re sharp like an axe. Mattocks are blunter, like chisels, for breaking ground. It’s kind of a fuzzy distinction though.

One could say the distinction is rather sharp, as the forms are basically identical. Although a maddock usually also has a pick opposing the hoe-like adze side it can also have an axe head. In the south they are commonly called ‘grub hoes’. But, “nice grub hoe” or even “nice hoe” won’t make you chuckle.

My reaction was also “mattock”. I looked it up on Wikipedia (below). I particularly like this bit in relation to the original comment, “[the] broad-bladed end is effectively an adze”.

A mattock (Old English mattuc, Middle English mattok)[1] is a hand tool similar to a pickaxe. It is distinguished by the head, which makes it particularly suitable for digging or breaking up moderately hard ground. A mattock has a broad chisel-like blade perpendicular to the handle.[2] This broad-bladed end is effectively an adze that could be used as a hoe as well. The reverse may have a pointed end, in which case the tool is called a pick mattock, or instead have an axe-like splitting end, then it is a cutter mattock. A combination axe and mattock used for fighting forest fires is a pulaski. In some regions of the southern USA, the mattock is called a “grub hoe” or “grub axe”.

I’ve always known the tool for wood smoothing as an adz. I guess it’s morphed into adze. And yessssss, it is a mattock in the picture.