A McLeod tool (or rakehoe) is a two-sided blade — one a rake with coarse tines, one a flat sharpened hoe — on a long, wooden handle. It is a standard tool during

wildfire suppression Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wild land areas require different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated ...

and trail restoration. The combination tool was created in 1905 by Malcolm McLeod, a United States Forest Service ranger at the

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is kno ...

. The McLeod was originally designed to rake fire lines with the teeth and cut branches and sod with the sharpened hoe edge. It is also used for finishing and maintaining hiking trails.

Common issues

Because of its large and sharp head, the McLeod is an awkward tool to transport and store, and is often considered undesirable. Some McLeod tools are made with a removable blade to partially mitigate this problem. Ideally, it is carried with the tines pointing toward the ground for safety, with a sheath over the cutting edge. The mass distribution makes it difficult to carry in this orientation consistently.

Notes

{{Firefighting Wildfire suppression equipment Forestry tools American inventions

Common issues

See also

Notes