A Woodsrunner's Diary
Tools for shelter construction and food production were/are important if you are moving into the wilderness to settle. The more people there are, or the more stock animals there are the more weight you can carry. But let us assume to start off with that your family/group is travelling on foot with only chooks for stock. Let us take a look at the tools that are available, tools that you may need.
Some of these tools you may decide to carry complete with handles so they can double as weapons upon the trail. Others you may wish to remove the handles and just carry the tool heads in your pack. The handles can be made later.
The pruning saw has changed little since the 18th century, except to give this slight curve to the blade. These small saws cut very well.
I made this auger and gimlet from two old bits with no handles. These were used for shelter construction and the making of other wooden items.
A pick is a very useful tool for digging or just breaking up the soil.
A hoe is useful for digging rows and weeding.
The mattock is another excellent digging tool. If you can't dig a hole for a post, then you can dig a trench instead.
A sickle is used for cropping and for collecting reeds for thatch roofing. This tool is light and very useful. The handle on this one is a corn cob.
A larger auger for larger construction work where you need to join timbers with wooden pegs. The wooden handle is easily made in the bush.
This half-axe is much easier to carry than a full size felling axe and I have often carried it tied to my blanket roll.
Two larger tools are the adze and the felling axe. Useful tools if you have the people to carry them.
You can manage without a shovel, you can even fashion one out of wood. But if you can put a short handle on a small shovel head it would come in useful for digging post holes. You could even carry just the head and put a long handle on it when you get to where you are going.
If you only have a large shovel head, you can cut it down with a cold chisel.