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.
[ ]
See also
*
Driptorch
A driptorch is a tool used in wildfire suppression, controlled burning, and other forestry applications to intentionally ignite fires by dripping flaming fuel onto the ground.
Description
The driptorch consists of a canister for holding fuel ...
*
Fire flapper (tool)
*
Flare
A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...
*
Halligan tool
*
Pulaski (tool)
The Pulaski is a special hand tool used in fighting fires, particularly wildfires,
which combines an axe and an adze in one head. Similar to a cutter mattock, it has a rigid handle of wood, plastic, or fiberglass. The Pulaski is used for constru ...
*
Fire rake
A fire rake is a wildland fire fighting tool. A fire rake has a wooden or fiberglass handle with a rake head consisting of four to six sharp, serrated, triangular steel blades. It is used to rake a fire break
A firebreak or double track (a ...
Notes
{{Firefighting
Wildfire suppression equipment
Forestry tools
American inventions