What type of specialty tools do you recommend for digging in that hard dirt and do you have any pics of these types of tools? Thanks in advance Jayradd;)

I'm very interested in what you have to offer on specialized tools for really hard concrete type situations myself there H. I personally thought it was simply just patience,
p e r s e verance, and penetrating oil.
I learned that saying in the oilfield back in the early 80's. but there is more to that saying I did'nt think had anything to do with this situation.
the rest of the saying goes, and sometimes duck tape and bailing wire.
thanks, Roy, you are still thought of and missed by me!!!

The back end of my ww2 pick when sharpend is tough to beat but it gets dull pretty quick in the hard stuff!

Hard soil is a subject we all face from time to time and maybe others will chime in if they have a 'system'

Better than any swing pick or wiggle pick is that 'terra talon' you have seen in some of my dig pics. Easy to fabricate for a test. Medium sized flat blade screw driver bent into a hook..( general shape and angle VERY IMPORTANT. ) to a flat point.

Thats just a 'test' if it does you any good you have to do it right. Harbor Freight sells inexpensive PRY BARS in 3 sizes. MUST be heated to bend.
Anyone else reading this has a word on it ?

That crow bar foot pick I use, when freshly sharpened down is outstanding. Especially if breaking
dirt thats only a few feet deep..Standing on top you can get the full weight of your body on it. For me, thats my tool of choice, I dont even use my other wiggle picks anymore.
To look back on various tools ( Gilberts hand crafted inventions tools are impressive )..Type in 'TOOLS" or related words like 'DIG TOOLS' in the search block above.

Here's a clue that is highly effective no matter the soil or what type tools you use...
Grunch out an up and down mini trench, even just 4 to 5 inches wide to as deep as you can, like 6 inches...
Then in true 'wiggle pick' fashion, wiggle and lever out each side of the trench. Soil & rock have a better place to move to rather than popping out one
morsel at a time.

For those veterans that lived through the digfest 'trench' of 09 know a different type of 'hard dirt'
it was Terrible, like thick gumbo.

All visitors to C3 can view what I consider the absolute WORST soil with artifacts in it...that is
the reddish colored material under the Paleo shelf.
Look close, it's trillions of limestone platelets
morticed together with a crushed limestone.
I leave that for Rogers & Light

The only time I have a soil consideration is if it's MUDDY

If this topic lingers, how about a pic looking into the wall you are dealing with.

Lets see how this info flies and if there are other comments.

Even at CCC, I've found this Home Depot tool to be pretty handy, tough and light enough to work with all day...

Now THIS is what I am calling the worst compacted soil..
From under the Paleo shelter at C3



And to make matters worse, digging for Paleo points usually means far less artifacts for the amount of
dirt volume moved