Outdoor tools: names, pictures and what each one is used for

Working where nothing can be replaced

The difference between an outdoor tool and a workshop tool is not the job, it is the consequence of failure. In a workshop, a broken tool means walking to a drawer. On a hillside or at the far end of a field, it means the job stops and you walk back.

That changes the priorities. Simple beats clever, repairable beats sealed, and a tool that works wet beats one that works better dry. It also means carrying the means to fix the tool: a file, a spare blade, some cord.

The second consequence is that nobody is nearby. Working alone with an axe or a chainsaw is a genuinely different risk from the same task in a garden, and it is worth being honest about which one you are doing.

Simple and repairable in the field

A tool you can sharpen or re handle beats one that fails sealed. Carry a file and a spare blade.

It will be wet and it will stay wet

Assume rain, mud and being left out. Anything that rusts or shorts is the wrong choice for outdoors.

Weight is a real constraint

Everything has to be carried both ways. The best tool you left behind because of weight is no tool at all.

Tell somebody where you are

The most important precaution, and it costs nothing. Especially for anything involving a blade or height.

Carry the means to stop bleeding

Axes, saws and brambles. Help is further away than it feels, so the first aid kit matters more here.

Bright colours or tape on everything

A dropped tool in long grass or leaf litter is genuinely gone. Coloured tape costs nothing.

Cutting outdoors, and knowing your limit

Almost all serious outdoor injuries involve a cutting tool, and the pattern is consistent: a tool too big for the task, or a task too big for the person.

The honest hierarchy is that pruning saws and loppers handle most of what people actually need, a bow saw handles logs, an axe handles splitting, and a chainsaw handles felling. A chainsaw is a professional tool with a professional injury profile, and felling anything larger than a small tree, or anything near a building or a road, is work for somebody trained and insured.

The other consistent rule is that a sharp tool is a safer tool. Blunt blades need force, force means less control, and less control is how injuries happen.

Sharp is safer than blunt

A blunt blade needs force, and force removes control. Sharpening is a safety measure rather than a nicety.

Match the tool to the diameter

Secateurs to a finger, loppers to a wrist, saw above that. Forcing loppers bends them and slips.

Chainsaws need training and full protection

Helmet, visor, ear defenders, gloves and cut resistant trousers. This is not a tool to learn on your own.

Felling near anything is professional work

Near a building, a road, a power line or a boundary. A tree does not always fall where the notch suggests.

Know where the blade goes if it slips

Cut away from your body and never over a knee or a supporting hand. Most axe injuries are to the leg.

Never cut above shoulder height

You cannot control the tool or see the cut, and anything falling comes towards your face.

Rust, cold and being unable to see

Outdoor tools fail from neglect rather than use. Water sits in a socket joint overnight and the handle loosens, a blade left damp rusts and then will not take an edge, and a battery left in a cold shed holds a fraction of its charge.

The habits are small. Wipe steel dry and oil it before it goes away, keep wooden handles fed with linseed so they do not shrink and loosen, bring batteries indoors, and drain anything that holds water before a frost.

The other thing that goes wrong outdoors is light. Work finishes later than planned, and a head torch is the difference between finishing safely and finishing badly.

Dry and oil steel before storing

One night of dew starts the rust that eventually ruins an edge. A rag with oil on it takes seconds.

Feed wooden handles

Linseed oil stops them drying, shrinking and working loose in the socket, which is how handles fail.

Bring batteries indoors

Lithium cells lose a lot of capacity in the cold, and charging a frozen battery damages it.

Drain anything that holds water

Hoses, sprayers, pumps and outside taps. Water freezes, expands and splits whatever it is in.

Never store on bare earth or concrete

Both wick moisture upwards, so anything standing on them gets damp from underneath.

Always carry a head torch

Outdoor jobs overrun. Light with both hands free is what lets you finish safely rather than quickly.

What to buy first, in order

Stage one: the ones that always come

A folding pruning saw, secateurs, loppers, a strong knife, work gloves, a head torch, cord and a first aid kit.

Stage two: clearing and digging

A spade, a fork, a bow saw, a felling axe or splitting maul, a mattock, a billhook and a wheelbarrow.

Stage three: fencing and repair

A post hole digger, a post rammer, fencing pliers, a wire strainer, a sledgehammer and a spirit level.

Stage four: seasonal and powered

A chainsaw with full protective kit, a strimmer, a snow shovel, a pump and a generator if you work off grid.

Mistakes that matter more outdoors

Working alone with a blade and no phone signal

The injury is the same as at home and the response time is not. Tell somebody, and carry a dressing.

Using a chainsaw without training or protection

Cut resistant trousers, helmet, visor and ear defenders. A chainsaw injury is severe by default.

Felling a tree near anything

Buildings, roads, lines and boundaries. Trees do not always fall where the notch suggests they will.

Forcing a blunt tool

Force removes control, and lost control outdoors means a serious cut a long way from help.

Leaving tools out overnight

One night of dew begins rust that eventually costs the edge. A wipe and a dry shed is the whole fix.

No means of making light

Every outdoor job overruns. Finishing in the dark without a torch is how the last mistake gets made.

Ignoring the ground and the weather

Wet slopes, soft ground and wind all change what is safe. Wind especially, for anything being felled.

Cutting into ground without checking

Buried cables and pipes run through fields and gardens, and they are shallower than people expect.

Looking after outdoor tools

Clean the soil off before putting away

Soil holds moisture against steel, which is where rust starts. A scrape and a brush is enough.

Sharpen little and often

A file on an axe or a spade edge before it is blunt is minutes. After it is blunt it is a long job.

Check handles and wedges

A loose axe head is dangerous rather than inconvenient. Feel for movement every time before you swing it.

Fit blade guards and sheaths

For the edge and for whoever reaches into the bag. Every cutting tool should have a cover.

Service petrol tools before storing

Fuel goes stale and gums a carburettor. Drain it or run it dry before a season out of use.

Hang tools rather than standing them on edges

Standing on a blade blunts it and standing in a damp corner rusts it. Hooks solve both at once.

Frequently asked questions

What outdoor tools do I need?

A folding pruning saw, secateurs, loppers, a strong fixed blade knife, work gloves, a head torch, cord and a first aid kit. Add a spade, a fork, a bow saw and an axe once you are clearing ground rather than maintaining it.

What is the difference between outdoor tools and garden tools?

Garden tools are for cultivating a garden: planting, pruning, lawns and beds. Outdoor tools are for working away from a bench and away from power, which brings in felling, fencing, water, snow and camp work. There is overlap in the cutting tools.

Do I need a chainsaw or will a bow saw do?

For logs and branches a bow saw or a pruning saw handles more than people expect, and safely. A chainsaw is for felling and volume, and it needs training and full protective kit, because its injury profile is severe by default.

What protective equipment does a chainsaw need?

A helmet with a mesh visor and ear defenders, cut resistant trousers or chaps, gloves and steel toe boots. This is the minimum rather than the thorough version, and it is not a tool to learn to use unsupervised.

What is the difference between an axe and a splitting maul?

A felling axe has a thin blade that cuts across the grain to fell and limb. A splitting maul has a heavy wedge shaped head that splits along the grain. Using a felling axe to split gets it stuck, and a maul cuts poorly.

What is a billhook used for?

A curved heavy blade for clearing brambles, cutting scrub and laying hedges. It hooks the growth and cuts it in one movement, which is far faster than a saw on anything springy and tangled.

How do I stop outdoor tools rusting?

Clean the soil off before storing, since soil holds moisture against steel, then wipe metal with an oily rag. Treat wooden handles with linseed oil, and never store tools standing on bare earth or a concrete floor.

Why should I sharpen a spade?

Because a spade is a cutting tool. A file along the leading edge takes a few minutes and makes cutting through turf and roots dramatically easier, which also means less force and better control.

What should I do about batteries in cold weather?

Bring them indoors. Lithium cells lose a significant part of their capacity in the cold, and charging a frozen battery damages it permanently. Store them at a moderate charge rather than full or empty.

Do I need to worry about buried services in a field or garden?

Yes. Water, electricity, gas and telecoms all run through gardens and fields, and they are frequently shallower than expected. A cable detector before digging or driving a post is cheap insurance.

What is the most useful outdoor tool people forget?

A head torch, and after that a length of cord. Every outdoor job overruns into dusk, and cord solves an extraordinary number of problems from tying a load to making a temporary handle.

How should I store petrol tools over winter?

Either drain the fuel or run the tool dry, because petrol goes stale in a few months and gums up a carburettor. Clean it, sharpen it, and store it dry and off the floor rather than in the corner of a damp shed.