A digging bar is a long, straight metal bar used for various purposes, including as a post hole digger, to break up or loosen hard or compacted materials such as soil, rock, concrete and ice or as a lever to move objects. Known by other names depending on locale, structural features and intended purpose such as a hop bar or crowbar in Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and slate bar, shale bar, spud bar, pinch point bar or San Angelo bar in North America, or just a bar. In Hawaii, a similar, traditional wooden device known as an ‘o‘o stick is used as a digging bar in groundbreaking ceremonies. Not to be confused with a curved crowbar, which is designed to provide leverage rather than to dig. Uses Common uses of digging bars include breaking up clay, concrete, frozen ground, and other hard materials, moving or breaking up tree roots and obstacles, and making holes in the ground for fence posts. They are often used where space would not allow the use of a pickaxe. Materials and construction The ends of a digging bar are shaped for various purposes. Typically, each end has a different shape so as to provide two different tool functions in one tool. Common end shapes include: Blunt — a broad, blunt surface for tamping. Point — for breaking hard materials and prying. Wedge — an unsharpened blade for digging, breaking and prying. A San Angelo bar has a wedge at one end. Chisel — a sharpened blade for cutting roots, digging and prying. A pinch point bar has a chisel at one end. Bars are typically long and weigh . They are usually made entirely of cylindrical or hexagonal forged steel with a diameter of approximately . Chisel and wedge ends typically have a blade width measuring . Blunt ends typically have a diameter of . Variants Bark spud Log-peeling spuds are used to remove the bark from logs. These spuds typically have a wooden or steel handle of length to over . This tool is also called a Bark spud or a barking iron. Hop bar A hop bar (also Hop pitcher) is used to make holes in the ground for hop poles, or more long with a heavy, bulbous spike at the digging end. Ice spud Fishing through holes in ice is common in many parts of the world. One of the earliest