Seymour S500 Industrial IWAN Auger, 6" Diameter with Hardwood Handle

The iwan-style auger is best used in established gardens, a deep hole is needed, non-rocky soil, and when you just aren't sure what might be below the surface (pipes, irrigation, sewer lines).I considered using my standard manual post-hole digger or even buying a gas-powered auger to dig 2-3 foot deep holes for 4x4 posts for garden trelli (or is it trellises) and low fence posts.With a powered auger, the problem is that with a garden of established plants, lifting the auger to clear the soil would result in soil being thrown about everywhere on the plants and the possibility of going right through any pipes under the surface. (Even with utilities located, old irrigation lines and sewer lines might be an unwanted surprise.)With a normal post-hole digger where you separate to lift the soil out, you can only dig deep with a 6-8' opening before the hole is too narrow to effectively lift soil out. Plus, it's a definite strain on your body when there are lots of post holes to dig out.This iwan-style auger is perfect for the job (as long as the situation meets the parameters in the first line of the review). Much less strain to turn the auger to dig. Lift the auger out and the soil comes with it. The hardest part of the work for me was tamping tool to get to wet clay out of the auger. There were a couple of instances where I knew were the irrigation and sewer lines were and got a little close. There is enough resistance for me that when you hit rocks, roots, or lines, I stop to take a look.I bought the 6" auger and that was sufficient for the 4x4" posts I was setting in clay with quick-set concrete for garden trellis plants and the 3' high fences. Some folks recommend at least a 8" diameter hole (or more) - of which a 8" version of this auger or even a variable diameter style is available. I didn't have a need for that much more concrete for stability.The only negative that I have is cost. Pre-pandemic (before the skyrocketing cost of goods and materials - specifically steel here), these were setting new for $50-60 everywhere. Now it's nearly impossible to find at the big box stores. When you do find them, these augers are $100+. I happen to find a "lower priced" one through an Ace Hardware out of Montana that sells on Amazon and ships nationally. Pricey, but a tool worth getting.

This worked better than I expected!Let me lead off by saying that I used this tool along with a post hole digger. it made digging 15 post holes, 3 feet deep a lot easier. Neither the Auger nor the post hole digger were the perfect solution for getting the job done, however, together, they really made a difference. I was digging in kind of sandy soil, with some roots and some rocks. Roots and rocks are a recipe for disaster regardless of the tool. Here is what I did. I started my holes with the post hole digger, this helped get the hole started in the right place. if you go straight to the auger, it will walk all over until it starts to cut soil. for me, the top layer of soil had the roots etc, once I made a few inches of progress, I switched to the auger, I was able to dig down 8" at a time quite quickly if there were no roots or rocks, and getting to a 3 foot depth was much easier with the auger. When I did encounter issues, I switched back to the post hole digger until it cleared the area. Had I just used the post hole digger I would have been exhausted in no time. The auger could cut small roots as well.I do not want to give anyone false hope that this is a silver bullet and you will fly through post holes likes you had a power auger, but, I can say that you will get better results much faster and with less effort using this tool. This tool will also work great if you do a lot of planting in the garden or the landscape and makes a nice clean hole.

I normally would not give 5 stars for any product, but this auger works great! I will be digging a hole for the base of my ham radio vertical antenna, but I won't do that until I get to my new residence. I have to go down 4 feet to anchor the 1" diameter pipe for which my antenna will me mounted to at ground level. I have enough room in the hole to pour cement to secure the mounting pipe.I ordered this auger from Amazon a couple of weeks ago and received it in 2 days later. I used it just today to drill a practice hole to test the ease of use of this tool. I went down 3 and a half feet with it with hardly any effort. (The only hangup is that I will need to go 4 feet down with it, but it only goes down 3 and a half feet...that ok because I have a "ditch digging tool to go the extra half foot)....I am a 70 year old with a bad back and other health issues resulting from war. The practice hole I made with this auger was just perfect and so easy to make. I would give this auger 10 stars if I was allowed for the ease of use and the job it does, especially for an old guy like me. We will be using it for other projects also. It is very durable and long handles to make it easy. You don't have to put hardly any pressure down on the auger to dig. Just aim and twist with ease! It is worth every penny of the $70 price tag for it!

I used this to dig holes for planting fruit trees. Does the job well. The item will last for generations. The only issue I had was with the wooden handle comes off because the screw that came with it became loose & fell off. It would have been nicer if instead of the wooden handle it was a welded metal rod. And I would have been willing to pay $5 more for it. But is a good product.

My husband loves this tool. Made digging the post holes much easier. He was extremely happy with it!

After using this regularly for 4 years now, I don't think I will ever want to use one of normal post hole diggers. The single complaint I have is that the wooden handle likes to work itself out over time (nothing a good smack won't fix though).