The bolo knife is common in the countryside due to its use as a farming implement. As such, it was used extensively during Spanish colonial rule as a manual alternative to ploughing with a carabao. Normally used for cutting coconuts,[1] it was also a common harvesting tool for narrow row crops found on terraces such as rice, mungbeans, soybeans, and peanuts.[6] Because of its availability, the bolo became a common choice of improvised weaponry to the everyday peasant.[7]

It is used as a lever either to force apart two objects or to remove nails. Crowbars are commonly used to open nailed wooden crates, remove nails, or pry apart boards. Crowbars can be used as any of the three lever classes but the curved end is usually used as a first-class lever, and the flat end as a second class lever. In mining, crowbars are used to break blasted rocks and to remove loose rock on roof sides and the working face, but not as much in modern mining.

A spade is a tool primarily for digging or removing earth and spreading soil.[1] Early spades were made of riven wood. After the art of metalworking was discovered, spades were made with sharper tips of metal. Before the introduction of metal spades manual labor was less efficient at moving earth, with picks being required to break up the soil in addition to a spade for moving the dirt. With a metal tip, a spade can both break and move the earth in most situations, increasing efficiency.

A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural hand tool used to shape the soil, control weeds, clear soil, and harvest root crops. Hoes are also used to mix things like concrete, and to dig holes. Shaping the soil can be piling soil around the base of plants (hilling), creating narrow furrows (drills) and shallow trenches for planting seeds and bulbs. Weed control with a hoe can be by agitating the surface of the soil or by cutting foliage from the roots, and clearing soil of old roots and crop residues. Hoes for digging and moving soil are used harvesting root crops such as potatoes.