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

I've only used it for 2 holes but so far I like it. Turn in clockwise little by little you'll get there eventually! Not nearly as exhausting as the traditional slam and pinch models. You can go deeper by far with an extension. For 1/3 the price of the extension. I just got a 4' pipe (3/4") threaded pipe and a coupler and now I can go up to 8' deep! See pictures.

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

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.

The Seymour AU-S6 Auger is reasonably heavy-duty and was exactly what I wanted for digging fifteen, shallow exploratory well holes. The comments of other reviewers regarding the screw that Seymour supplies is correct. You'll want to supply your own screw and drill a pilot hole in the maple handle, if you want to use the screw. However, the wooden handle is heavily lacquered and a bit oversize, so I was able to attach it snuggly without the screw simply by banging it on with a large hammer. It works fine without the screw. As for digging, forget about digging thru roots over 1/4" or gravel over 1" or very wet soil. Otherwise, it's great and fast, although you'd better get a beefy assistant if you want to dig holes more than 20 feet deep. My biggest headache (besides the roots and gravel) was that the pipe thread that attaches the auger head to the metal handle rod is not standard. We only have NPT (normal pipe thread) pipes and fittings in my town, so I had to cut the handle rod in half and thread each end with NPT in order to add extensions. Not a super big deal if your local hardware store is able to do this for you.

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).

My hard-packed clay in Northern Illinois must be a little harder than the clay of some other reviewers, because it took me longer to dig, but this is a sturdy product and was easier than my former method of using a clamshell-type digger. I bought a Maxccino auger bit (currently $8.98 on Amazon) and coupled it up to a heavy duty electric drill to drill a 2-inch pilot hole in the center of the bore and that speeded up the process considerably.Other reviewers have mentioned the inadequacy of the screw that goes into the handle. I just omitted the screw. The handle fits very tightly into the tool, and I knocked it out with a mallet when I was done using it, which makes it a lot easier to store.

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!