Information on Types of Clam Rakes

Standard clam rakes

• A regular clam rake is similar in appearance to a common metal garden rake, with a short handle but with longer and sharper tines. The longer tines make it easier to find the clams and pry them up from the tidal bottom. The teeth on a clam rake are spaced about an inch apart, in order to retain the clams but allow sand and debris to fall away. The tines on clam rakes curve upward to hold the clams, and are thick enough to allow the clammer to dig for soft-shell and razor clams, which often burrow a foot or more below the surface.

Basket rakes

• A basket rake is a type of clam rake that has been adapted for clamming in deep water. The handle is much longer than a standard clam rake, up to 35 feet long. Some type of basket or netting is affixed to the back of the rake to collect the clams that are scraped from the bottom. While older basket rakes have wooden handles, modern versions have extendable aluminum handles, which are lighter and more convenient.

Bull rakes

• Like the basket rake, a bull rake has an extra-long extendable handle, but it lacks the basket or netting attached to the back. Instead, its curved teeth hold the clams as it's pulled across the bottom. It looks very similar to a standard clam rake, but wider and with more teeth.

Quahog rakes

• Quahog rakes are tailored for gathering quahogs, or hard-shelled clams. Because quahogs lie just below the surface in shallow areas, a quahog rake is fairly short and narrow, about 4 1/2 feet long with six curved tines about 6 inches long.