To me, "stales" are the handles of almost any long-handled garden tool - especially rakes and hoes. Also for the handles of long brooms that you use to sweep the yard.
So when someone asks you, "what's your handle ....."

BTW, I have joined the current craze for googling my soubriquet - it came up with no less than 113 entries, which totally gob-smacked me. They had to do either with Norton Commandos called "Rhubarb" or with the code names used by the airforce for operations in WWII. Whaddye know?