Garden Hand Tools

[Staff]

Garden Hand Tools
Garden Hand Tools

Garden hand tools...who doesn't have their favorite? Garden hand tools are the "grunt" workers of the garden and we love them. We invite you to have a look around...there's sure to be a garden hand tool that will make your gardening more enjoyable and less tiresome.

Crack and Crevice Weeders
Patio Crack Weeder by DeWit Garden Tools - Garden Tool Company
Crevice Weeder by Red Pig Garden Tools - Garden Tool Company

[havalotta]

Of all my tools I own, the four I use the most would be.... The hand trowel, a small blade shovel, a Bulb planter and then the hand hoe in that order.

If I were to purchase any more....the crack weeder and the mushroom knife-bristle brush combo looked enticing.
The brush was a nice addition to a mushroom collecting knife.

[EllenW]

I have been using my dandelion digger a lot for weeding. It really gets to the roots without disturbing plants you want to keep. I don't use it to dig dandelions though. I have very few of them and I like them.
I use my sickle a lot when everything is growing. I had never used one until I learned about them on this forum. Sickles are great.

[rockerBOO]

I don't own any power tools, so its all hand tools. These have handled all the situations so far. The right tool for the right job makes sense here as it does with plants.

These are my favorites right now.

Hori Knife, useful for cutting wisteria roots below the soil surface. Same for pokeweed and other tap root plants.

Sickle, Weeding mixed areas very efficiently. Since you hold the plant you cut it is almost perfect. Used this to weed my sedge bed of wisteria that would rip out the sedges.

Scythe, Different blades for different jobs. For storage, you remove the blade, so switching up blades is pretty easy. I have a "Ditch" blade which I have used to clear up to knotweed and blackberry thickets. So much easier than trying to cut back each stalk. Then you can come in after and clear the roots without all the canes.

[EllenW]

That's great that you use just hand tools rB. I have been using them more since learning about hand tools on this forum. What about large tree branches rB? I used a saw to cut a large tree branch the other day. It was a lot of work. My neighbor helps me with his chain saw sometime.

[rockerBOO]

Bowsaw or hand saw works to reduce them down. Haven't had to deal with anything over 8" diameter yet though. Get a good workout when cutting though. Usually just reduce to whatever I can move through dragging or otherwise.

Originally I was going to clear my lot and plant grass (duh ) and had a snow storm when I got the house that left most of the trees broken and oak branches all over. Maybe 20 hours to clear it all. Chainsaw would probably take a 4 hours. Probably doesn't help that there was a lot of black locust. Took about 20min to cut through 5" trees. Didn't realize what tree it was, that kept stabbing me.

Also with hand tools, they are usually designed a certain way to make the tool work for you instead of against you. Can wear oneself out really fast if not using it properly. And pacing is important, slow and steady. Prevents accidents and keeps one from getting muscle lag and hurting oneself.

[linrose]

Hey y'all, I need a suggestion for the best scythe on the market. We used to have an old one we found in an old barn but it broke. It worked great up until then. Now I'm up for a modern version of a scythe to remove some overgrowth on our paths.

On a side note, it pains me to think about all the great hand tools we garnered and then lost over the years, a two-person saw (which we used to cut up a whole cord of wood when we were young and lived in Maine) a b-e-a-utiful draw knife we came upon in an old house we lived in and which I used to shave bits of door down so they'd close on those roller-coaster floors we had in that old Civil War era house in New Hampshire (much to Jason's dismay). I suppose a plane would have been better but I loved that old draw knife. Sadly it too went by the way, I don't remember how we lost it, too many moves I'm afraid. I'm very proud that we used all those tools and didn't display them in our house like relics as was popular at the time in New England upscale homes and shown in mags like "Country Living" and the like. I suppose we were not wealthy enough to even entertain that idea but it was all for the best.

[rockerBOO]

I got mine from this place, very nice people. They have grass and other types, but the Austrian model is pretty nice.

Blades - Scythe Supply

[linrose]

They look great, there are so many blades, how do you choose? What about handles?

[linrose]

Oh, I just found the "Outfit" page. That should have everything we need, and now I know what a cubit is!!!