Garden Tools - Recommendations?

Hi. I wanted to start a thread about gardening tools for people asking and giving recommendations.

I need new shears because the ones I had were cheap and broke. I'd rather spend more on a quality item than less on cheap garbage, but sometimes more is not more. It's difficult to trust online sources and reviews. Local shops are limited. I'd like input from like-minded people.

How do you shop for your gardening tools? What do you look for? Do you have a go-to brand or store?

I'm looking for shears, a small scythe, and good work gloves for small hands, child sizes also. Toddlers like gardening too.

I could make a list here and update it.

-Tiny disclaimer- Thar be shears in this here giveaway...

Hi Bihai, here's a review grid populated with input from people here on Permies:  Gear Review Grid

What do you mean by "-Tiny disclaimer- Thar be shears in this here giveaway..."

Mike Haasl wrote:Hi Bihai, here's a review grid populated with input from people here on Permies:  Gear Review Grid

What do you mean by "-Tiny disclaimer- Thar be shears in this here giveaway..."

Thank you Mike. I had no idea that this gear review grid existed. Great resource! I'll definitely take some time to go through that.

The -Tiny disclaimer- part was a joke on the tiny ads, but I don't know how to make links and I got busy so I just posted it as it was without a link to the current giveaway that has shears and other goodies. Might have made more sense I guess.

Ahh, no problem.  I wondered if you were doing a shear giveaway or something

What do you mean by a “small” scythe? Just curious...
I have pretty much given up on buying quality gloves. The price seems to have very little to do with how fast I lose them. Know thyself... I tend to go with the mechanics brand 3 for $10, and am pleased if I wear a hole in them before I lose them! I do try to buy quality on other things, but I find that most of the pricier gloves are leather and not really washable, so they get stiff and gross even if they haven’t worn out. Fit is more important for me.

I've been very pleased with the Fiskar's brand for pruners, loppers, and ax.  I have their standard Pruner, and their Power-lever 21.25" loppers, I believe it is.

Many a large fig tree has been propagated via big hardwood-cuttings with my loppers.  It's also great for cleaning up firewood limbs without breaking out the saw.  Lifetime warranty is common on many products. The pruners are nice and sturdy feeling, too.

I mostly shop at LOWES because of how nicely they treat veterans.  I'd never seen a "reserved for miltary veterans" parking spot, before and it actually had me feeling somewhat emotional when I had first gotten out of the service.  Tearing up in a hardware store parking lot... there's a first for you.  I can keep my man card, right? 🙃

The hori hori is by far my favorite and most used garden tool. It's efficient and can be used for so many different things. Mine is just a cheap knock-off but I love it and couldn't do without it!

I'm glad you started this topic.  Clippers are in my pocket wherever I go.  I had to shop for another set this year and bought a Fiskars, and was not particularly pleased with the lock action.  It sticks.

My favorite pair has a spring action and a flip hook lock.  But it has no identifier on it.  Googling today, I think I found it:



Corona BP 3180D Forged Classic Bypass Pruner with 1 Inch Cutting Capacity

One thing I have learned is to never buy any tools from Harbor Freight. You get what you pay for in tools. I have a small urban garden. My favorite tool is a Korean  tool that I bought from Johnny's: Ho-Mi EZ Digger. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/hand-tools/ho-mi-ez-digger-9841.html?cgid=hand-tools#start=1

On Pruning Shears:  Okatsune!!  And this video explains why:
 With my Okatsune pruning shears, I can manually prune a hedge with great precision, and fast! I love Mike McGroarty, though we disagree on the use of toxic pesticides, I have learned a lot from his videos and posts over the years.

Lina Joana wrote:What do you mean by a “small” scythe? Just curious...
I have pretty much given up on buying quality gloves. The price seems to have very little to do with how fast I lose them. Know thyself...

I meant a hand scythe. Something good for cutting a lot of weedy vines (periwinkles) and occasionally other things.

It sounds like the way you are with gloves is like I am with sunglasses. I can't bring myself to spend good money on them or get attached because they disappear.
I've been lucky to hold on to the same pair of gloves for over ten years. They're orange so that helps a lot. I've also used them irregularly, but I love them because they're small enough for me and they have a Velcro latch for my wrists which helps keep dirt out. But they're full of holes now. Time for new ones.

Ruth Meyers wrote:My favorite pair has a spring action and a flip hook lock.  But it has no identifier on it.  Googling today, I think I found it:
Corona BP 3180D Forged Classic Bypass Pruner with 1 Inch Cutting Capacity

Thank you for this. I like that the top blade is able to be sharpened, and the bottom piece can be replaced. Do you like the lock on it?

Bihai,

If I were to think of only one garden tool, it would be my grub hoe.  It is 6 inches wide, about 8 inches long, solid, heavy and razor sharp.  It is no cheap stamped steel hoe.  You can use it to dig, weed or till earth all day long.

Eric

Bihai Il wrote:
Corona BP 3180D Forged Classic Bypass Pruner with 1 Inch Cutting Capacity

Do you like the lock on it?

Yes!  The simpler the better.  It's the slide locks that always fail for me.

Carol Denton wrote:The hori hori is by far my favorite and most used garden tool. It's efficient and can be used for so many different things. Mine is just a cheap knock-off but I love it and couldn't do without it!

I'm starting to consider one of these now. I like the idea of having a multitasker like that to carry around instead of a few tools I have to worry about leaving around. Thanks for recommending this.

Thank you for participating in our Tool Giveaway!    Here's a coupon:

Now through Xmas 2019!  Use Code TGB2G12019 to Buy Any 2 Truly Garden or Loma Creek Products and Get 1 Free!

Coupon Valid both at Amazon or on our Truly Garden Website!

Thank you, Dre Oeschger. Three hori hori's for $60 would be a nice deal for the Giftadays.

Bihai Il wrote:Thank you, Dre Oeschger. Three hori hori's for $60 would be a nice deal for the Giftadays.

You are most welcome

One of my very favorite tools, is the CobraHead.  I have the short and the long versions, and they make easy work of many tasks in the garden!

My favorite gardening handtool is the Nejiri Gama from Japan. It's absolutely fantastic for small weeding and hoeing jobs, it can get into all kinds of tight angles and helps me weed very smartly so I get the plants I want to remove instead of the ones I want to keep. It comes in left and right-handed versions. It's totally changed my attitude toward weeding. It's fun now instead of a chore.

Love the Russian flat-cutter concept.    My other favorites would be Hori-Hori, the Japanese serrated sickle and the Korean hand hoe.
I tried to post pictures but am not that savvy.

Thank you all for the recommendations. I'm glad to see these since I have not settled on something to fill the cutting, weeding, chop n drop need yet.

I've found a new tool to love. This spoon! Not just any spoon. This one. Its handle is a great complimentary tool of its own, unlike the other brutes in the drawer. It's great for manipulating tiny seedlings, digging small holes, placing small plants.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yHucdBxGqXxdC4xX8

I also use kitchenware, but mostly in container garden.

Some commercial greenhouses will bulk-buy the trowels used for concrete work and use them as gardening tools. Tough, flexible, sharpen-able, and ridiculously inexpensive in comparison.

Hello, does anyone have recommendations for a good trowel?  Thank you!