* Welcome back Yury Smirnov, of Ecominded.net, for Fokin hoe giveaway!!

Please join me in welcoming Yury Smirnov, of Ecominded.net for a very special giveaway of four Fokin ploskorez hoe blades!



The Fokin ploskorez hoe was invented in by Vladimir Fokin. It can be used as a hoe, spade, rake and even like a mini scythe, as it is sharpened on all planes of the blade. This tool is used and loved by Sepp Holzer! These are genuine ploskorez (flat-cutters) made by the Fokin family. They are crafted from forged, tempered steel which makes them very strong and hard to bend.



Read the review of the Fokin hoe here!

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At the end of this week, we'll make a drawing for 4 lucky winners to win a robust Fokin hoe blade! From now until Friday, April  9th, all new posts in the Gear forum are eligible to win.

To win, you must use a name that follows our naming policy and you must have your email set up to receive the Daily-ish email. Higher quality posts are weighed more highly than posts that just say, "Wow, that's really cool! I want to win!"

The winners will be notified by Personal Moosage and must respond within 24 hours. Only the winners who respond within that timeframe will receive their hoe. Watch for a PM, and a notice in this thread announcing the winners!


Posts in this thread won't count as an entry to win the tool, but please say "Hi!" to Yury and make him feel welcome!

Hi Yury! Looking forward to checking out the review; looks like a fantastic tool.

Hi Yuri! I'm still loving the two I bought from you last time there was a giveaway here!
Glad to see you doing it again, they are awesome tools  
:D

*waves hello*

How does that handle rocky clay soil? And crab grass! My aching back from pulling weeds ...

S Ydok wrote:*waves hello*
How does that handle rocky clay soil? And crab grass! My aching back from pulling weeds ...

It can handle any type of soil, just with rocky soil you have to sharpen it more often. The blade is sharp enough to easily cut crab grass or any other grass.

Welcome back Yury.

Good evening Yury.
Just like to say that your fokin hoe looks like it will make life so much more easy to work the soil in the garden bed when getting it ready for planting.
If given the chance i would love to win one in your give way so i can give it a try.
Andrew

Thank you for bringing this to us.  Thank you Ecominded for your generous contribution and a chance to win a unique tool that would be helpful in our homestead’s.
May God Bless y’all.

Howdy Yury!

Hello and welcome Vladimir Fokin. I am pretty new to all of this permaculture. I have not heard of your tool but it looks like something that would make my life much more easier as my arthritis is getting worse. Would love to try it out. Thank you so much and have a great day!

donna

Ya gotta luv the name when someone asks you what it is! LOL

Hello!

That's an interesting-looking tool. I have a few questions about the steel used to manufacture it: what is the material, presumably something with enough carbon to hold and edge but not enough to shatter if you hit a stone? Also, has it been treated to prevent corrosion in any way (such as an oil quench, blueing, etc) and, if not, is there something that could be done at home to help prolong the life of the tool?

Cheers

Luke Mitchell wrote:Hello!

That's an interesting-looking tool. I have a few questions about the steel used to manufacture it: what is the material, presumably something with enough carbon to hold and edge but not enough to shatter if you hit a stone? Also, has it been treated to prevent corrosion in any way (such as an oil quench, blueing, etc) and, if not, is there something that could be done at home to help prolong the life of the tool?

Cheers

Answering your questions, Luke:
They are made of structural spring steel (steel grade 65G), which has undergone special processing - annealing, hardening, tempering and sharpening. To prevent corrosion they are covered with a thick layer of black paint. It's enough to prevent corrosion for a few years at least, if you keep them in a dry place.

Hi Yury!

I’m seeing your hoe for the first time, and I look forward to learning more about it.

This looks like a great tool.  Is it more effective for fine/controlled work or for working large areas?

I want that! I appreciate well made tools. I'm also looking for another blade sharpener. I have one sturdy device that I use on soil knives, pruners, hoes. Not to put too fine a point on it, but I try to sharpen a shovel blade every time I go digging around.

Such a great name! Bonjour from the not so frozen North 👋

I Would love to win one! I recently purchased land in NE Alabama and the clay is something I've never had to deal with. I'm dealing with raw land that's never been worked.and have the trees ready to put in a small food forest. I'm disabled, so anything that will make life a little easier would be a great help!

What a great design. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Linda Randall wrote:This looks like a great tool.  Is it more effective for fine/controlled work or for working large areas?

It is effective both for fine/controlled work and for working large areas (about 500 square meters), depending on the type of flat-cutter in use - there are 4 types available, please watch the video:

This would be a much needed tool in our garden.

That tool looks incredible! This is my 1st time ever replying on here. I'd love to post a tool review. Where do I do that? Thank you!

That looks very interesting, and timely, since it's nearly time to work the soil in this corner of the world.

Welcome Yuri! Look forward to seeing you around in the forums.

Welcome back, Yury! We love picking your brain! 😁

How great that was to have what sounded like thunder in the background when the almighty was introduced! 😁

I generally love anything Sepp Holzer, so thanks for being here and welcome!  I love the simplicity and what looks to be an extremely durable and functional tool.  
Thanks for the video too.  It's helpful to see the comparison between blades.  I'm curious how long the shaft is that this is usually attached too, particularly if you usually use it with one or two hands.

Karter Brown wrote:  I'm curious how long the shaft is that this is usually attached too, particularly if you usually use it with one or two hands.

If you mean the handle attached to metal part, usual length of it - 140 cm, it's enough to work with both hands, and keeps your back straight.

I won one of theses hoes last contest. Its a great tool! I seriously recommend building the handle according to the directions on the website because my first try didn't work very good. Good luck to all I might try to win another myself

That thing looks amazing. I guess I have to think up something useful to post over in Gear. Likely though, I'll just go ahead and order the "all-mighty" version since I never win anything. So sad... hahaha.

Amazing tool! Seems like one of those that can be maintained and inherited in the family. I recently got into wood carving so my first instinct was if this tool would require sharpening.

A quick search on youtube lead to some results. Though, it was not this particular hoe. I'm wondering if the Russian approach with this hoe would require sharpening. It seems like if the hoe gets in contact with rocks over time, it may require some sharpening.

I have one of these it is brilliant! It does everything (almost).

Jay Ziad wrote: I'm wondering if the Russian approach with this hoe would require sharpening. It seems like if the hoe gets in contact with rocks over time, it may require some sharpening.

Yes, indeed, it requires regular sharpening. You get the best use of it only when it is well sharpened.

That sure looks like it can take care of business.  It's nice to see quality products still available to those who can appreciate them.  Welcome back.

Long time lurker.  I have been interested in this tool for a couple of years and wondered if it can have a long handle.  I saw your article on how to make your own handle, but it looked like it was only about 3 ft long.  

Roger Burns wrote:Long time lurker.  I have been interested in this tool for a couple of years and wondered if it can have a long handle.  I saw your article on how to make your own handle, but it looked like it was only about 3 ft long.  

The handle should be 130-140 cm long, which is about 4 ft. Here is the article with instructions how to make it: How to make a handle for ploskorez

Hi looks like a great tool!!

Who doesn't need a reliable tool?! (But, as a normally well-mannered lady gardener, there would be some satisfaction in saying, on occasion, " Nobody touch my Fokin hoe!")

I've been intrigued by the Fokin Hoe ever since I saw the review previously. Welcome back!