Maneuverable and you do not need a lot of force to operate it. Some customers complained that the shaft is not octagonal, as advertised. The locking system transmits handle force to the blade very efficiently. •Buy the Burgon & Ball Ladies’ Groundbreaker Spade from Amazon. View. •Buy the Wolf Garten Comfort Grass Shear from Tooled Up. This keenly-priced model measures 12 inches in total and is equipped with a seven-inch blade replete with etched measurements for planting seedlings and cuttings. These cool new bypass pruners from Fiskars incorporate a unique lever mechanism that reduces cutting effort quite dramatically, making them suitable for smaller hands and arthritis sufferers. However, they don’t breathe that well so perhaps consider them for autumnal work and grab yourself a pair of the fancy Burgon & Balls below for the hotter summer months. For most grasses and weeds, simply draw the hooked blade backwards between the paving stones, or jab the hook end in and swivel the hardwood handle forwards to get rid of the most obstreperous weeds and grass roots. $12.52 $ 12. Well, they’re all hand made for a start, and that includes hand forging all of its high-quality stainless steel garden products on site in Bovenkarspel. It comes with a factory-fitted 13-inch impulse-hardened blade containing 6.5 teeth per inch. Although not as comfortable in the hand as the excellent Gardena ErgoLine model reviewed above, this is a more suitable tool for intensive gardening in unyielding terrain. Four angles of teeth on the blade provides a clean cut. Grass edgers usually come in two varieties: smooth edge and serrated edge. This means that you can do more cutting with this pole saw with less force. The non-stick 15-inch can be used to work in tight areas and on trees that produce a sticky sap. During the course of the year we’ll be adding new products to this ever-expanding list of our favourite garden management tools, from secateurs, loppers, snippers and branch saws to spades, trowels, rakes, edgers, weeders and a variety of excellent hand tools. Indeed, you can attach a variety of accessories to a pole saw and totally change its function. Part of Spear & Jackson’s Neverbend range of robust garden tools, this one has a solid forged carbon steel head and socket with rivets for extra strength and a hammer-finished, epoxy coated head for added rust resistance. We recommend this model for those who have the task of trimming small trees and bushes, and cutting small branches of no more than five inches in diameter. High branches are within reach with the Power-Lever extendable pole Saw and pruner, which includes two different cutting options and extends up to 14-ft. This particular hand fork is light in the hand and comes equipped with three flat stainless steel tines for both digging and shifting clumps of earth. However, it can be fitted with other attachments (purchased separately) that would make it even more versatile. Aside from chopping branches and trunks too thick for secateurs or loppers to handle, having an axe to hand is great for cutting logs into smaller pieces for the fire pit or the indoor fire. This long-reach branch lopper is a godsend. Very efficient at fine work. What Are The Best Manual Pole Saws and Pruners to Buy? They come in three neutral colours and are also available in women and children styles. The blade itself is concave shaped to shift soil in small measures and features a smooth edge on one side and a sharp serrated edge on the other. If you’re looking for a lopper with pair of blades sharp enough to shave with, look no further than this serious piece of gardening kit. Gilmour 20-18 16-Inch Curved Blade Commercial Grade Pole Saw, #4. •Buy Burgon & Ball Dig The Glove direct from Burgon & Ball. The bigger the reach, the more easily you will be able to access branches high up on the tree. Corona isn’t a brand you hear a lot about in the UK but on evidence of the high-quality hand tools we’ve looked at thus far, it’s clearly a brand that cuts the mustard. These Germanic grass scissors are a boon for trimming the edges of a small suburban lawn without having to reach for the electric strimmer. The unit is factory fitted with a Silky 4-RETSUME sickle blade that is mostly useful for vine pruning or fine trimming due to its four rows of blades. I wanted to work with my hands, to build things. If you’re a truly discerning horticulturist who insists on using only the sharpest and best quality garden tools in the shed, then make these secateurs one of your very first ports of call. At £9.99, they’re cheap, too. There are some manual garden tools you just can’t live without, like this varied tranche of horticultural essentials. What you need my friend is a decent pair of soil and general gardening gloves like this manly heavy-duty pair from Cobra. Originating in Japan, the Hori Hori is a surprisingly versatile garden knife that’s capable of removing weeds with the roots intact, making trenches for sowing seeds, digging holes for new bedding plants, clearing hard-packed soil from around exposed roots for easier cutting and scooping small amounts of earth. This is a plus, as ropes can get tangled up in branches and leaves when you are in the middle of trying to reach a high and hard position. Yes, it’s a scoop, a simple hand scoop. Can be maneuvered easily. A leather hanging cord completes the package. If you have some heavy duty hoeing to do, consider this German-made, industrial-strength, two-way Dutch-style model which forms part of Wolf Garten’s Multi-Change tool range. If you have weak hand muscles or suffer from arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome, these may just be the pruners to get you back into the flower bed. Additionally, the blade is coated with a low-friction paint, making it easier to glide amongst branches and leaves, especially on trees that produce a sticky sap. It is expensive compared to some other options. Quite impressive! Before you know it, the offending branch is cut clean through. That sharp pointed tip is absolutely perfect for excavating hard-packed earth with minimum effort while its wide Y-shaped FSC-certified hardwood handle ensures a good level of comfort in the rough. They’re also really useful for getting a good grip on heavy items you need to carry, like washing machines, fridges, pianos, safes, anvils, uranium, etc. It is a two-part pole that can quickly and easily be retracted using a click-and-lock mechanism. We tried them on the apple tree and the blades cut through even some of the thicker branches like proverbial butter.