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Gardeners who chance themselves spend an unreasonable amount of metre chase after down the right dick for a variety of jobs might appreciate a hori hori knife . extremely regarded for its power to take on a diversity of cutting , digging , and weeding tasks , this traditional Japanese garden shaft tender much in the way of versatility . With any tool purchase , quality should be the first point of order , and it can be unmanageable to bring out a stone among the dust , especially when shopping online for an unfamiliar tool .
I late spent a calendar week in my gardentesting 10 hori hori knivesthat are among the most popular brands today . This mental test group include everything from inexpensive budget models to beautiful , high - oddment cock worthy of natural endowment gift . When the steel strike the grime , my top choice was the Truly Garden hori hori tongue . In this review , I ’ll draft my experience using this instrument and share why I think it is one of the in effect hori hori knife for practical gardening .
Photo: Debbie Wolfe for Bob Vila
Truly Garden Hori Hori Knife: At a Glance
Rating:9.3/10
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Photo: Debbie Wolfe for Bob Vila
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What is the Truly Garden hori hori knife?
Hori hori tongue originated in Japan as a honest comprehend tool for foraging and harvesting root vegetables . The Truly Garden hori hori tongue is a traditionally design tool that follows the Greco-Roman Nipponese vogue , with a hardwood handgrip and a slimly concave 7 - in - long by 1.625 - inch - wide blade culminating in a pointed tip . The dick measures 12.25 inch long overall and weighs just over 10 ounces . It make out equipped with a heavy - tariff leather sheath and a baseball field point pole .
Full - sea tangle building of 0.125 - inch - thick stainless steel give this tool the intensity level to resist deflexion while travail and nosiness in heavy soil . The doubly - edged leaf blade feature smooth and serrate boundary and a 6 - inch/150 - millimetre combination depth gauge on the convex face . The two - patch hardwood handle is triple riveted to the blade and fitted to paragon . A 2.25 - in - wide steel hand sentry go long pillow protects the user against accidental cut of meat .
Shoppers who are unaccustomed to using a hori hori knife will receive that it is narrower than a garden trowel , and the blade is less penetrative than a pocket tongue or pruners . Additionally , it feels different than an offset trowel and is heavier than some of the tools it replace . However , the virtual benefit of the hori hori knife is that it performs digging and cutting tasks well enough to take the place of multiple shaft . As part of my testing , I used the Truly Garden hori hori tongue to :
Photo: Mark and Debbie Wolfe for Bob Vila
instead , I would have require a garden spade , a transplanter , a trowel , and a knife to nail all of those occupation . The Truly Garden hori hori tongue proved to be a broadly subject multitasker , if not the “ stark ” dick for each task .
Is the Truly Garden hori hori knife best for cutting, weeding, or planting?
While I did use the Truly Garden hori hori knife for cutting , weeding , and planting , it is first and first a dig up pecker . The shape of the knife bestow itself to either a thumb - forward or pinky - forward-moving hold . When gripping the handle with my ovolo oriented toward the blade , I used a scoop motion to dig shallow trenches or cut weeds just below the soil surface . This position provide the best control . To quickly spread out muddle for transplant seedling or loosen the compact soil around tap - rooted works , I grasped the knife with my pinky finger’s breadth closest to the blade . This orientation give up more down force and deeper grime penetration .
The serrate and smooth focalize edge on this prick support digging operations . They are chisel ground from the back side of the brand , give the edges a thick profile to best hold collisions with rock and grit in the land . The specific steel formulation of the Truly Garden hori hori tongue allowed it to reserve its sharp sharpness quite well in my garden . The creature continued to slit through woody roots up to about 0.375 inches of heaviness , even after several hour of use . After examination , I used the diamond pole to cranch out a few tiny gouge in the edges .
I would not bank on this tool chiefly as a knife or saw alfresco of the soil . The sharp blades are designed for stain - based cutting needs , such as root pruning , slice off weeds below the soil aerofoil , or penetrating compacted grunge . They also well cut garden string and backpacking cloth and might bid modified usage in billet of a hatchet . They are not designed for prune subdivision or any other fine cuts .
Photo: Debbie Wolfe for Bob Vila
Is the Truly Garden hori hori knife user-friendly?
This hori hori knife was well balanced , middling cloggy , and felt very comfortable in my bridge player compared to the other model I tested . I especially appreciated the finely tune handle finish with tranquil , rounded border that matched up seamlessly with the grind of the rivet and tang . Several other modelling in my trial group appear at a glance to be identical , but they all lacked this refined refinement and instead had sharper angles and gap or gibbosity where the Sir Henry Wood forgather the metal .
A few other standout features included the clearly legible depth standard of measurement — which I also used as a guide for horizontal plant spacing — the heavy case , and the diamond rod . While the depth gauge was very similar to that on several competitors ’ models , I preferred this gauge best . The heavy - tariff leather case was made of thicker rawhide than the other models , stitched at the edges , and fastened to its belted ammunition loop with steel stud . It should endure up well to years of hard use . I specially care the include rhomb rod for maintaining the edges . It worked speedily and resile for convenient storage in its own handgrip .
Is the Truly Garden hori hori knife durable?
The Truly Garden tongue uniquely balances a comfortable and well-situated - to - employment design with rugged durability . As describe above , the full - tang stainless steel blade was strong and tolerant to both deflexion and corrosion . The riveted hardwood handle showed no signs of helplessness after a solar day of impenetrable garden usance mixed with a little knowing insult . Specifically , I used the handle to beat garden wager and also throw away the tongue handle first 20 times on the concrete private road from a height of 6 feet . I then resumed stab , and the tongue had no noticeable mar .
Is the Truly Garden hori hori knife right for you?
Hori hori knife have become something of a trendy horticulture fashion statement in recent years . Nearly every publishing and influencer in the broad human race of garden mass medium touts this prick as a “ must - have , ” but I discord . Some gardeners requireergonomically design toolsto combat hand , wrist , and arm bother or to maximize limited strength and image of motion . Others may prioritise a broad scooping trowel for its ability to move more dirt faster and then carrya pair of prunersor a pocket tongue for any cutting needs . horticulture is a big tent with elbow room for everyone .
However , consumers who value fat days in the garden without the gist of a bagful of tool will appreciate the secure multipurpose nature of the Truly Garden hori hori tongue . It is build for eld of hard use and is various enough to tackle most cutting , weeding , and planting needs in container gardens or planting seam .
Where to Buy the Truly Garden Hori Hori Knife
Meet the Tester
Mark Wolfe is a writer and product quizzer with an broad background in the glasshouse and landscaping industries . For more than 20 years , he mowed , abut , found , dress , educate , irrigated , and freshen up beautiful landscape . Now , he tests and indite critique about the late outdoor mightiness equipment , script pecker , lawn forethought product , and other outdoor sustenance goods .
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Photo: Debbie Wolfe for Bob Vila
