I bought mine about 40 years ago when I visited my brother that lived in Tokyo. I had never seen a thing to weed that looked like that here in Europe. It didn’t cost more than at the most £5. It is beautifully made and I use it all the time when I weed and have done so since I bought it. The funny thing is I bought it in a small garden section in a food store together with knifes and sissors. So good quality and sharp. Yours look so cheaply made and not at all made in Japan!
@@tecmow4399 Thank You! I ended up buying every tool I could (japanies made) so when my brother moved I had hedge trimmers, a small chain saw etc. Now all the electrical equipment is gone but knife and sissors still are the best! (Sorry for bad spelling! ) I decided to follow you and I really like what you do and that sense of humor ( I feel is tyipical brittisk) best wishes from a snowy 🥶 Sweden.
@@_wormlet I leave it to a someone I know that sharpens all my tool. But compared to secateurs it doesn’t need it often. Not the way I use it anyway. It is more just like a very robust knife and I guess sharpened just like they. Very much acctually like the dining knife I had many many years ago when I scuba dived.
You are a gardener. Just realised. There are clues in this video that made me research more. Great to have your professional knowledge. You can only watch so many amateurs. Thanks for sharing. Although I am a lady I quite like your humour too.
I’m glad my humour is not gender specific! 😅 you’re welcome and thanks for the kind words. I’ll do my best to share what I know, although I’ve known a lot of amateurs with very impressive amounts of knowledge. Welcome and hope to speak again soon 😊
Best tool I've ever used for trimming back grass that's over lapping paving slabs or tidying up a lawn's edge . . . . is a bread knife with a serrated edge. Some time ago, frustrated by how utterly crap lawn edging tools are for lawn edging, I did of course borrow the bread knife from the kitchen. Mrs M didn't notice for a while. Now we have a garden bread knife and a kitchen bread knife.
I like mine from BlizeTec. It has wicked saw teeth on one side that I find useful. And my handle is really nice quality, feels great. Plus it has measurements down the blade in inch and mm, for depth planting, extra perk not the selling feature though. I had to add a bit of fluorescent tape to handle so I don’t loose it in garden,
I used one for taking soil samples for a University class . Is a nice tool, and if you buy a basic morakniv, you will have the ultimate combo, for camping or Geography stuff. My Hori Hori is a important Copy made in el Salvador, steel is 1095 caebon, Brand is Imacasa, but was made for them by Condor knife and Tools.
I have one - love it! Many uses and use it daily. It’s brilliant for a bit of weeding, planting seedlings, edging etc. I got mine from amazon and it was pretty cheap. I find it super handy for when u have to do careful or tricky weeding. And i disagree, it brilliant for planting bulbs and a super tool for your kit.
Best tool I own. Mines the niwaki one and it does everything I need it to from weeding or twatting through unwanted roots it’s even good for lifting patio slabs 🤣 I recommend them to all of my clients.
Funnily enough, I received a hori hori knife for Christmas. Never heard of them before but, once the snow is gone, I look forward to trying it out in the garden as you have.
hahahaa always a laugh. I got one of these as a gift a few years back and I can count on my fingers how many times I've actually used the thing. Agree with you on most points. It's just quite fancy and nice isn't it? It's basically useless on my allotment because the ground is full of massive stones so if you use it to dig it'll lose its edge so fast.
Thanks JB. I reckon I'll use it a fair bit but yes, it's nice and fancy. It's not the all purpose thing many make it out to be imo. what do you have to use instead? just a solid trowel/hand fork?
I have a Niwaki one and my Chilterns allotment has enough flints and stones for prehistoric man to have knocked off all the Mammoths in England! I use mine all the time for weeding and planting in season and I would not be without it.
The comparison I would use is, "Is a Swiss Knife useless?" After all for every tool there on the knife, we can find a much better especialized version for the job. I would think of this knife (hori hori) in the same way, it won't ever compare with a shovel, actual saw and some other tools like that, but, it will be very much handy when you don't want or can't use those tools, be it for practicity and easy of carry, or just laziness.
I got one recently. Found one locally with one edge serrated. That edge is the most useful for cutting things, but I agree it's good for weeding. Mine's black-coated steel and already has a little rust so I need to get onto that.
I have one and I like it, mine has a scabbard which is useful. They can bend in hard soil but then again they can be bent back unlike my posh trowel which snapped. Also good for cutting asparagus spears.
useful to know you can get them back into shape. I've had a few fancy trowels snap too - that's why I was so impressed with the newer style cheap aluminium ones. Do you keep yours relatively sharp then?
@@tecmow4399 I am primarily a woodcarver so I have a compulsion to sharpen anything with an edge! Did you know Niwaki also d a damascus steel Hori Hori, you'll need a second mortgage to own one!
My dad bought me one and for what I do, I absolutely love it! I live in an area where I can find houseplants growing invasively in the wild, so it’s wonderful for yoinking invasives and turning them into houseplants (my Sword Ferns especially)! I found a philodendron and a Taro out there too, and I use it almost exclusively for transplanting. It’s awesome for what I use it for, but it’s definitely highly specialized.
I use a Spear & Jackson border fork since I got married in 1967 they sold them in Boots in those days. Carbon steel needs cleaning and drying after use. And yes sharpening. I rough weed first if it’s wet, just loosen em first about an 18 inch wide strip. Then hope they dry out a bit drop weeds in a bucket then make a dump. This year if I’m able I’ll use a shredder in the that it will start a compost heap. Just to see what happens. It amazing how. Many weeds can grow in a small plot if you ignore thins for a year. 😡
I like mine, but then what I got was Fiskar's Hori-Hori clone with a dandelion notch at the tip, and a sawblade on one edge. In my case, the original one was $7 CAD at a thrift store. I like it because this puppy is in no danger of snapping in my sometimes hard digging situations, I can saw roots with it (and dig dandelions) and when I put it in the holster at my hip, I can carry it around and not weigh myself down with tools: it's a good general tool. My boss rolls her eyes at it, but occasionally borrows it when she forgets her trowel. But no WAY was I going to spend ten times that amount for the real deal.
Yeah the fact it goes on your belt is a big plus. Picking one up for a bargain like that is great too. It’s definitely handy to have but the “real” ones are overpriced imo too
It is the god of gardening tools, plus I feel bad ass using it which is maybe the entire point ? 🤣 mine had a aerated edge and a sharp knife edge it’s literally able to do everything
Ha, that does look lovely. But all my most used tool are ancient, inherited stuff and a really cheep dandelion weeding tool. any new stuff has broken within hours (particularly forks and spades - what do they make them of these days...?!)
Yes, you don't need one. I used to use a WW11 bayonet to deal with Buttercups. Trowels and forks can do most things. Why spend the money. I spent a lot on mine and it was worth it. It's a joy to use and benefits from that indefinable feel where you know that nothing else will do. A sort of kinesthetic umami. Okay, enough of the pretentious crap. Oh, and the serrated edge is brilliant for root pruning.
The forgotten point of it was for people in 3rd world countries that pedestrianed a long way to tend to a garden in a variety of ways, without having prior knowledge of what they would be doing, it's meant to be a portable, small, garden- hand's multi-tool. It's meant to be capable of almost any gardening job, but not meant to be efficient at anything.
You left your trowel????? Noooooo, o dear dear 😂. I left my blower, mower, looper, spades, rakes, lost everything that I could. And it’s not funny. Memory problems? Yes 😂😂 I still got my head on me though. Just wait, 😂🤭
I bought mine about 40 years ago when I visited my brother that lived in Tokyo. I had never seen a thing to weed that looked like that here in Europe. It didn’t cost more than at the most £5. It is beautifully made and I use it all the time when I weed and have done so since I bought it. The funny thing is I bought it in a small garden section in a food store together with knifes and sissors. So good quality and sharp. Yours look so cheaply made and not at all made in Japan!
Yeah it’s not going to compete - especially with a story like that! That sounds amazing
@@tecmow4399 Thank You! I ended up buying every tool I could (japanies made) so when my brother moved I had hedge trimmers, a small chain saw etc. Now all the electrical equipment is gone but knife and sissors still are the best! (Sorry for bad spelling! ) I decided to follow you and I really like what you do and that sense of humor ( I feel is tyipical brittisk) best wishes from a snowy 🥶 Sweden.
How do you sharpen it?
@@_wormlet I leave it to a someone I know that sharpens all my tool. But compared to secateurs it doesn’t need it often. Not the way I use it anyway. It is more just like a very robust knife and I guess sharpened just like they. Very much acctually like the dining knife I had many many years ago when I scuba dived.
I just bought one, but was second guessing myself. Then I watched your video and felt reassured. I loved your balanced, humorous, wise presentation.
You are a gardener. Just realised. There are clues in this video that made me research more. Great to have your professional knowledge. You can only watch so many amateurs. Thanks for sharing. Although I am a lady I quite like your humour too.
I’m glad my humour is not gender specific! 😅 you’re welcome and thanks for the kind words. I’ll do my best to share what I know, although I’ve known a lot of amateurs with very impressive amounts of knowledge. Welcome and hope to speak again soon 😊
Bought one a couple of months ago and just bought another. No idea why. Utter madness. But it made me smile.
Best tool I've ever used for trimming back grass that's over lapping paving slabs or tidying up a lawn's edge . . . . is a bread knife with a serrated edge. Some time ago, frustrated by how utterly crap lawn edging tools are for lawn edging, I did of course borrow the bread knife from the kitchen. Mrs M didn't notice for a while. Now we have a garden bread knife and a kitchen bread knife.
I like mine from BlizeTec. It has wicked saw teeth on one side that I find useful. And my handle is really nice quality, feels great. Plus it has measurements down the blade in inch and mm, for depth planting, extra perk not the selling feature though. I had to add a bit of fluorescent tape to handle so I don’t loose it in garden,
That sounds quite an upgrade to this one!
I used one for taking soil samples for a University class . Is a nice tool, and if you buy a basic morakniv, you will have the ultimate combo, for camping or Geography stuff.
My Hori Hori is a important Copy made in el Salvador, steel is 1095 caebon, Brand is Imacasa, but was made for them by Condor knife and Tools.
Yeah I got a mora last year too and love it. That sounds like a fun use for it! I’m jealous 😀
I have one - love it! Many uses and use it daily. It’s brilliant for a bit of weeding, planting seedlings, edging etc. I got mine from amazon and it was pretty cheap. I find it super handy for when u have to do careful or tricky weeding. And i disagree, it brilliant for planting bulbs and a super tool for your kit.
Best tool I own. Mines the niwaki one and it does everything I need it to from weeding or twatting through unwanted roots it’s even good for lifting patio slabs 🤣 I recommend them to all of my clients.
Patio slabs wasn’t on the description. I went back and checked 😂 I can see how you can get attached to them. It’s a nice tool I didn’t know I needed
Funnily enough, I received a hori hori knife for Christmas. Never heard of them before but, once the snow is gone, I look forward to trying it out in the garden as you have.
I think you’ll have fun with it 😊 if nothing else it’s an excuse to get out in the garden
hahahaa always a laugh. I got one of these as a gift a few years back and I can count on my fingers how many times I've actually used the thing. Agree with you on most points. It's just quite fancy and nice isn't it? It's basically useless on my allotment because the ground is full of massive stones so if you use it to dig it'll lose its edge so fast.
Thanks JB. I reckon I'll use it a fair bit but yes, it's nice and fancy. It's not the all purpose thing many make it out to be imo. what do you have to use instead? just a solid trowel/hand fork?
I have a Niwaki one and my Chilterns allotment has enough flints and stones for prehistoric man to have knocked off all the Mammoths in England! I use mine all the time for weeding and planting in season and I would not be without it.
The comparison I would use is, "Is a Swiss Knife useless?" After all for every tool there on the knife, we can find a much better especialized version for the job. I would think of this knife (hori hori) in the same way, it won't ever compare with a shovel, actual saw and some other tools like that, but, it will be very much handy when you don't want or can't use those tools, be it for practicity and easy of carry, or just laziness.
I don’t have one, nice to hear an honest review though, like you said I have spotted many TH-cam gardeners with them 😊
Yeah they’re popular among social media folk for sure! It’s better than a trowel for weeding but I could (and did) survive fine without it
It is the best carrot digger I've ever found. So much easier than a regular trowel.
If I’d had any success with carrots this year I might have found out 😅
I got one recently. Found one locally with one edge serrated. That edge is the most useful for cutting things, but I agree it's good for weeding. Mine's black-coated steel and already has a little rust so I need to get onto that.
I can imagine a serrated edge is handy for that. The edge just gets dull after a few pokes into the soil with only a straight blade
I have one and I like it, mine has a scabbard which is useful. They can bend in hard soil but then again they can be bent back unlike my posh trowel which snapped. Also good for cutting asparagus spears.
useful to know you can get them back into shape. I've had a few fancy trowels snap too - that's why I was so impressed with the newer style cheap aluminium ones. Do you keep yours relatively sharp then?
@@tecmow4399 I am primarily a woodcarver so I have a compulsion to sharpen anything with an edge! Did you know Niwaki also d a damascus steel Hori Hori, you'll need a second mortgage to own one!
I did see that. It's about £800 or something isnt it?@@howarddavies3744
My dad bought me one and for what I do, I absolutely love it! I live in an area where I can find houseplants growing invasively in the wild, so it’s wonderful for yoinking invasives and turning them into houseplants (my Sword Ferns especially)! I found a philodendron and a Taro out there too, and I use it almost exclusively for transplanting. It’s awesome for what I use it for, but it’s definitely highly specialized.
I use a Spear & Jackson border fork since I got married in 1967 they sold them in Boots in those days.
Carbon steel needs cleaning and drying after use. And yes sharpening.
I rough weed first if it’s wet, just loosen em first about an 18 inch wide strip. Then hope they dry out a bit drop weeds in a bucket then make a dump. This year if I’m able I’ll use a shredder in the that it will start a compost heap. Just to see what happens.
It amazing how. Many weeds can grow in a small plot if you ignore thins for a year. 😡
That’s impressive to still have a tool regularly used since 1967! 🤯
I like mine, but then what I got was Fiskar's Hori-Hori clone with a dandelion notch at the tip, and a sawblade on one edge. In my case, the original one was $7 CAD at a thrift store. I like it because this puppy is in no danger of snapping in my sometimes hard digging situations, I can saw roots with it (and dig dandelions) and when I put it in the holster at my hip, I can carry it around and not weigh myself down with tools: it's a good general tool. My boss rolls her eyes at it, but occasionally borrows it when she forgets her trowel. But no WAY was I going to spend ten times that amount for the real deal.
Yeah the fact it goes on your belt is a big plus. Picking one up for a bargain like that is great too. It’s definitely handy to have but the “real” ones are overpriced imo too
Woah, cool red trowel!
Thanks 😜
I think "The Subtle ✨hand trowel✨" has a fairly good ring to it as fantasy novels go 🧐
The Subtle Whori
I've found it a good tool for weeding as well. I have a clay heavy soil.
Yeah I haven’t had to work in clay for while but I imagine it’s really useful for that
I think that initially it was a knife of a forest wanderer, a collector of wild plants. For food, for medicine.
Oh wow, I genuinely had no idea of its story. Thank you I’ll look into it. It makes much more sense as a portable multi functional tool
It is the god of gardening tools, plus I feel bad ass using it which is maybe the entire point ? 🤣 mine had a aerated edge and a sharp knife edge it’s literally able to do everything
If you feel badass then it’s well worth it 🤟
Ha, that does look lovely. But all my most used tool are ancient, inherited stuff and a really cheep dandelion weeding tool. any new stuff has broken within hours (particularly forks and spades - what do they make them of these days...?!)
Yes, you don't need one. I used to use a WW11 bayonet to deal with Buttercups. Trowels and forks can do most things. Why spend the money.
I spent a lot on mine and it was worth it. It's a joy to use and benefits from that indefinable feel where you know that nothing else will do. A sort of kinesthetic umami. Okay, enough of the pretentious crap.
Oh, and the serrated edge is brilliant for root pruning.
Kinaesthetic umami. I love that analogy. A bayonet sounds like the coolest weeder I’ve ever heard of!
Bit disappointed you didn't find a Sheffield one. Great video however and useful - I'd never heard of one before
I don’t know if there are Sheffield ones available are there?
A shiny toll, how lovely.
Shiny is always good 😃
@tecmow4399 Have a great Christmas.
Thank you. Hope you had a good one too
Look at NISAKU product. Stainless blade with a solid plastic handle and sheath. Really solid and good for bushcraft to.
I’ll have a look, thank you 😃
Ha!! I must have trowels growing all over the garden so I’m not risking buying something expensive to bury in the garden
So true 🤣
Hello what microphone are u using? 😀
It’s a rode lav mic with a 3.5mm extension plugged directly into the camera
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Merry Christmas Bro 😉
Love the British humour
This one would have been better if it had a seated blade with can be useful for cutting roots and dividing plant
yeah a lot of people with the serrated blade said they liked that feature for those purposes
Self defence against ninjas in the garden.
What do you mean?
With that you become the ninja in the garden.
The forgotten point of it was for people in 3rd world countries that pedestrianed a long way to tend to a garden in a variety of ways, without having prior knowledge of what they would be doing, it's meant to be a portable, small, garden- hand's multi-tool. It's meant to be capable of almost any gardening job, but not meant to be efficient at anything.
You left your trowel????? Noooooo, o dear dear 😂. I left my blower, mower, looper, spades, rakes, lost everything that I could. And it’s not funny. Memory problems? Yes 😂😂 I still got my head on me though. Just wait, 😂🤭
😂😂 great;
Thank you 👌🏼😂
This piece of carbon steel and lowest wood grade handle cost $40? ?
The What?
Yeah it’s quite steep tbh
Bear defense.
We don’t get many of them here 😅
😂😂😂
😂🤣😂
Niwaki is overrated..!!