[BamaSpek]

Are you a careful person? Do you lose, or 'misplacerize' things? If you're careful, one good hoe might last you the rest of your life... if not, that expensive hoe might run off with an axe or shovel, to the land of lost tools. I started painting my tools with blaze orange paint years ago... my pa was down one day and asked what that sledge hammer was doing leaning against the tree... I'd been looking for it for weeks... seems 'somebody' had painted just one side of the handle... after that, I painted both sides.

And, after getting up to the garden yesterday, without a hoe, I must say that any hoe is better than no hoe, when your cleaning out your rows... pulling weeds by hand, and piling dirt on tater plants is plain ol stone age torture.

Would love to see a pick of all your orange tools Makes stolen tools alittle easier to spot too. I knew a pipe worker who painted all his tools pink to prevent theft.

 

[pheasantplucker]

Anybody here ever use a "hula hoe"? The head swivels...makes quick work of weeding

 

[Callieslamb]

For all my gardening over the years, I didn't own a hoe until last year when someone gave me one. It has a diamond-shaped head and I like it! My favorite though is a short handled 'V' shaped tool that I used ALL the time while working around my beds. Since the move, I can't find it. It had about a 14 inch handle made the cheapest you can imagine. I had it for 8 years. Thanks for the links! I think I can buy a longer handled one like I like now!!

 

[JJ Grandits]

My two cents worth. The shape of the head of the hoe is not as important as it's sharpness and length of the handle. If you have to bend your back to use it the handle is to short. A dull hoe is useless. Most garden tools have garbage for handles. Espesially rakes and hoes. I try to replace whatever I can. I make my living with garden tools and have to laugh at what people buy and use. Especially the carp on TV. In 38 years of landscaping I have never smiled while working a tool.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

The hoes I get the most use out of are a stirup hoe and a winged weeder.

Hula hoe .... hmmm

 

[o&itw]

If one is using a hoe for the traditional use of removing young weed and grass around plants, the traditional hoe is best. The method used is slicing through the dirt about 1/4 inch below the soil surface and cutting through the weeds a little below the root crown. It is done when the weed are an inch or two high, not a foot. The hoe should be very sharp and be filed sharp again about once every hour of use. Actually, a quality one that is about half worn out is best, because it has become thin, slick, and light. If you are hoeing weeds, "light" is everything. If you are having to chop through the weeds, you have let the weeds get to big, or you hoe is dull. It is hard to buy a good quality hoe anymore, but one can pick up one at a farm auction for next to nothing. It is not for "chopping" but for slicing. An old one, about half worn out will work great after one uses it a bit and gets it polished up. It should work like a knife, not like a mattock.

An "Italian" grape hoe, is ideal for leveling and shaping soil when one is digging a foundation, or leveling off a building site. I have not seen a decent one made in 30 years. I have a "true-temper" one that is 50 years old, and it is perfect, except I can no longer get a handle for it....handles are made for the cheaper ones that started comming out in the '70s.

 

[jukebox]

http://www.wtv-zone.com/Phyllis/larry1index.html

http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/garden_tools.html

 

[HilltopDaisy]

The hoes I get the most use out of are a stirup hoe and a winged weeder.

Hula hoe .... hmmm

I'm pretty sure a stirup hoe and a hula hoe are the same thing.

 

[Lou P]

Like this thread........great info; IMO
best grub hoe out there is the number 20 made by Warwood........awsome; forged steel and the blade is 11 1/4 inches long.........cuts through my 2 inch oak roots like butter..........still made in the USA..........no financial interest
HTH
Lou
Warwood Tool Company
164 North 19th Street
Wheeling, West Virginia 26003-7064
Toll Free 1-877-687-1410
Phone: (304) 277 - 1414 Fax: (304) 277 - 1420
sales@warwoodtool.com

small hoes;
agree; the Guserud is great.......sadly since the original owner sold it they will no longer repair the handles......<sigh> just have to purchase a new one if the old handle is too far gone:grump:

 

[terri46355]

I always try to buy hand tools with a lifetime warranty, because they are bound to break. I have Sear's Craftsman hoe that I've used for more than 10 years. I bought an Ame's Warren hoe a over a year ago from Lowe's. The handle broke, so I called the manufacturer. They sent me a new hoe at no charge.

 

[chickenista]

No matter what hoe you get, maintain and it will be your best friend.
I keep a whet stone and oil out in the garden next to my chair.
One of my favorite things to do is to sit and sharpen my hoe in the shade...
and then cut through the weeds in my 'aisles' like butter.
A sharp hoe is a ton of fun..
if you find weed massacres to be fun, which I do.

Also, oil the handle, the gooseneck and the shaft before winter.

 

[TxGypsy]

I absolutely LOVE my Rogue hoes. These are the best made, best balanced hoes I have ever used.....and I've been through a LOT of hoes. I have the 575g garden hoe and the 55f grubbing hoe.

The grubbing hoe is tough! I just bought a new place and I've been hacking briars and sprouting trees down with the 55f. I've lost count of the number of rocks I've hacked in the process. I have misplaced my file and haven't sharpened it in a while now.....it's still sharp! Slices in for mounding/contouring compacted soil very nicely.

The 575g gardening hoe is a pleasure to use. I first discovered this at a friend of mines house and asked if I could try it out in their garden. I enjoyed it so much that I weeded their entire garden.

http://www.roguehoe.com/

 

[tinknal]

Yep, the mortar mixer hoe is too light for digging and wrong angle to cultivate. At best if its high quality steel you could sharpen it and swing it to top tall weeds.... One mom had was like English beet hoe in above link only with tapered ends.

As to person breaking handles, you are using too light a hoe for what you are trying to accomplish. If you are using hoe to chop soil instead of cultivating around plants, then get a grape hoe or grub hoe or even heavy mattock. You wont break mattock handle.


Here is a grape hoe:

Notice the angle of the blade, made for heavy duty cultivating and light digging. This is quality tool that will hold an edge.

Need more of a soil digging tool but not full mattock, this is grub hoe, longer somewhat heavier blade than a grape hoe:

This is a mattock:

I have a very old hand forged grape hoe. It is the easiest using hoe I have ever used. The curved blade makes the work so much easier than a straight bladed hoe, and it will never break or wear out. Handle replacement is easy too, and you can whittle your own from an ash sapling in about 10 minutes.

 

[FarmerRob]

I'm pretty sure a stirup hoe and a hula hoe are the same thing.

I think you are right, based on the description.

The best hoe is always the one that does the job at hand the best. However, the stirrup hoe has become my favorite for weeding. You can cover lots of ground quickly with much less effort than other hoes.

 

[65284]

My favorite hoes are ones I made. Cut a wedge shape out of an old disc blade then welded a piece of old chain link fence top rail onto it for a handle. About a foot back from the head I put a 10-12 degree bend in the handle so it strikes at a little flatter angle, it works well, holds an edge and has lasted for many years. I have several with different width and length heads.

 

[agmantoo]

The bulk of the folks in the world that use a hoe for out of necessity use a grub hoe. That design is the best hoe, period.

 

[MoonShine]

I only want a forged head. I have a forged one that belonged to my Great Grandparents and I have no doubt that it would last another lifetime. I've had many welded heads and they always bend and break. But, it probably depends a lot on the type of soil you are working with.

Around here, you can find plenty of antique forged heads at flea markets. The prices aren't too bad and I believe it's worth it.

 

[FarmboyBill]

To me, a hoe is a hoe is a hoe. Ive got around at least 6 here. The main things I like is a hoe with a 6ft handle. Ive raised, and got as many comments as not on whether to sharpen a hoe on the side faceing u or the other. Whats yer thoughts. Hoes to me are like push plows. I have a high wheel, and a low wheel, and I dont think I can tell a nickles difference between them. But, in the advertisements, the low wheels always better than the high wheel. Whats the difference between a grape hoe and a adz, other than the latter has a sharp edge. The hoe someone showed a pic of with a ring at the top for the handle, were called cotten hoes in the south. And there darn heavy

 

[HermitJohn]

Whats the difference between a grape hoe and a adz, other than the latter has a sharp edge.

An ADZ is a woodworking tool, not something you dig in soil with.

 

[poorboy]

http://www.wtv-zone.com/Phyllis/larry1index.html

http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/html/garden_tools.html

55394 - Double Chopper

This is my idea 0f the best hoe for general garden work. I have some OLD double choppers that can't be bought here any more, bought the last new one the local general store had in 1978, they haven't had any since. picked up two or three at estate sales..:clap: Luckily there is a major handle mill close that will sell to local's, but worst comes to worst I can make a handle!
Dad told me when I was a child that you jist shouldn't run to town for every little thing...:hrm: