Initially I was skeptical about the usefulness of a "gardening knife" -- it doesn't have a blade like a knife and ostensibly is just a very skinny shovel. How wrong I was, its actually amazing for digging, weeding, planting, cutting roots, dividing plants -- all sorts of tasks that you *could* technically do with a hand shovel but this knife is actually the right size for many tasks.The "blade" is skinny enough to make just the right size hole to slip single cuttings right in. The blade is also great for taking a propagated cutting that grew too large, or two seeds in a single rockwool cube, and splitting it into two or more pieces to then plant individually. It makes doing all sorts of tasks even easier and smoother than you can imagine!This knife also has markings in inches and mm like a ruler, so you can get really precise on how deep you are planting cuttings or digging holes. Super easy to clean/maintain -- just blast it real quick with a hose and pop it back into the sheath.Although the blade isn't as sharp as a normal knife, its still cuts roots and stems much better than a shovel.The blade is pretty solid, I can't imagine it breaking unless I deliberately start attempting to split boulders or something equally irresponsible with it.I can't believe I've been gardening for decades without ever using one of these knives. No matter what level you are at gardening, you owe it to yourself to add this to your tools. This particular hori hori is actually the most economical one I can find on amazon! You can spring a bit more for one that looks more traditional but this one is fine by me.

If you have ever tried to garden in an area near pine trees you know how widespread and tough pine roots can be. Trying to dig with a hand trowel is an exercise in futility, as the roots make it impossible to get a hole dug. The first time I learned about the hori hori garden knife, I knew that whoever invented it must have lived near pine trees!My old hori hori was worn out from many years of hard use, so I figured it was time to look for a new one. This hori hori is well made of quality materials. The handle is far more comfortable than the simple wooden handle that my old one had. This handle is comfortable in the hand and should allow for many hours of blister-free digging.I put this new hori hori to use right away to dig a few holes for planting sunchokes near the edge of a woodline behind my shop. The serrations made short work of cutting through some pretty large pine roots and before I knew it, I'd prepared a hole in my heavy clay soil. Mixing in some organic matter was easy since the hori hori blade is wide enough to be a pretty effective mixing paddle.If you garden in hard soil with roots running through it, you owe it to yourself to pick up a hori hori. It will definitely make your gardening tasks easier.

I have wanted a hori hori for a little while now and when I came across this one from Garden Guru, I decided to finally pick one up for myself. I'm glad I did because the knife feels very well made for the price.This hori hori is about the length of my forearm. It has depth markers every 1 inch or 25mm with additional marks every 5mm. The handle is wide and slip resistant. It feels comfortable to grip. The knife has a nice heft to it., as well.The hori hori comes with a thick, reinforced sheath that velcros around the handle of the knife. At the top of the sheath is a large loop that I can slide through my belt or tie my garden apron strings through. This makes it easy to keep the hori hori to hand while protecting myself from any clumsiness on my part.It is the middle of the winter where I live right now so I have not had a chance to use it on the ground as the ground outside my house is frozen. Instead, I tried it out while up-potting some seedlings for my indoor herb garden. The hori hori worked well to cut cleanly through soil and feels like it will be much more useful come the spring thaw when I work in my outdoor garden.I'm very impressed with this hori hori. I'm glad I finally got myself one and that I chose this one.

The media could not be loaded.

I’ve been using Hori Hori knives for decades but I’ve never had one as well-made as this one by Garden Guru. The Garden Guru Hori Hori is a beast – it weighs in at over 8 ounces on my kitchen scale which is a plus when grubbing weeds out of packed soil. I need something that won’t snap off at the handle when I apply pressure because that’s how a Hori Hori works - as a fulcrum that levers weeds out of the earth roots and all.I am a petite older gardener so I was worried that this heavy tool would be difficult for me to use; I was mistaken. It’s ergonomic, non-slip, plastic handle fits easily into my palm and even with my arthritis, it was easy to grasp and use for weeding dandelions in our landscape. Dandelions are notorious perennial weeds due to their tremendously long tap roots. But they were no match for the Hori Hori. I used the Hori Hori to loosen the soil around the dandelion to the full depth of the blade, 6 inches according to the embossed measurements on the blade, and then lifted up under the plant by pushing down and out on the handle. The dandelion came right up with little soil disturbance unlike digging it out with a shovel or trowel which removes a divot of soil.This is a formidable tool; it has a 6-inch stainless steel blade that is serrated on one side and sharpened like a knife on the other. It is embossed with depth measurements in both inches and millimeters from one inch to six inches. The blade has a slight curve downward at the very tip and it cups slightly toward one side making it easy to lift soil like a trowel. Fortunately, the Hori Hori comes with a ballistic nylon sheath for storage since it could accidentally inflict harm if stored with the blade exposed. The sheath also includes a belt loop should one wish to wear it on the hip for easy access.I highly recommend this Garden Guru Hori Hori as one all-purpose tool to replace several: a trowel, a weeding fork, a garden knife, a bulb planter, and a dibble. This tool does the job of all of them for less than $10. To me, this is the one tool that every gardener should own.

Depth markings don't seem to be etched as deeply (or possibly at all? maybe cosmetically acid-etched?) as my other digging knives and the burrs need removal. Otherwise this is a winner.My husband seems to prefer this handle shape to most that he's used and I have to agree it's superior for applying force. Most hori horis have little to no cross-guard between the blade and handle, so your hand will slip while driving the blade into the ground. This larger cross-guard will help prevent blisters if you're holding it correctly (i.e. not like a trowel, but like you're trying to stab the ground with the etched face of the blade toward you), prevent the need for garden gloves purely to hang onto a tool when your hands are muddy, and let you apply plenty of force. Usually people don't use hori horis unless they're in terrain where digging with a trowel is difficult (roots, rocks, clay, etc.) so you're going to really appreciate the ability to put your weight behind the tool.I'm ambivalent about the edges. They do have some of the best serration I've ever seen on a blade. However, it is on both sides (which makes handling it more dangerous), and they've left on the burrs from sharpening. It will arrive razor sharp and you'll be very impressed when you test the edge. Unfortunately--until you've used it once or twice, or else roughed the edges with a bit of fine sand paper--it's going to be so sharp that it will damage the nylon sheath when you draw or sheath the blade, regardless of its orientation. Do not remove it from the sheath until you intend to use it and DO NOT ALLOW A CHILD TO HOLD THIS until you have removed the burrs. Until then, it is an actual, razor sharp, serrated knife of this size. Honestly, I understand it probably helps the shelf appeal, but they should not have shipped it like this without a warning.The serrations are going to be excellent for cutting fine roots, even after the burr is gone, or sawing through thicker ones. The only drawback there is that it will be more difficult to sharpen. Unless you're using this almost every day on oak roots and kudzu, it will be years before sharpening is necessary. I'm honestly more impressed that it goes through kudzu than oak--oak is kinda juicy during spring and summer and eventually snaps, but kudzu is basically like a metal wire of equal size. These serrations are really quite good. But, again, they probably shouldn't be on both sides... sometimes you really need to guide the blade while sawing and this one isn't safe to hold with the fingers of your opposite hand or to put weight upon. Lefties will appreciate this, though, or families who need ambidextrous tools.We're in the forests of the Southern Appalachians, where all we've got is rocks, red brick clay, oak roots, and blackberry / kudzu. We also tend a mini-farm / clear brush (blackberry, kudzu, oak scrub) using almost entirely hand tools, so I'd guess probably no other people in the world have used and abused their hori horis more than we have. This is the one in our collection I'd turn to for roots and vines, or especially difficult terrain. If it had shipped without a burr, this would be nothing but a glowing review because that cross-guard is a huge force multiplier which is exactly what you want when using this specific tool.