Modified standard garden trowel - "snub nosed trowel"

[no_akira]

Always found the traditional garden trowel not that useful on heavy soil.

Well after a few minutes with "Mr Grinder & Mr Hammer"... Voila !

Its been de-beaked and flattened across the central area plus sharpened into a cutting edge across the snub and along the left hand edge as I am right handed (Right edge if you are left handed)

Disclaimer: Always wear safety googles and away from flamible materials when grinding metal.

[bario1]

What was the issue with the original design?

[Jimny14]

I find on our heavy stony clay that my trowels tended to bend and split at the neck when used to Lever out soil. I now use a hand fork to loosen up everything then trowel out the loose stuff after. I'd be interested to see if the sharpened stub nose is worth doing or not, I look forward to your long term review.

[Snoop Puss]

I have to say, I quite like the pointy end of a trowel to actually manage to dig into my soil at times. But if it works for you, no-akira, that's more grist to your mill.

[Greenleaves]

I use one of these, Sneerboer is expensive but fantastic trowel

[veggiechicken]

"snub nosed trowel" or little shovel? Guess it depends on what you use a "trowel" for.

[no_akira]

Jimny 14...

I've been using it for about 4 weeks, it's become my number #1 tool. The sharpened chisel like snub nose cuts into & breaks up heavy clods easily.

My main use is "skimming" off overwintered weeds, its good at scrapping off the top 1cm of soil before digging the bed over.

[Thelma Sanders]

My main use is "skimming" off overwintered weeds, its good at scrapping off the top 1cm of soil before digging the bed over.

I use my hoe for that, so no bending required, but if it works for you then it's all good.

[veggiechicken]

My main use is "skimming" off overwintered weeds, its good at scrapping off the top 1cm of soil before digging the bed over.

It must take a long time to "scrapp" of the top of a bed with a tiny bladed tool on a short handle. Not to mention how many times you'd have to stand up, squat down, stand up, keep moving ........or your talking about a square foot bed - but you wouldn't be digging that over.

Give me a long handled hoe and no digging - far more efficient and labour saving.

[no_akira]

Was watching Dr Moseley doing a fitness test the other day for the oldies which envolved how quickly or easily you can get up from a squatting position.

The oldy gardeners were best at this...

I garden in "batches" after the initial march dig over. The other day put my flower pot full of onion sets into 5 ft of section of bed (50-60) onions but lossesened the soil up using this snub trowel then riddling the top inch. Then using my dipper & spacing mat.

[Jungle Jane]

You could’ve just sharpened the original trowel?

[no_akira]

Your standard trowel is too curved, I wanted the same profile as "stirrup hoe" but in a handy "stabbing motion" hand tool.

[Greenleaves]

I am with VC, I want to look after my back as you only get one!

If you are happy gardening the way you do, then that's all that matters

[Bluenowhere]

I’m going to take a stab that I’m younger that some of you fine people and I love my hoe.

Started using my trowel to scrape the weeds on the bed my onions are now planted in, seemed like a good idea until it took ages to clear a small section. Then realised that’s the reason man invented the hoe, cleared the weeds in no time and was far kinder on my back and knees. Quick dig/fork over and remove the perennial roots then bingo onions in.

Each to their own though I imagine it would be good for a very small bed but on my 1x2.5m bed hoe, fork then cultivator were perfect.

[no_akira]

I'll tell you what it is good for, scalping bushy weeds off an old mound of soil.

I've got a mound of soil that from last year that I left to break down and over the year its now covered in 6" high young bushy weeds. Pushing the weeds to one side I get in there with this sharpened snub nosed trowel and stab at the base of this mass. I then roll the mass of weeds across and stab some more, rolling the weed mass up in to a ball. De-weeded the soil mound in about 5 mins...

Also it creates a larger wedge shaped hole for when I planted my potatoes yesterday.

Perhaps a new thread "100 uses for your "snubbed nosed trowel!"