Who needs a hori knife?
Garden knives are super handy but it wasn’t until last year that I bought a few different models. This blog post will review all three. So why buy a knife? Don’t we have hand snips hanging on our belt already? Yes, we do but for me, personally, having a knife means I can’t be asked to weed with my fingers. And it sometimes happens that I get caught on site without tools and a foreman asks me to weed: with my fingers.
Hori knives are pointed and sharp enough to dislodge weeds so they’re perfect. They can also slash through roots: I found that out when I had to plant a tree and roots from the previous resident tree were in my way. The knife is also handy for dividing plants.
Lee Valley
The first hori knife I bought came from Lee Valley and it’s fine. I find it a bit small compared to the other two models I purchased but it does its job. My frustrations came from the sheath loop. It uses a button to attach to your belt which means it comes undone if you move in the garden. It would take less than fifteen minutes of work before it detached and slip down my rain pants. I swore I would buy something else, and I did.
Japanese made hori knife
I found this knife at the local arborist store and it was roughly the same price; all three knives sell in the $30 range. The sheath had a simple loop without any buttons and it felt beefy. I fell in love with it right away.
The sheath loop also broke on me but it’s my fault because I would drive home with the knife still attached to my belt. The constant pressure I put on it destroyed it. You can prevent this by taking your snips and knife off your belt before driving.
Shall knife made in China
I would love to tell you that I purchased this Shall hori knife model just so I could review it here on my blog. Not so. Somehow I had misplaced the Japanese hori knife so I ordered the Shall model from Amazon.
Unfortunately, I didn’t check the actual size and when it arrived I was slightly horrified: it’s a long hori knife. So long, I was afraid that the local policemen I see every morning at Starbucks would stop me.
The knife works fine but I notice it’s size and weight on my belt. I think this model would work for bigger landscapers. The sheath belt loop is still intact.
My favourite!
Considering that all three knives run somewhere around $30, the Japanese hori knife wins! It’s well-made and feels strong in my hand. It’s also the right size. The sheath loop broke on me but it was my fault: do not keep the knife on your belt when you drive. Take it off.
