I am a notorious loser of garden hand tools so I go through a lot of them. While I prefer a blindingly brightly-colored tool to help compensate for my shortcoming, the Truly Garden Hori Hori Garden Knife has withstood the test of time (18 months, that is). Left outside for weeks at a time in rain and snow, seemingly forgotten in a bucket full of weeds or standing at attention in a raised bed waiting for someone to happen by and retrieve it, this hori hori knife keeps coming back.

Sharp, Stainless Steel Blade

This garden knife has a traditional hori hori blade made in China of 420 stainless steel. The 7” blade has increments marked along the knife that indicate digging depth up to 6”.

The blade is incredibly sharp when the tool is new (my husband cut his hand early on and vowed never to use it again – a win for me since he is often the tool breaker) and I highly recommend using work gloves when using the Truly Garden hori hori (and any other sharp tools).

I have had a previous knife blade break in half on a particularly tough weed. (It is my opinion that an herbaceous weed’s root should not be enough to break a knife in half.) Thus far, this one seems up to the task, including prying up the occasional rock, digging in gravel or between paver stones.

Protective Sheath Included

It comes with a lovely, very heavy-duty leather sheath, perfect for carefully replacing it after each use. However, I have a 9-month old son who could awaken from a nap without any warning, so sometimes things just don’t make it back to the garage. As you can see from the photo above, this knife still doesn’t show any sign of rust or severe wear despite my lack of care.

Digging a deep taproot of a Dandelion was no problem for the Truly Garden Hori Hori

Traditional Wooden Handle

The Truly Garden Hori Hori has a traditional hardwood grip that’s fastened to the knife with three metal pins. To protect your hand from slipping onto the blade, there is a protective handguard just forward of the handle and just behind the blade.

The handle is made from beech hardwood (FSC certified, meaning that it’s sustainably harvested) and has rounded edges for comfort, but is not particularly ergonomic and left my hand a bit sore and cramped after a full day’s worth of use.

The handle is sturdy but not particularly comfortable for extended use

In the past, in addition to loss, the point of failure for these soil knives has been with the handle attachment. I have had several otherwise lovely knives break away from the handle entirely. Admittedly, after about a season’s worth of hard use, this one did start coming a bit loose. However, a quick bang on the handle with a hammer seems to have set things back in order and I haven’t had a problem in the year since.

The metal safety guard has been loose for quite a while and wiggles around, but it isn’t bothersome and doesn’t affect the functionality or safety of the tool.

USE & MAINTENANCE

I use this knife for planting plugs or bulbs, weeding while minimally disturbing the surrounding soil (particularly deep taproots), cutting through vines, and trimming twine. It performs these functions in a satisfactory manner.

Maintenance is simple with the included diamond impregnated sharpening rod. As the blade dulls with continued use, it’s easy to get it sharp again with just a few seconds of sharpening. There is a maintenance video (below) on their website if you are not familiar with how to sharpen these tools.

Though I find it a little tedious to sharpen each tooth on the saw, the round end of the sharpener rod does work well, and it is nice to have this versatility in the sharpener.

Also in the above video are recommendations on cleaning, storage, and oiling the wooden handle.

It’s easy to maintain the hori hori’s sharp edge with the included diamond impregnated sharpening rod

WARRANTY

The Truly Garden Hori Hori comes with a 5-year limited warranty. If the tool develops defects from faulty workmanship or materials, they will repair, refund, or replace the tool once a photo and short description of the problem has been submitted.

RECOMMENDATION

Overall, I am pleased with the performance of the Truly Garden hori-hori. It is a perfectly functional digging knife with a strong, sharp blade. I would (and likely will) buy it again when looking for a traditional soil knife. However, there are a couple things I found lacking.

I found the handle to be average. A long day of use will leave my hand a bit sore and cramped. I wouldn’t say that it is a particularly ergonomic tool, however, for normal day-to-day use, it is fine. The wiggling safety guard and loosening of the pins holding the blade to the handle are small annoyances.

I also wish that the leather sheath had a clip on it so that it could clip onto pants or a pocket, as I don’t typically wear a belt to fit through the belt loop. Then, maybe I wouldn’t need to purchase so many…

WHERE TO BUY

The Truly Garden Hori Hori Garden Knife can be purchased on Amazon or at the Truly Garden website , and it has a free 30-day money back guarantee. The company provides a free replacement and shipping to return if anything is wrong with the tool. However, if the customer changes their mind or purchases the item by mistake, the customer pays return shipping.

There is another option that includes a nylon sheath with a clip, instead of the leather sheath, and a more traditional sharpening stone.

Truly Garden Hori Hori Garden Knife

It is a perfectly functional hori hori with a strong, sharp blade, and comes with Truly Garden, hori hori, digging knife a leather sheath and sharpening rod.

See it on Amazon

Truly Garden Hori Hori Garden Knife with nylon sheath

The same as the above, except it comes with a nylon sheath, a sharpening stone, and a gift box.

See it on Amazon