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  • #1

    Onion Hoe?

    Hi Everyone

    I'm not sure what to do about an onion hoe I have just bought on the internet. I've never used one before but since my onion bed is full of rocket seed from last year I thought it might be the quickest way of dealing with the seedlings. However, the hoe is completely blunt. I expected it to have a sharper blade on it, so I went to the garden centre and some do have sharp blades and some don't. Should I send it back and spend more on a sharp-bladed one or would it not make much difference?

    Thanks!
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  • #2
    All hoes should be sharp, and Bob Flowerdew is always talking about how he carries a file or sharpening stone with him to sharpen his every half hour or so. When you say yours is 'completely blunt', do you mean that it has no edge on it at all, or that it is just not very sharp? You must expect to sharpen any hoe as you go on it using it, so the simplest thing is to get this one sharpened up on a stone. If you have any DIY friends with a rotary sharpening stone, that would be the easiest way to get an initial sharp edge on it, and then you can simply keep the edge on it with a file and a sharpening stone.

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    • #3
      If its a wilkingsons swow, I think that's how its spelled) then its far more useful than you think. I have had one for years and its ideal for between plants and you will not chop the onions in two. its also got a long handle and idea for thwacking slugs and snails
      Its Grand to be Daft...

      https://www.youtube.com/user/beauchief1?feature=mhee

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      • #4
        Originally posted by BertieFox View Post
        When you say yours is 'completely blunt', do you mean that it has no edge on it at all, or that it is just not very sharp?
        It has no edge on it. It has (I quote) a "Hammer finish epoxy coated head for improved resistance to rust, scratches, humidity and alkalines in the soil" - it's a Spear and Jackson Elements Onion Hoe.

        It doesn't have a sharpen-able blade, which I thought wasn't right. I'll send it back and get a better quality one. Thanks for the advice!

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        • #5
          Originally posted by sally fran View Post
          It has no edge on it. It has (I quote) a "Hammer finish epoxy coated head for improved resistance to rust, scratches, humidity and alkalines in the soil" - it's a Spear and Jackson Elements Onion Hoe.

          It doesn't have a sharpen-able blade, which I thought wasn't right. I'll send it back and get a better quality one. Thanks for the advice!
          The above link didn't work. That the one? Elements Onion Hoe | Spear & Jackson

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Aberdeenplotter View Post
            The above link didn't work. That the one? Elements Onion Hoe | Spear & Jackson
            Sorry! Yep - that's the one. I think I'll get one of these: Yeoman - Stainless Steel Onion Hoe
            (I checked the link this time!)

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            • #7
              Originally posted by sally fran View Post
              Sorry! Yep - that's the one. I think I'll get one of these: Yeoman - Stainless Steel Onion Hoe
              (I checked the link this time!)
              Can you sharpen stainless steel? I buy tools that are just plain steel (hardened or carbon or whatever it is called) so that they are easily sharpened. They stay dry in the shed, and I have an oily rag in there to wipe them with when I put them away, so I don't think that rust is an issue that needs to be avoided (if it prevents sharpening )
              K's Garden blog the story of the creation of our garden

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Kristen View Post
                Can you sharpen stainless steel?
                Have you seen the Global range of knives all stainless and very, very, very sharp.
                My allotment in pictures

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                • #9
                  "If Global made Onion hoes they would be the sharpest in the world" - and the most expensive!

                  My stainless steel gardening implements are very hard and, I would think, difficult to sharpen?
                  K's Garden blog the story of the creation of our garden

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Kristen View Post
                    "If Global made Onion hoes they would be the sharpest in the world" - and the most expensive!

                    My stainless steel gardening implements are very hard and, I would think, difficult to sharpen?
                    To keep an edge you need hardness . . . they can be sharpened, how you do it depends on their condition, if they are in good condition a coarse sharpening stone will suffice. If they are in bad condition you would need to get any notches out using a powered grinding wheel, then final sharpening with a stone.
                    My allotment in pictures

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                    • #11
                      I'd just use a normal hoe, and use this close up to any onions or other veg Darlac Multi Trowel
                      Last edited by Fleurisa; 16-05-2014, 12:50 PM.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by RaptorUK View Post
                        To keep an edge you need hardness . . . they can be sharpened, how you do it depends on their condition, if they are in good condition a coarse sharpening stone will suffice. If they are in bad condition you would need to get any notches out using a powered grinding wheel, then final sharpening with a stone.
                        Thanks, I'll give it a go. Never really thought that my stainless steel tools were sharpenable. Having said that, I have very few. A decent fork - my clay sticks to stainless steel less, but I've given up on stainless steel spades. They were relatively non-stick, but I found on I got on better with a thinner blade steel spade which I scrape the clay off with a paint-stripper / pallet-knife thingie. Gives me a chance to stand up straight frequently, and rest my back, without anyone else thinking I am slacking on the job

                        However, I do have a stainless steel Swoe, and that for sure would be best really sharp. Never thought I could sharpen it, and that's the one I'll have a go with.
                        K's Garden blog the story of the creation of our garden

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                        • #13
                          A good angle grinder does the trick on my stainless swo and lawn edger


                          Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

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