Multi-Head Garden Tool Gets A Thumbs Up

Multi-Head Garden Tool Gets A Thumbs Up FARM HOME Miscellaneous Alan Johnson has put a real twist on garden tools with a single quick-change handle that can be fitted with 5 different tools With receiving slots at either end you can go to work with two favorite digging points at once “I once made a short handled garden tool in a welding class and it has always been my wife’s favorite ” explains Johnson “It had a wide blade on one end and a narrow blade on the other She liked the interchangeability of it ” Johnson also the creator of the Maxadyne Wheel Hoe says his tool offers more control than the traditional round wooden handle “My handle has four 1-in wide faces with the edges rounded off ” explains Johnson “It’s easier to grip and gives better control ” The receiver slots at both ends have a fixed nut to match the slotted head bolts on the tools An L-shaped tool is provided to tighten the bolts It fits in its own slot at the center of the handle and is held in place by a heavy-duty rubber band While one handle end has a slot on one face of the handle the other end has slots on the faces to either side of the first This ensures that while digging with one tool the second tool is pointed away from the body whether you are left or right handed FARM SHOW ordered a set of Johnson’s VersaTill tools with a 48-in handle The package included the Bird Beak Diamond Point Bear Claw rake head Duck Foot and Big Vee tools A short one-handed handle is also available I tried them out in raised beds fresh-tilled ground and in hard-packed ground “The Bird Beak and Diamond Point worked great for weeding in tight spaces and loosening hard packed soil around rhubarb plants ” says contributing editor Jim Ruen “Both were easy to control and dug surprisingly deep pulling up rhizomes from crab grass and other problem weeds ” The Duck Foot has a V-shaped tip to grab weed roots as you hoe Ruen reports it eliminates the frustration of chopping at roots in soft soil and having them slide off to the side of a hoe point “The Bear Claw combines the best features of a mini-rake and wide hoe blade ” he says “It was great for running just under the soil surface to prepare established raised beds It handled shallow weeds and stood up to aggressive use on larger weeds The multiple points really chopped up the bed yet could be used to rake weeds to the side ” The Big Vee is a very aggressive point designed for trenching or making holes for setting plants or bulbs It also works great as a “chop” blade for digging up heavier ground “The four-faced handle was a treat ” says Ruen “It provided a great deal more control than round handles do yet it was easy on the hands and made it easy to ‘torque’ the tool heads with a little twist when chopping under or close to plant stems “I wasn’t sure about having a tool at either end of the handle but it wasn’t a problem at all ” says Ruen “In fact the added weight provided more balance and the shaft of the second tool added even more control to the four-faced handle ” Multiple tool kits with the long handle range in price from $67 05 to $106 78 Tools and the long handle are priced individually at $27 90 The short handle which also accommodates two tools is priced at $19 95 Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Diversified DenTool P O Box 490 Pine River Minn 56474 ph toll free 800 950-9431; aljohn@uslink net; www weedwithspeed com

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