Welcome back to Tool School! This week on Episode 3 I want to focus on my favourite landscaping tool- the Hori Hori knife.
What is a Hori Hori knife?
If you are thinking, what in the world is a Hori Hori knife, you are not alone. Just a few years back, I was in that exact same boat. Then, I am sitting there talking about the Hori Hori knife with my Dad and suddenly he gets up and wanders into his shop. A few minutes later he comes back with one in his hand! Long story short, it turns out that one day he had a large load of mulch delivered, and as my mom and him were wheelbarrowing it to the backyard, he came across this Hori Hori knife in the pile. He pulled out, cleaned it up with some steel wool and the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and it is now my favourite landscaping tool hands down!
So what exactly is a Hori Hori knife. The best way to describe it is as a pocket knife, crossed with a serrated knife, and then crossed again with a humble garden trowel. They come in a few different shapes and sizes, but overall they all look very similar. The have a serrated edge down one side, a sharp knife edge on the other, and a small curve similar to a hand trowel.
How do you use a Hori Hori knife?
I think this is one of the best parts about this particular tool- they can be used in so many different ways!
Planting
I am going to assume that every single gardener out there has used a trowel at some point when they were planting flowers, seeds, or bulbs. You may have even used one with gradations stamped into the steel. But sometimes a trowel moves too much dirt, or digs too big of a hole. This is the first place I swapped in my Hori Hori knife. Mine doesn’t have any gradations on it, but neither did my trowel. I find it makes the perfect hole size for planting annuals. It is also great for creating long trenches when planting your vegetable seeds. I even use mine as a mini shovel when filling small pots for starting seeds indoors.
Weeding
There simply is no better tool for weeding, period. Ever try and dig out a dandelion weed with a trowel, just to wind up creating a giant crater…well not anymore. Because the Hori Hori knife is sharp, you are able to slide it straight down along a tap root, loosening the soil along the way. Then it’s easy to pry with a little pressure and pull the complete weed out, root and all. You may say, well I have a stand up weeder! But who wants a tool that can only do 1 thing…and not really that well.
Dead heading
Job #3 the Hori Hori knife can tackle. Leave the snips in the shed, because the hori hori knife can deadhead too! Whether you need the serrated side or the sharp knife side, both dead head flowers with ease!
Pruning
Again, you can use the serrated or straight side for pruning shrubs or flowers. I think by now you are starting to get my point. The Hori Hori knife is an incredibly versatile tool.
What to look for in a Hori Hori knife?
1. Size
A Hori Hori knife will range from 11 to 15 inches long including handle, with the average sized blade typically around 7 inches long by 2 inches wide.
2. The blade
The quality of steel used to craft the blade is the difference between mediocre and great Hori Hori knives. Some people will say the best blades are made from high quality stainless steel so it won’t rust over time, which is true. However, my Hori Hori knife is constructed with carbon steel and I am completely happy with it. There is one caveat to using carbon steel- it will lose its edge much faster than a stainless steel blade and therefore require more frequent sharpening. In addition, I take steel wool to mine once a year to clean off any surface rust.
As discussed above, the blade should have a serrated side on one side and a sharp knife edge on the other.
The blade should be concave in shape to allow for digging, planting, weeding, etc.
Lastly, the blade should end in a sharp point. This makes the Hori Hori knife much easier to pierce into hard soil, clay, or even just dry dirt.
3. The handle
Your Hori Hori knife should have a wooden handle that is riveted to the tang of the knife. This means the blade will run all the way up between the two pieces of wood that make up the Hori Hori knife handle. A good wood handle when taken care of will last forever.
Avoid buying cheaper models that have plastic or even resin handles as these will dry out and crack over time.
4. The sheath
Like any good knife, it should come with a sheath. This is just as much a place for you to store your tool, as it is to protect you (and others) from it’s sharp edges.
The best sheaths are made from high quality natural leathers with a slot that allows you to secure it to your tool belt.
What is the best Hori Hori knife?
This is rather subjective and all depends on the fit and comfort in the users hands. Too heavy and you will wind up leaving it on the shelf, weak steel and it will bend or break, and too small a handle won’t fit in your hand. However, I will give you what I consider to be the 3 best purchases at this moment in time.
Since the Hori Hori knife originated in Japan, many still believe the best quality knives are manufactured there. No matter where your tool is manufactured, make sure it uses quality materials. Like anything else, you get what you pay for.
So with that, lets get into what I think are 3 of the best deals on the web!
1. Nisaku Japanese Hori Hori knife
The Nisaku Hori Hori knife is constructed with Japanese stainless steel and measures 7.25″ long. The handle measures 5.25″ long, giving a total length of 12.5″.
It is lightweight, weighing in at 6.4 ounces.
The Hori Hori knife from Truly Garden features a 7″ blade made from 420 stainless steel.
It also has a serrated and straight edge leading to a sharp point. The serrated edge on this Hori Hori knife consists of more teeth that are closer together compared to the Nisaku.
Once again it is built with a full tang surrounded by two pieces of solid wood and mounted with 3 rivets for added strength.
The Truly Garden knife also comes with a finger guard to protect your fingers during work.
The bonus of this Hori Hori knife is in the extras- it comes with a diamond sharpening rod.
The downside is it comes in slightly heavier at 9.4 ounces.
3. Cielcera Hori Hori knife
The Cielcera Hori Hori knife is a masterpiece. Similar in design to the Truly Garden, it features a 7″ blade made with 420 stainless steel and a 5″ handle length. It also includes a finger guard to protect yourself when working.
A full tang blade is surrounded by two pieces of Wenge hardwood, with 3 rivets for added strength.
Lastly, the blade has measurements in both millimeters and inches making it easy to measure and track depth when planting vegetable seeds or flower bulbs.
Final thoughts
The Hori Hori knife can be used to accomplish many tasks around the garden or yard. It isn’t always going to be the best tool for the job, but once you own one you will find you don’t head into the garden without it.
If you use your Hori Hori knife for anything else, drop us a comment below!
Or if you have any other garden tools you couldn’t live without, be sure to share them as well!
You might also enjoy:
I bought a stainless-steel Nisaku Hori-Hori to replace my (sadly lost) carbon steel one. After a couple of months of hard use I find I SO MUCH prefer Hori-Horis in carbon steel – not quite sure why – that I’m now going back to carbon.