1994 - Volume #18, Issue #3, Page #31

[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue ]

    «Previous    Next»

New-Style Hoe Catches On Down Under

New-Style Hoe Catches On Down Under FARM HOME Miscellaneous 18-3-31 It looks deceptively simple but the New Zealand inventor of the new "Weedrazor" hoe says the tool could revolutionize gardening as we know it. Fitted with an L-shaped sharpened blade, the Weedrazor weeds, trims, prunes, cuts, hoes, and can be used for "just about any-thing around the yard", says Richard Wallace, of Otorohanga. "It's like having a Swiss Army knife in the garden," he says, noting that he spent several years perfecting the new tool, which he first thought of about 18 years ago after a friend told him about how his grandfather used a knife with a bent blade to get rid of weeds in the garden. He first took a large carving knife and put a bend in it. Later he added a wooden handle to it for more control and use from a standing position. After using the unique hoe himself for a number of years, it suddenly hit him that there was nothing like it on the market so he decided to pursue a patent. After coming up with several more prototypes, he finally had a design that would work for anyone and that would be practical to manufacture. Unlike a conventional hoe, the Weedrazor has a cross handle on top for better leverage when digging or cutting off small limbs or grubbing out larger plants. The handle's crafted out of New Zealand tawa wood and the blade's stainless steel. Wallaceplans to produce 25,000 of the hoes this year. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Wallace, Otorohanga, New Zealand.