Based on the reviews it's easy to see why this is a great tool. Rugged, made of thick stainless, well weight balanced, the makers spent a lot of time designing a good product. Here's my thoughts after having put it through some heavy use for the last few months.
SUMMARY
Pros
- Very rugged
- Cuts and digs accurately
- Can be leveraged full weight
- low profile
Cons
- pricey
- low holding capacity
First, let me say that we already own or share a lot of stainless hardwood handled garden hand tools. So we already know that most can do the job, but in the end I could replace 3-4 different tools with just one Hori.
Also, the way we use tools is likely a bit more harsh than the average gardener, we are building a lot of new capacity now, so we will be digging through rough, hard, superclay fill. Anyone who has tried gardening in urban environments will know what I'm talking about. This stuff is a pain in the ass to work so requires higher quality tools.
Cutting/Digging/Transplanting 10/10
This is where the Hori shines, I can easily cut through grass infested soil, deweed, cut accurately and dig out large 1/2"-1" roots with this. The main thing that impressed me was that I can fully leverage my weight on this knife without feeling that the tool is going to snap and cut through my face. The serrated side of the knife cuts easily through most brush and I've used it exclusively for cutting grass out of soil. The flat sharp side cuts jute and other stuff real nice.
Mixing/Carrying 7/10
The blade is thin for accuracy so the tradeoff is not having a ton of volume to hold material, if I was transferring lots of material I would use a larger trowel. When mixing components this knife works well.
Ergonomics 9/10
The handle is well crafted and feels solid. There have never been burrs or edges that make it uncomfortable to hold. A tapered contour may help the knife in some situations but I've not encountered a situation that made the knife awkward to use.
Price 6/10
You get what you pay for. It's definitely not priced to compete as a standard gardening tool, at Lee Valley it set us back $40CDN versus a whatever hand trial that would go for $10.
Conclusion
If you are in the market for an all-round garden knife I strongly recommend the Hori. I don't need to carry around as many tools to our various urban garden sites, I won't be caught hiking without a tool to retrieve 'samples' and most likely this knife will last me for many years to come.
