Introducing Haxnicks new traditionally crafted garden tools

We are proud to announce the launch of our new traditionally crafted and high-quality tools, built on tradition with a ten-year guarantee.

The new collection consists of nine all-important basic tools, that every gardener beginner or advanced with either a balcony or a sprawling garden needs. It includes; a border fork and spade, digging fork and digging spade, edging tool, hand fork and hand trowel, and a leaf rake and standard rake.

Tool Quality & Materials

At Haxnicks we believe in good quality gardening tools as they make gardening easier and more enjoyable. Acquiring hardwearing and long-lasting tools doesn’t make you a superior gardener overnight, but it will make for a faster, more efficient, and pleasurable experience.

While it may be possible to buy cheaper tools, these are rarely well built and will bend or break as soon as you put any strain on them.

All our tools are built to work and built to last. They have FSC certified ash timber handles from sustainable, responsibly managed forests.

Ash timber has long fibres that allow the wood to absorb shocks and vibrations easily, reducing user fatigue. In addition, it is strong and flexible and will not chip, split or snap under pressure.

Ash has a straight grain which means our tools are smooth, soft as well as solid and comfortable to hold. This means not only is this range functional and durable, it looks and feels nice.

Haxnicks tool heads are made from top quality polished stainless-steel, meaning they are more solid. Cheap alternatives will lose their sharp edge quickly whilst our tools are durable and will last longer.

How to choose key gardening tools

Using the right tools for gardening is super important as it enables you to get the best results in your garden and avoid injury. Below we have outlined the basic use for each tool in our new range. For a more in-depth overview on gardening forks read our previous blog 3 reasons to use a Garden Fork & how to choose one

Hand trowel – these are perfect for planting small plants and transplanting seedlings. Garden trowels are also used to dig up weeds.

In small, tight areas, our narrow width blade will work better to dig out weeds or to plant small plants or bulbs.

Hand fork – these are essential for planting small plants, digging plant holes, transplanting seedlings and extracting weed. A hand fork is better than a trowel for this activity because it’s small, and its fork points won’t disrupt or damage the roots of the plants already in your bed.

As with all Haxnicks tools, the hand trowel and hand fork tools are beautifully crafted with vintage, dark wooden ash handles and the highest quality SS420 polished stainless steel.

Digging spade – These spades are considered garden workhorses. They make easy work of digging holes for plants, edging, lifting sod, and moving small mounds of dirt from one area to another.A digging spade is wider than a border spade and designed to move and turn the earth and slice through soil and roots.

Digging fork – A digging fork is just a larger, long-handled version of the hand fork, though with straight rather than angled prongs.

Use it for loosening soil over larger areas or to break up hard soil before digging. 

Border spade – Smaller than a digging spade, a border spade is ideal for planting, using in raised beds and for working in beds and borders without disturbing the roots of nearby plants. Border spades are smaller and lighter than digging spades. The blade is the same shape on both, but a border spade's blade is smaller and flatter to dig straight down into the soil.

Edging tool – These are designed to make neat, tidy edges around plant beds and the outskirts of a lawn.

All Haxnicks spades, forks and are built to traditional standards and tested to 125kg load, and the edging tool tested to 20kg load. All have a flat top to blade to spread firm foot pressure comfortably.

Grass rake – Rakes are more useful than you may think. They are the best tool to clear leaves or twigs from your lawn and can also be used for breaking up soil and levelling out beds.

Standard rake – These types of garden rakes are designed to be able to tackle a variety of jobs. A standard rake does not have one specific purpose it can be used to level out soil or sand, raking up flower beds, or aerating soil.

Our Vintage Ash Rakes are built to traditional standards and tested to 20kg load. Their long ash wood shaft gives the rakes balance to help you through long raking sessions.

Caring for garden tools

Haxnicks Vintage Ash tools are designed to last many years, hence then ten-year guarantee but, as with all tools they must be cared for. Not only does cleaning your tools make them last longer but it helps them to perform their task more effectively. Below we have outlined a few basic methods.

1. Remove all of the soil from your digging tools after each use with a hose and allow them to dry completely before storing to prevent handle rot. Anything used on or near diseased plants should be cleaned with a household disinfectant. This applies to garden tools too which can spread diseases from plant to plant if not cleaned properly.
2. Regularly wipe the metal parts of pruners, shears, and loppers with an oily rag.
3. Sharpen cutting tools as well as the blades of shovels and spades during the gardening season. A hone or whetstone should be used for sharpening cutting tools. A file should be used to remove nicks and smooth the edge of your shovels and trowels.
4. Tools should not be stored outside and should be placed in a garage or shed especially in the winter. The best way to store garden tools, when not in use, is by hanging them up.

Which garden tools to buy if new to gardening or on a budget

If you are new to gardening, on a budget and are not sure which of our tools you may need to start your journey as a gardener we have put together a small list of our tools which are essential to helping you through the main jobs in the garden.

• Hand fork and hand trowel
• Digging spade and digging fork
• A standard rake.

To compliment your essential gardening tools, you might want to consider accessories such gloves, secateurs, a hoe and a bamboo compost scoop. As your garden evolves you can start to build up your collection of tools to include all from our new collection.

Shop our new Vintage Ash Tool Range 

Watch Pippa Greenwood  reviewing the range over on our YouTube Channel Haxnicks Vintage Ash Tools