Great form and function (Wilkinson Sword Stainless Steel Swoe)

Member Name: rxpell

Product:	Wilkinson Sword Stainless Steel Swoe
Date:	12/06/09 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Light weight, Long reach, Good for detailed weeding, Looks great

Disadvantages: None really

When an old rusty wooden-shafted hoe we had finally gave up the ghost it was time for something new ... on a trip to the garden centre this one caught my eye. In fact I ended up buying both this "Swoe" and a matching "Draw Hoe". The swoe has been used a lot, the draw hoe has hardly been out of the shed. Even before you get to the blade, the thing that strikes me about this is its looks ... the design is sleek and stunning with shiny metal and black (the one we have also has an orange tip not shown in the picture here) making it looks very futuristic and more than a humble garden tool. This a garden tool, however, and it is function not form we are after, so enough looking, what's it like to use ? The shaft is long and the overall weight light so its easy to use and easy to reach between plants and get into the back of beds. At the business end is the "swoe" blade which I like and find good for precision hoeing ... I've been using it diligently on my garlic and onion beds and a few minutes work every couple of days is keeping them weed free. Also used it on the potatoes but for these, I think, an old-style Dutch hoe is probably better, but I got this for the detailed stuff.

Only slight negative is it was more expensive than other types on offer, but I fell for the looks but wasn't dissapointed.

Summary: Does the job well and looks great