Least Useful Tool

[digitS']

What is it for you?

I might be able to say that my little Honda tiller. It's about the same as a Mantis, they both had the same Honda engine the last time I checked. I've had 2 and the little Hondas had use, just not really in the big veggie garden. It's too rocky out there to use it weeding paths. The tiller bounces over the soil surface. In an early garden with different soil, it saw a fair amount of use for the path weeding. I can use it in the cultivated beds for mixing in fertilizer but usually don't.

The grubbing hoe that I got in the 1970's has to rate at the top. I knew that I didn't like to use the standard hoe (- childhood emotional trauma ). Deep cultivation was the aim but I quickly adopted the spade for that purpose. In fact, that shovel became the weeding tool of choice for paths and used throughout the growing season. I later thought that a square shovel would work better but came to the realization that it was more difficult to push along the paths in front of me. For 20+ years of use and then I learned that both tools require too much effort for most garden work. Still have garden use for both at various times.

The grubbing hoe - nope. Even for cutting through tree roots - I've used a splitting maul. I had that monster hoe out yesterday, trying to loosen soil as closely as possible to board walls. Naw! The spading fork was only about an inch wider and much easier to use. The nearly 50 year old grubbing hoe is in amazingly good shape through all its years of disuse.

Steve

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Probably the hand cultivater. I’ve only used mine like twice in 3 years and both times I could have easily used something else.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

For me the best of the worst is also the best named of the worst tool. A cant hook. Well in fairness I cannot remember successfully using it anyway. Its a big ol' bruiser, Thick handle for strong grabbing and spinning logs when chainsawing is what I thought I was buying. I have it for sale. Paint is fresh!

 

[Zeedman]

Probably the Ryobi cultivator attachment. Really hard to manage, back-breaking even with the shoulder strap - and as a weeder, did a poor job of cutting off the roots. That, and the first one had a two-cycle engine, which I'm really trying to get away from. Bought a 4-cycle replacement engine, and all that did was make it heavier, with the same flaws. A friend blew up the engine when he borrowed it; and when he tried to apologize, I stopped him & said "thank you, I've always hated it".

Second worst would be the heavy-duty string trimmer. It was touted as making easy work of tall heavy growth, so I thought it would make mowing the ditch easy. Nope. It choked on brush, and even the weed eater trimmed the tall grass better.

 

[R2elk]

For me the best of the worst is also the best named of the worst tool. A cant hook. Well in fairness I cannot remember successfully using it anyway. Its a big ol' bruiser, Thick handle for strong grabbing and spinning logs when chainsawing is what I thought I was buying. I have it for sale. Paint is fresh!

Back when I was cutting and splitting firewood, I found the cant hook to be very helpful.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Back when I was cutting and splitting firewood, I found the cant hook to be very helpful.

Yeah mine is too small to be so heavy and not pointy enough for its point end to bite. Lucky I took the bad design off the shelf before somebody else bought it.

 

[flowerbug]

one that you won't use (for whatever reason).

we have some very tiny garden hand tools. i have no idea why we have them, we never use them. i think they're hanging on the wall now for decoration.

tillers don't last long here. we've broken a few and then gave them to someone so he could fix them and sell them.

plastic rake. broke tines too easy.

 

[digitS']

Different needs, circumstances and styles.

Climate, soil and crops ... Probably, left out a half dozen differences.

I have found some very useful small tools, @Artichoke Lover and @flowerbug . My favored weeding style is sitting on a stool. I wear out plastic gloves like crazy pulling tiny weeds with my digitS'. But, small tools help as the weeds grow deeper into the soil. Some are just little, steel "pokey" things, others are conventional 3-prong cultivators, one looks remarkably like a grubbing hoe - about 1/5th of its length and about 1/20th of its weight.

Steve
gardening (w)imp

 

[seedcorn]

Garden seeder. Even with all the plates, it’s useless. I have tilled sand and depth control is beyond horrible. Hanging in shop.....

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Probably a hand tiller. It does a job, but I've used it maybe twice. We'll see how often I use the garden weasel. I bought that last year after a friend told me how much they love theirs.