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Right name for heavy-duty weeding tool?

When I first took on an allotment, I had a lot of weeds/brush/undergrowth to clear, but I also had a fantastic little hand-tool called a Kirpi which made short work of slashing stuff down, but could also be used as a hand-held hoe for more specific weeding; the outside of the blade was sharpened, with a little hook, so you could push it along the soil, use the tip for pulling out weed roots, and the inside was serrated like a little curved saw. It was brilliant, but I've somehow lost it. On my current plot I use a couple of old grass-hooks to slash down encroaching nettles & brambles - I'm on the edge of the site, next to a ditch full of wild plants (and rabbits - arrrgh, don't mention the rabbits!)  - which work ok for that one job but aren't nearly as versatile. Now DS1 and his lovely partner are taking on a house with a big abandoned garden out back, which they'll have the use of for a year; I'd like to send them a tool equivalent to the Kirpi, which no longer seems to be available, to help them clear space for some veggies without damaging any of the good stuff that's probably underneath the nettles & brambles - rhubarb, raspberries, etc., the sort of thing that just carries on in an old kitchen garden - or wildlife, but I really don't know what it would be called! Anyone got any ideas what I should be searching for, please?
Angie - GC Feb 25: £119.40/£500: 2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge: 0/68: (Money's just a substitute for time & talent...)

Comments

  • twopenny
    twopenny Posts: 6,831 Forumite
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    Seems that they were hand made by an Indian blacksmith and the money went to an organic gardening project there.
    Only references I can find to it are people wanting one and can't find them.
    Nothing but praise though.

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  • coffeehound
    coffeehound Posts: 5,741 Forumite
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    edited 30 March 2021 at 10:45AM
    Anything like this which Davesnave mentioned a while back?

    http://www.blackberrylane.co.uk/homi.html
  • thriftwizard
    thriftwizard Posts: 4,826 Forumite
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    Similar, thank you, coffeehound, but not quite as multi-purpose, I think.  That looks great for hoeing & standard weeding, but it doesn't look like that would have the slashing & sawing actions they're going to need. I suspect I'll need to send them several different tools; this'll be their first real garden, even if it's only for a year. The kind of flimsy tools that most garden centres sell aren't going to be much help, otherwise I'd send them a voucher... I swear by old tools, they're so much stronger!
    Angie - GC Feb 25: £119.40/£500: 2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge: 0/68: (Money's just a substitute for time & talent...)
  • -taff
    -taff Posts: 15,063 Forumite
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    edited 5 April 2021 at 8:02AM
    If you're hell bent on getting one maybe a local or not so local blacksmith could help? Or tool manufactuer?
    Or if you know anyone who is going to be visiting India in the near future, you could ask them to bring one back...
    Non me fac calcitrare tuum culi
  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 14,166 Forumite
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    -taff said:
    If you're hell bent on getting one maybe a local or not so local blacksmith could help? Or tool manufactuer?
    Or if you know anyone who is going to be visiting India in the near future, you could ask them to bring one back...
    Best of luck getting that on a 'plane :D

    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • -taff
    -taff Posts: 15,063 Forumite
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    It can go in a suitcase. I've brought knives back with me before from Italy. As long as it's in the hold you can bring back all sorts...
    Non me fac calcitrare tuum culi
  • aylesby
    aylesby Posts: 461 Forumite
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    Search Billhook tool   
  • Apodemus
    Apodemus Posts: 3,410 Forumite
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    aylesby said:
    Search Billhook tool   
    Yes, its essentially a billhook with a serrated blade.   Fiskars used to do a billhook with a serrated back to the blade, which would be close, but I don't see it on their catalogue now.
  • Apodemus
    Apodemus Posts: 3,410 Forumite
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    edited 6 April 2021 at 9:32AM
    Ah, found it!  Seems you need to be American to get to see it! :)  Having changed my location to USA, it is on their site as Billhook Saw/Machete (18").


  • thriftwizard
    thriftwizard Posts: 4,826 Forumite
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    Oooh, that looks - useful, thank you, Apodemus! Found some on Ebay, and will order one of those for them. Fiskars have never let me down as a crafter; cutting is what they do best. It should arrive just in time for DS1's birthday. In the meantime, I've sent them my second-best grass-hook, which is indeed a blacksmith-made one (thank you -taff) wickedly sharp (when kept clean) and well-balanced, which will get them started. (My "best" one is just a bit smaller & lighter, easier for me to handle, but I haven't got ¼-acre to clear.)

    In the meantime - there's definitely a gap in the market for Kirpis, if anyone's going that way with a capacious suitcase...
    Angie - GC Feb 25: £119.40/£500: 2025 Fashion on the Ration Challenge: 0/68: (Money's just a substitute for time & talent...)
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