Sneeboer Dutch Hand Scuffle

The shape of the scuffle hoe is perfect for the preparation of the flat ground, no wonder it's especially widespread in Holland. It works by pulling or pushing the weeds to remove them while gently aerating the ground. This model with a handle (not a stick) is mainly used in raised beds, large and small planters. But it's also good for using it in the densely planted ground in garden beds. The closed loop of the tool head works like a little crash barrier to keep the flowers out of range and direct the weeding action towards the unwanted green. The serrated blade works very effectively, and the tool's low total weight makes the scuffle hoe a tool one can use working hours without tiring.

For more than 100 years, the family of the West Frisian blacksmith Jaap Sneeboer has been supplying their Dutch fellow citizens, known to be incessantly engaged in farming, dyking and horticulture, with the tools they need to do so. At Sneeboer, they use two different types of stainless steel for their traditional Frisian horticultural tools: a tougher one (with higher degrees of alloying) for the springs and grommets holding the handle and low-alloy steel that responds better to forging for the functional parts in the narrow sense. They weld the individual construction elements together, then ground and polish them by hand.

It has long become common practice to stamp and roll garden tools. However, we hardly need to describe the difference; we want to point out that forging is the only way to deal with a tool in all its details and strengthen the material in those parts where this is necessary for functional reasons.