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Lost - A Favorite Tool I don't know about other gardeners, but I have some tools I use more often than others. I have four or five rakes in the shed but I use just one more than the others. Two are exactly the same except one has a wood handle that has weathered poorly and I manage to get splinters in my hands every time I use it, which isn't very often. I could probably fix that if I ran a piece of fine grit sandpaper over it a few times but I find it easier to keep reaching for the other rake when I have some general clean up to do. I don't use my chipper/shredder very often, maybe a couple of times a year, but it happens to be one of my favorite if not most expensive garden toolw. I've got two new kevlar drive belts in storage for the thing in case I ever need one. Every so soften I uncover the beast and clean it making sure the tires still hold air. It's actually a giant dirt and cobweb collector but boy when I need to shred or chip some branches to whittle them down to size the chipper/shredder is nice to have around.
Another favorite tool of mine, which I would say I use more often than anything, was a little whisk rake I purchased on-line over ten years ago. It cost me $11.95 not including the shipping costs according to the story I wrote back in 1998 for The Tucson Gardener. The little rake was easily accessible because it hung on a hook under the porch of my garden shed along with a couple of trowels. It was always there when I needed it and I didn't have to unlock a garden shed door to get to it. Well, back in January, I did a yard and garden clean-up after a few days of rain. It took me a couple of mornings to get everything done. I did some pruning, pulled a few weeds, planted some seeds, filled a few pots with new soil and transplants, and tossed some plants in the compost bin. I also did a whole lot of raking under shrubs to get the debris that had accumulated over a few months. I used my trusty, just a little bit rusty, whisk rake, and a metal dust pan to pick up the garden debris. I dumped the stuff in a rubber tub and then would carry the contents to the compost bin or trash container for disposal. I usually placed the whisk rake in the tub so I'd know where to find it while I gardened. I'm guessing I dumped the whisk rake along with the garden debris in the trash can and didn't realize it. (I lost a big soil scoop in the compost bin doing the same thing but that I recovered when I eventually used the compost.)
A few days later, I knew something was missing from its hook under the porch because it wasn't there when I needed it. I tried a substitute rake for clean up tasks but it just wasn't the same. Nothing quite had the right spaced tines or the comfortable weight and feel I'd grown accustomed to over the years. I wanted my tool back. I checked on-line at the original place I'd purchased the tool but they no longer carried it. I did a search for whisk rakes and came up with quite a few different kinds but they weren't exactly what I had in mind. The closest was a Black & Decker, made in China, fan rake I found on Amazon at $6 each. Nice price and I ordered two of them along with a couple of other items so I wouldn't have to pay shipping costs. But they weren't my original whisk rake so I continued my search. I eventually found them for sale on-line at the Smith & Speed Mercantile website. The homestead supplies and tools merchant is located in Eastsound, Washington. You might want to check out their gardening tools. There's a compost scoop I wouldn't mind owning. The shrub rakes, made in Taiwan were just like the one I lost and at the same price I paid ten years earlier. I ordered two and happily paid the shipping and handling costs. They arrived within a week and I was once again a happy gardener. I figure I now own enough whisk rakes to last the rest of my gardening liftetime. You might ask what was wrong with the other $6 rake you purchased. They almost look identical in size and shape. Not so I say. I do use the other rake but it's just a bit smaller than the original and those one or two inches does seem to make a difference in comfort when you're using a shrub rake. The Black & Decker works fine and I'll be using it in the garden for the really dirty jobs. My old friend whisk rakes, I'll save for special occasions. Maybe save one for a spot in the Smithsonian. (2010) |
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