One morning this spring, I volunteered with my local park system to remove invasive honeysuckle from the wooded park near my house. Our small team of volunteers were offered soil knives with bright orange handles and a serrated edge, and loppers for large honeysuckle bushes. However, our lead ranger informed us we would probably be able to use just the soil knife for even the bigger tasks and not even touch the other gardening tools.
I was skeptical, but after using the knife from A.M. Leonard Horticultural Tool & Supply Co. all morning, I went home and immediately bought one for my own garden. You can purchase one directly from the company or find the A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife in the A.M. Leonard Amazon storefront.
I upgraded and got the Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo that can also be found on Amazon. Since I bought the soil knife, it has replaced all my other garden tools. It is the perfect pocket-sized tool for everything from digging holes for new plants to removing tough weeds with ease and even sawing through established honeysuckle. No more swapping between tools as you go about the garden. Just clip the knife to your belt and go. The only task it can’t do for me is mow the lawn.
A.M. Leonard is celebrating their 140th anniversary this year so they are clearly doing something right! The Piqua, Ohio based company offers just about everything you could need as an amateur gardener or a professional landscaper and their soil knife, or hori hori knife, is one of their most popular items.
The A.M. Leonard soil knife made quick work of the honeysuckle during my volunteer shift because of its simple, yet effective design and the quality of its construction. I was a ranger with the National Park Service for almost a decade and when I led volunteer crews clearing honeysuckle, we always used saws and loppers, but this soil knife changed my perspective.
Sure, some of the really old, established bushes require a more powerful tool, but with the soil knife I was able to dig out honeysuckle seedlings, pry many of the older shrubs out of the ground, and saw through the branches of the most difficult bushes so that a chemical herbicide could be applied later.
With a serrated edge for sawing and beveled edge for cutting, there is little the Italian-made steel blade can't contend with. As well as withstanding 300lbs of pressure, it has a durable handle too, with the bonus of being bright orange so you never misplace it. The leather sheath for your belt keeps it safe when not in use.
Uses and Features
The A.M. Leonard soil knife has made me excited to pull weeds. It has completely changed my gardening experience. I have used it for every job in the garden this spring and summer with the exception of ripping out a dead bush with my hands and mowing the lawn.
This soil knife and my gardening gloves are the only things I need whether I am tending my pollinator garden in front of my house or my vegetable beds out back. Some specific uses include:
- Dividing plants
- Cutting sod
- Digging weeds
- Harvesting produce
- Quick hand-trimming where loppers aren’t needed
- Digging small holes for planting - depth markers make it even easier
- Cutting roots
Some of the features of the A.M. Leonard soil knife include:
- Serrated edge for sawing through roots and branches
- Beveled cutting edge for digging through heavy clay soil
- Depth markers to make bulb planting a no-brainer
- Twine cutter for quick and easy trellising
- Stainless steel blade made in Italy that can withstand 300lbs of pressure
- Durable molded handle that is bright orange for visibility – this was a gamechanger while working in the forest. I never lost it even when it was under leaf litter and branches!
- Leather sheath keeps you safe from the blade when not in use and keeps the soil knife close at hand on your belt or waistband
- Easy cleaning is convenient. Just scrape off the dirt, hose it down, and give it a quick dry to clean it up after even the toughest jobs
As a gardener and garden magazine editor, I recommend the soil knife from A.M. Leonard Horticultural Supply & Tool Co. to everyone I know. It is a fantastic value for the price and is one of the most useful, effective garden tools I have ever come across.
