Burgon & Ball RHS Collection - Two-Pronged Dutch Hoe

This small Burgon & Ball hand hoe with its two long, pointed tines is ideal for weeding, removing roots, aerating, and loosening compacted soil in small areas, tight spaces, or hard-to-reach places. Featuring a short FSC-certified wooden handle, this hand fork has a polished stainless steel head that is resistant to rust. Lightweight, maneuverable, and sturdy, it is a well-made tool that will accompany the gardener for many years.

* FSC is an international eco-label guaranteeing that the wood comes from sustainably managed forests.

The hand hoe is one of the essential tools in gardening and one of the first to acquire due to its versatility. This high-quality model consists of a handle made of sustainably sourced hardwood, known for its hardness and lightness, with a metal ferrule where the head is attached. Made of polished stainless steel, it is resistant to shocks, twisting, and corrosion. This hand hoe is used to loosen the surface soil while dislodging the roots of 'weeds'. It is valuable for working the top few centimetres of soil in small spaces, as it can manoeuvre around plants that are too close together for a wider hoe. With its short handle, this model is particularly suitable for raised plantings such as vegetable beds or flower pots. Remember to work in a crouched position if you are cleaning a traditional flower bed to protect your back. The handle of this hand fork is compostable, and the metal head is recyclable.

The English have the privilege of being the reference in gardening (if not in cooking). Promesses de Fleurs has chosen the English company Burgon & Ball for the quality of its materials and its nearly three-century-old steel manufacturing methods. The company has been working with steel in Sheffield since 1730, starting with a patent for solid steel sheep shears. The production of garden shears and equipment quickly surpassed that of sheep shears, but the stainless steel tools from Burgon & Ball are officially approved by the Royal Horticultural Society - probably the ultimate reward in the gardening industry.

The steel used for Burgon & Ball tools is alloyed with carbon to give it strength, and with chrome to prevent rust. It's a very precise balance that needs to be found between chromium and carbon, different for each part of the tool. For example, the ferrule, which needs to be strong enough to resist bending, is made of thicker steel with a medium balance between chromium and carbon, while the head of this hand fork, which requires significant strength and hardness to withstand bending in the soil, is made with a higher carbon content than chromium.

The heat treatment allows for precisely giving the right hardness to the steel for each tool. Too hard and the metal can break or chip, not hard enough and it will bend or lose its sharpness. The thickness of the steel used also depends on the tool. This hand fork requires a thicker steel thickness than a knife, which can be made of much thinner steel. The thickness of the steel also affects the weight, so it's a balance that the company Burgon & Ball, with almost 300 years of experience, has validated to ensure that its tools are both effective and enjoyable to use.