Berry&Bird Potting Trowel, Oversized Garden Hand Shovel with Sharp Blade & Wood Handle, Stainless Steel Gardening Tool for Roots, Planting, Diggin...

This Berry & Bird Trowel is excellent. It is large enough to quickly make the right size hole for transplanting two to four-inch potted plants. It is sharp enough to easily cut through grass and small roots while digging. When I opened the package and realized it was a flat spade, I was worried about how it would work since I'm so used to seeing a curved blade on one of these or a regular shovel. I even considered taking it to the shop and using a vise to bend it slightly. But I transplanted two small and three larger potted plants in the flowerbed and was surprised at how effective it is to use the way it was manufactured. There is enough weight to easily dig the holes and the sharp edge will go through grass or underlying roots and vines. The sharp edge can also be used to clear small patches of vines in the area. I fully recommend this trowel for your gardening needs, you will never think about buying the old style small trowels again.

The media could not be loaded. I don't think I ever received a gardening tool in a gift box. This looks amazing. I have a lot of garden tools. I'm a passionate gardener growing virtually anything that grows, and I wasn't going to add yet another tool in my extensive collection, but this one's so different. I had never seen a flat hard shaped trowel before. I know it said "oversized" but I didn't expect it to be this big, and it's pretty heavy too. Excellent quality and attention to the details. I always appreciate being able to hang my tools and this comes with the hole and a leather cord too. The handle is solid wood and the metal is stainless steel that will make this virtually eternal, like my 40 years old cooking pots that look like I bought them yesterday (and I do cook daily!). This is an unusual shaped tool, the edges are sharp and it's totally flat. I normally use a big scoop when I dig small holes, but the scoop is great for scooping and not for actually digging. This heart trowel is great at breaking through hard soil too and it's going to be a great helper for sure.

I was interested in this trowel as a complement to some other gardening tools in my garage; I love, collect and use good tools of all sorts. Although the listing clearly describes this trowel as oversized and provides the dimensions, I was still surprised by its girth when I received it. The attached photo shows it next to a couple of normal garden trowels and the highly rated Hori Hori Namibagata Japanese Weeding Knife that Ive had for a few years. It might take me some time to discover the best uses for this new too. The box it was in says in large letters that it was made in China (albeit designed in the US), but it is clearly well-made. The blade is highly polished and the handle is finely finished and firmly attached to the blade. I would not hesitate at all to buy more garden tools from Berry & Bird.

This trowel is a real beauty! I love the wooden handle and the stainless steel that the trowel is made of. The trowel is perfectly designed for gardening and how awesome that it is so wide! Pointy at the end for easy digging, and the trowel itself is able to grab a lot of dirt due to the extra wide steel. I took it out to one of my 22 garden beds and it worked exactly as I hoped! It easily dug into the dirt and picked up a bunch of weeds that Ive been wanting to remove and it worked great for that. As far as digging with it to plant something, its a dream as it easily and quickly digs the dirt up, making planting a breeze. This trowel is truly like a small shovel but a lot easier and lighter than a full sized shovel and is perfect for me. This will be the trowel I take most often and I might just need another one. Lastly, this would make an excellent gift for a gardener!

So the flat blade is great for slicing and 'undercutting' in soil, but not for scooping or moving dirt. A slight cup curve there would have added some benefit. (Might be good as a pancake flipper!) The material appears to be top quality, but only time will tell - how deep the tang is and how it's mounted in the handle will ulitmately determine the value of the piece. It does not appear to be full tang, so I wonder how deep it goes. Since it's not mentioned, I have to assume it's fairly short, and may not hold up well to vigorous use (and abuse, like being left outdoors). The sharp (ish) edges are wonderful - so useful for cutting roots as you freshen up a spot. The large size is also very helpful - I find the smaller sized ones frustrating at how little they dig up. The handle seems really really well made hardwood, and the hanging loop is kind of necessary, as this needs to be cleaned and stored after use...no storage bag or bin is supplied. (Not that I expected one.) To get fussy, the polishing of the stainless steel was not uniform, and I can see tool marks from the buffing wheel on the blade. While I doubt this will make a difference with stainless steel, a better job polishing would make a better impression. All in all, a really handy addition for any gardner, tho I do wish it had a bit of a curve on the blade to allow it to hold a bit more dirt that 'just what will balance' on it. I expect it will be a long life tool, but only time will tell.