Garden Tools

Tools sort by handle length before anything else, because that decides whether you work standing or kneeling. Lengths here run 1 to 96 inches with a median of 24. Steel appears in 113 of 444 listings and is the attribute that separates a tool that lasts from one that bends.

224 products · page 1 of 10

Handle Length and How You Work

Length splits the collection in two. Long-handled tools at 36 to 96 inches are used standing, and short-handled tools at 8 to 16 inches are used kneeling or from a seat. The median listing at 24 inches sits between the two, in the mid-length tools built for raised beds.

Raised beds changed this. A bed at 24 to 32 inches high is worked standing with a short tool rather than kneeling with one, which is why the mid-lengths have grown as a category.

Match the tool to the bed height.

Steel, Aluminium and Handle Materials

Steel heads at 113 listings are the bulk of the range. Aluminium at 16 is lighter and bends more easily, which suits a trowel and does not suit a spade meant for turning ground.

Handles run wood at 20 listings, fibreglass and coated steel across the rest.

Wood absorbs shock and eventually splits at the socket, which is where every long-handled tool fails.

Hand Tools and Sets

Counts here run 1 to 44 with 4 the usual set size. Sets are cheaper per tool and reliably include at least one item nobody uses, which is the trade for the price.

Fiskars at 33 listings and Kings County Tools at 21 hold the branded end, and Expert Gardener at 63 and AsterOutdoor at 102 carry the volume ranges.

Pruners and Cutting Tools

Bypass and anvil are the two cutting actions and they are not interchangeable. Bypass pruners slice past each other and suit living stems. Anvil pruners crush against a flat face and suit dead wood.

Using an anvil pruner on green growth crushes the stem rather than cutting it, which is the most common misuse of a garden tool and the reason a cheap pruner feels blunt when it is not.

Tools, Carts and Benches

Anything that carries a load rather than moves soil sits in garden carts, which are specified by capacity in pounds and litres. The work surfaces in potting benches carry most of the storage for hand tools.

Tool Types Compared

TypeLengthUsedHead materialPrice band
Long-handled spade or fork36 to 60 inStandingSteel$30 to $84
Rake and hoe48 to 96 inStandingSteel$27 to $70
Mid-length bed tool18 to 30 inStanding at a bedSteel$25 to $60
Hand trowel and fork8 to 16 inKneelingSteel or aluminium$9 to $30
Pruners7 to 10 inEitherSteel$15 to $60

Garden Tool Questions

What length tool suits a raised bed?

A mid-length tool at 18 to 30 inches, used standing. A bed at 24 to 32 inches high does not want a kneeling tool or a full-length spade.

Bypass or anvil pruners?

Bypass for living stems, anvil for dead wood. An anvil pruner crushes green growth rather than cutting it, which is the usual reason a pruner feels blunt.

Are tool sets better value?

Per tool, yes. Sets here run to 44 pieces with 4 the usual count, and they reliably include something nobody uses.

Where do long-handled tools fail?

At the socket where handle meets head. Wood absorbs shock well and eventually splits there, which is the common failure across the category.

Is aluminium worth having?

In a trowel, yes, for the weight. In a spade meant for turning ground it bends, and only 16 of 444 listings use it.