Battle Mowers Ltd Stocks a large selection of Hand Tools for all parts of the garden. We aim to have most tools a gardener needs in a growing garden. Below is a small selection of what we keep in stock.
Spear and Jackson Hand Tools
Spades and forks
Spades and forks are a necessary piece of garden equipment. You will often be working with one or the other so it’s crucial to get the right size that’s comfortable for you to use. Otherwise you will feel it in the morning!
It is helpful to know what type of digging you will doing as it will influence the tool you get. If the patch you’re digging is big, choose a wide head to get the job done quicker. But remember that garden shovels and forks with a wider head are heavier. So if you have difficulty bending and lifting, you’re better off buying one with a narrower head. Garden forks and spades come with a choice of handles. D-shaped, T-shaped or wishbone. It doesn’t matter which one you have, as long as it’s big enough for you to grip comfortably even when you’re wearing gloves.
 | Digging spades From £30.00 This garden spade is ideal for digging over big plots or digging on a regular basis. The blade is approximately 11in x 7in. Choose a bigger blade for wider areas, but remember that shovels with bigger heads will be heavier. |
 | Border spades From £30.00 This is perfect for your small, narrow borders and beds. With a blade about 9in x 5in, a border spade is narrower and lighter than a digging spade, making it easier to use in small spaces. It’s also really good for anyone who finds bending and lifting difficult. |
 | Digging forks From £30.00 A garden fork built for digging bigger plots and regular use. The fork head is approximately 12in x 8in with four tines, or prongs. |
 | Border forks From £30.00 Use this fork for small, narrow borders and beds. A border fork has a narrower head than a digging fork. It’s about 9in x 5in and has four tines. |
 | Hand forks From £10.00 This kind of garden fork is good for hand-weed a small patch or loosen soil in pots and tubs. If you find bending a problem, go for a long handled version. |
Cultivating Tools
 | Hoes From £30.00 These are used for when you need to weed in flower beds or want to loosen compacted soil. They are especially good if you have to reach over other plants to the back of the bed. |
 | Dutch hoes From £30.00 A Dutch hoe is a good all-rounder, a great weeding tool that also loosens surface soil. Move the D-shaped head backwards and forwards across the earth and it will slice through weeds at the base of the stem. |
 | Draw hoes From £30.00 Use a draw hoe to draw the soil around the stems of plants, earth up potatoes or create a seed drill. The head is a blade angled about 90 degrees from the long shaft. You simply pull the hoe towards you in a chopping motion. This hoe isn’t ideal for weeding. |
 | Rakes From £30.00 For cultivation choose a simple garden rake. Use it to level or clear the ground of stones and other debris or break down dug-over soil before you plant or seed. The head has 12 rigid teeth set at 90 degrees to a straight bar. As you pull the rake across the soil it collects stones and debris, and also breaks up bigger clumps of soil. For larger areas, use a rake with a wider head (remember it will be heavier so could be tiring to use). A Hay Rake is ideal for collecting grass cuttings and levelling surfaces and sand bunkers on golf courses. |
Planting tools
 | Trowels From £10.00 A garden trowel is great for planting up your patio pots, moving plants around the garden, or transferring them to bigger beds. A standard size trowel with a wider blade is fine for most jobs. But use a special transplanting trowel with a much narrower blade for transplanting young plants. Transplanting trowels have a depth gauge marked along the blade to help you plant to the correct level. |
 | Dibbers From £10.00 A dibber looks like the T-handle of a spade with a pointed end. Use it to make a hole in the soil when planting seedlings. |
Prunning and cutting tools
Choose the best cutting tools you can afford and with a little bit of care they should go on for years. Carbon steel blades give lasting sharpness.
 | Secateurs and loppers From £20.00 These garden tools are key for most pruning jobs. Look out for two types: Anvil secateurs and loppers. Anvil tools work with one cutting blade moving against a blunt - or anvil - bar. The anvil bar is made of softer metal so it doesn't blunt the sharp cutting blade. Bypass secateurs and loppers. Bypass tools have two cutting blades and are similar to scissors. Use secateurs to prune stems up to about 1cm diameter. For anything bigger (up to about 3cm diameter), you'll want a pair of garden loppers - long-handled secateurs. Those long handles give you good leverage on thicker branches. But for extra cutting power choose loppers with a ratchet mechanism. If you'll sometimes need to cut branches of tall trees, get a pair of loppers with adjustable telescopic twist handles. These will offer you that extra reach. |
Shears
 | Hedge shears From £30.00 These are just the job for tight, compact hedges, shrubbery and larger topiary. If your hedge is tall, try garden shears with telescopic handles. Some have a cutting head you can adjust to a 90-degree angle to trim along the top of the hedge while you stand on the ground. Others are notched for cutting thicker stems. |
 | Pruning saws From £15.00 A pruning saw has a handle at one end of a tapering blade, so it's easy to get into overgrown areas of a tree without damaging nearby branches. |
 | Bow saws From £15.00 This saw has a bow handle and the blade is held between the two ends. Because the handle is quite large, the bow saw is normally used to cut up a branch after it's been lopped off the tree and needs to be disposed of. |
 | Patio knife and Block Paving Cleaners From £15.00 For troublesome weeds that look an eyesore; an environmental solution to remove moss and weeds from between the joints in block paving without disturbing the sand. |
 | Hay Forks From £20.00 For turning the compost or lifting large prunings into a pile or removing debris from ditches or ponds. |
Looking after your garden hand tools
Think of garden tools as a long-term investment and go for the best you can afford. Higher quality tools will outlast cheaper rivals and with good care they’ll go on for years to come. Here’s how to look after them:
- Protect digging tools from rust by removing soil. Oil them lightly or spray with WD40 before putting away.
- Clean cutting tool blades with a damp cloth and dry thoroughly.
- Oil lightly to keep them sharp.
- Sharpen blades as soon as they begin to blunt.
- Replace any blades that are damaged.
- Store your tools in a clean, dry place.
