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Japanese Gardening Hoe & Tiller |
Gardening Hoe & Tiller
Edge Angle
The Japense style of Gardening Hoe & Tiller is sometimes called a hand mattock. The tool is the same in either case.
Sharpen the outside edge, and deburr the inside edge. This is noted in the picture to the left.
Unlike a garden hoe, this does not set the angle for the tool's usage in a way as to make the tool's use problematic.
When a garden is used as a place to pause for thought, that is when a Zen garden comes to life. When you contemplate a garden like this it will form as lasting impression on your heart.
Muso Soseki
A 6" smooth cut machinist’s hand file is useful to carry in your gardening tools box. Use it to resharpen the hoe as needed throughout the gardening activity.
A micro bevel can be added in the field by the gardener for quick resharpening. Even if the tool was sharpened in the shop using a Tormek, the gardener could use a machinist's hand file for a quick touch-up.
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General Guidelines |
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| α |
Micro Bevel |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 30° | +5° |
The Tormek SG-250 grindstone works well for sharpening this tool. Grinding the outside edge using the Tormek's vertical position (with the grindstone rotating towards the edge) is recommended. The inside edge will need to be deburred using a machinist's hand file. |
Japanese gardening tools are typically made from high-carbon steel which is not terribly hard. When this is combined with an acute angle like 30°, it is easy to damage the edge.
Changing this tool to have a higher angle like 45° is not recommended. Instead, the gardener should use a hand axe (aka, a hatchet) for work in the garden which requires heavy chopping or where the blade could come into contact with hard objects such as gravel. These could impart significant damage to the blade of this tool.
For removing large nicks in the edge, a Tormek grinder or a 12-14" bastard file machinist’s hand file will work sufficiently well. Experience has shown that either of these approaches works quite well in removing nicks from the edge after my wife or children have used the tool.
Using a bench or angle grinder is not recommended as this will surely overheat the tool, removing the temper from the edge. Additionally, the shaping of the edge is difficult to control.
If using a Tormek, the Tormek jigs used for holding wood plane blades work well for holding this tool. Also, the Tormek SG-250 grindstone works well for sharpening this tool.
If you choose to use a machinist’s hand file,
Micro bevel Notes:
The micro bevel makes the resharpening of this tool easier. If you sharpen the tool using a machinist's hand file, this is recommended. It is less critical if you use a Tormek grinder for the sharpening.