Raking Leaves

 tool review  No Responses »
May 012013
 

rake testingI don’t know about you, but raking leaves is not on my list of fun yard activities. Recently had an opportunity to meet with the team at Ames / True Temper as they travel the country talking to customers about what they would like to see in a rake. So many choices! Here’s a list of some of the features to look for:

  • handle length
  • handle material (wood, plastic or metal)
  • padding on the handle (or not)
  • rake head shape (triangular or square)
  • rake head material (metal, plastic)

Whew! Exhausted just trying to decide which one to choose. After raking leaves with a team and reviewing and discussing options, we agreed that our favorites were the ones that felt sturdy, but were light in weight. The all plastic rakes seemed flimsy and cheap. is a nice basic rake, not fancy, but didn’t seem like it would hold up with extreme raking.

The ones with a metal handle were cold (wearing gloves would fix that or having a padded handle) but could be a little heavier. I was very impressed with the rake specifically designed for kids

The fiberglass handle model
is nice and sturdy. Quite a bit more money though, so decide how much you will be raking to see if it’s worth it.

My personal favorite is the all metal You will need to wear gloves since it has the metal handle, but it is very durable and the smaller head seems more maneuverable.

One other feature to look for is warranty. Some have a 1 year warranty, others can range up to lifetime. Over the years, this has become an important feature for us. Often, buying the right tool with a lifetime warranty, even though it’s more money, is very much worth it. Just make sure you have a system to track your product warranties.

Again, thanks to the true temper teamTrue Temper / Ames team for all the great raking skills!

Weeds! Shotweed in Portland!

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May 012013
 

This spring is turning out to have a bumper crop of weeds. :( shot weed Each year seems to have a different weed problem. This year, my goal is to conquer the indomitable SHOTWEED. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you’ve probably come across this lovely plant. It starts early in the spring with a lovely circular shape of leaves, close to the ground. The first bit of warming and it sends up a flower stem right from the middle, the pretty white flowers bloom and then the long skinny seeds form. Add a bit more heat, some water and this plant literally explodes. When the seeds are ready, there is no way to pull the plan without causing the seeds to pop and distribute everywhere. You have to pull them before the seeds are ready to pop. If you miss it, then you have to wait until next spring.

Essential tools for tool belt

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Jan 252013
 

What tools are in your tool belt? Probably depends on what repairs you normally do, but for general household repairs, here’s what my toolbelt is stocked with:

electrical tester
combination screwdriver
pliers


What else should be included? My toolbelt has a spot for a hammer, but I don’t use it. No point in carrying a bulky hammer around all the time. The electrical tester is my favorite new tool. Checkout this post about it: klein electrical tester

Knife Sharpener

 tool review  No Responses »
Jul 182012
 

The search for a new knife sharpener took us to the expensive electric ones to an old-fashioned stone and finally to an inexpensive knife sharpener that seems to really work!  It was a little weird to seem to be scraping the edge of the blade, but as long as you hold the sharpener flat, and go smoothly , it works quite well.  Check it out here: