PKS Gardening Tools

Small Tools Castor Trowel Corvus Weeder Lyra 5-claw Maia Dipper Mira Trowel Musca Trowel Nunki Weeder Phoenix Hoe Polux Hoe Spika Weeder Vega Hand Trowel Large Tools Auva Spade Herkules Edger Hydra Hoe Libra Shovel Orion Spade Pegasus Pick Pegasus Rake Sabik Hoe Sculptor Hoe Sirius Hoe Taurus 3-claw Tuza Mattock These tools are inspired by the work of Viktor Schauberger. He believed that copper is more beneficial to the soil, and the health of the plants, than conventional iron or steel tools. The copper tools displayed here have been developed in close association with PKS, the organisation established by the Schauberger family to preserve and promote Viktor's life work. Why does copper make a difference? In many ways copper is the opposite of iron and steel, the metals used commonly used for garden tools. Iron is magnetic, copper conductive. So whereas iron disturb the soil magnetism, copper assists the flow of earth energies to nourish the plants. Although copper is not as hard as steel, it is also less brittle, and will never rest! Our tools are hand-made in Austria by coopersmiths. The blades are made of bronze, an alloy of copper and a small amount of tin, and then hand-beaten to harden them. Other parts are of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc. The staffs are made of European hardwoods - ash, beech and lime. The longer tools are European length - longer than we use in Britain - allowing for more comfortable, upright posture. The resulting tools are hardwearing, practical and beautiful. The tools have been available in the UK since 2001. Users tell us that the tools are well designed and keep their sharp edges. A delight to use', was one comment. They notice that the soil slides off the tools. More and more people tell that they have noticed reduced slug and snail damage to their plants. • Copper doesn't rust • Copper is known to deter slugs and snails. • The tools are hard-wearing and will last for years. •Tools are lighter than their iron and steel equivalents. • Copper causes less friction than iron and steel, so the soils slides off our tools. Small Tools Castor Trowel This is a convenient hand-trowel with a turned beechwood handle and pointed blade, a good general-purpose trowel for the vegetable plot and flower border. The blade is curved on two planes, so it slices into the soil in a smooth action. "A thousand times better than any other trowel on the market" Bob Flowerdew, on "Gardeners' Question Time", BBC Radio 4, 12 Nov. '06 £24.00 (US $35.30) + p&p   Covus Hand Weeder Corvus is a heavy-duty hand-weeding tool, a single-tined hand cultivator. Its single robust curved prong can be used for rooting out stubborn weeds and aerating the soil. The handle is turned beech. £32.00 (US $47.40) + p&p   Lyra 5-Claw A lightweight hand-tool with a turned beech handle and five prongs, Lyra is useful for weeding in the closely planted flower border. The prongs scratch the soil between the plants, aerating it and removing weeds. £32.00 (US $47.00) + p&p   Maia Dipper Maia has an offset beech handle and a bronze-covered point, to allow easy sowing and transplanting, and give your young plants a good start. £24.00 (US $35.30) + p&p   Mira Trowel With its turned beechwood handle and pointed blade, Mira is handy for container gardening and bulb planting. We also use it to extract dandelions, as the long narrow blade cuts deeply into the soil without disturbing the surrounding plants. £23.00 (US $33.80) + p&p Musca Trowel Musca has a scoop shaped blade, practical for working with loose, sandy soil or garden compost. The blade is bronze, a hardwearing copper alloy, and the handle is beech. £24.00 (US $35.30) + p&p   Nunki Weeder Nunki is an ingenious weeding tool. It has a beech handle and a sharp curved bronze blade, which allows the gardener to scuffle the soil and loosen weed roots in a simple action. The blade is sharp on both sides, so like its larger equivalent, the Hydra Hoe, both the forwards and backwards movements are effective. The hooped blade allows the gardener to remove mat-forming weeds such as speedwell and chickweed from close to established plants without damaging them. The sharp edges enable the gardener to tidy up between rows of plants in a swift, sweeping action. £20.00 (US $29.50) + p&p   Phoenix Hoe This is a convenient tool for precision work in the garden. The two 3-inch prongs loosen compacted soil, and the blade can dig out stubborn weeds. The diamond-shaped head can also be used to transplant young plants, then the whole tool is useful to tamp down the soil. Handle made of turned beechwood. £32.00 (US $47.00)   Polux Hoe Like Phoenix but with a single prong. We find that this tool is more suitable for stony or more friable soil, and for more careful gardening. £32.00 (US $47.00) + p&p   Spika Weeder Known to Bonsai gardeners as a bonsai rake and spatula, Spika is handy for delicate weeding work. The three-tined rake can be used to clear ivy and other invasive weeds from around your precious plants. The spatula can dig out weed roots. One user told us she also uses it to dig dandelions out of the lawn. £15.00 (US $22.00) + p&p   Vega Hand Fork Vega is a sturdy bronze version of the traditional hand fork. It has a turned beech handle and three 4-inch prongs. £23.00 (US $33.80) + p&p   Large Tools Auva Spade Designed in response to popular demand, Auva is a slender, elegant border spade. It has a steam-bent ash shaft and a beech T-handle. The head is work-hardened tin bronze, curved in two planes for additional strength. The pointed end to the blade is very sharp, allowing it to slice easily into the soil. The lip at the top of the blade saves your wellies, too. £75.00 (US $110.50) + p&p   Herkules Edger Herkules is a sharp, heavy-duty lawn-edging tool. Its half-moon head is made of work-hardened bronze, a hardwearing alloy of copper. The shaft is ash and the T-handle is beech. £88.00 (US $129.50) + p&p   Hydra Swing Hoe Also known as the oscillating, reciprocating or stirrup hoe. The bronze blade is sharpened on both edges. It oscillates about its brass pivot, cutting in both directions. Supplied with a limewood handle. A fast and efficient tool, useful for hoeing along rows and between plants. The blades are bolted on and can be replaced when worn down. £70.00 (US $103.00) + p&p   Libra Shovel This shovel has a long, slightly bowed ash staff with rounded end and a wide pointed blade. People who have used this type of spade tell us how much easier it is to use than the conventional spade. The steam-bent ash shaft allows the user to dig and twist the shovel, loosening the soil while keeping an upright posture. It is also known as the Irish potato spade, the Devon spade, the Lurgan shovel, the Cornish shovel, the Cardigan spade, the Somerset shovel, the Celtic shovel . £70.00 (US $103.00) + p&p   Orion Spade With a bowled shape and pointed blade, a good general-purpose garden spade. It is made of heavy-duty, work-hardened bronze, with a sharp cutting edge. The shaft, made of ash or beech, is steam-bent into a slight curve, allowing for good leverage. The top of the blade has a lip to put your boot on. As the tools are hand-made, the designs are constantly being refined for practicality and durability. The Orion handle is now made of steel. As the wooden shaft acts as an insulator, this will not have any adverse effect on the soil. £105.00 (US $154.50) + p&p   Pegasus Pick A labour-saving alternative to the conventional garden fork. With a fork, the gardener digs down, pushes and lifts the soil. With Pegasus, gravity works with the gardener. We let the head of Pegasus fall and it digs into the soil. Then a pulling motion draws the head through the soil, breaking up the clods and loosening the weed roots. Pegasus is a multi-purpose tool, affectionately known as a clodbuster. The limewood shaft has a similar shape to that of the Sirius and Sculptor. The blade is of heavy-duty bronze, reinforced with a brass collar. Pegasus can be used for breaking up the soil or clearing brambles and nettle roots. Or, as it is quite lightweight, it can also be used for hoeing drills and close weeding. £70.00 (US $103.00) + p&p   Peresus Rake The extra long limewood staff helps to maintain a more upright working posture. The sturdy curved prongs allow the gardener to work at different depths in the soil. £58.00 (US $85.50) + p&p   Sabik Hoe Sabik is a swan-neck hoe, a draw-hoe. It is new to the range in 2008. The flat blade skims below soil level, cutting out weeds in a simple action. The head can be angled, to extract deeper-rooted weeds with the corners. It is lightweight and well-balanced, and with a long lime wood shaft. This allows good reach across the border with minimum effort. £48.00 (US $70.50) + p&p   Sculptor Hoe Like Sirius, with extra rivets and silver and gold solder on the head. The rivets contain trace elements such as aluminium, chromium, magnesium, manganese, nickel, vanadium and zinc. As the tool is used, these trace elements come into contact with the earth, helping to maintain the health of both soil and plants. £68.00 (US $100.00) + p&p   Sirius Hoe At under a kilo in weight, well balanced and with a long, lime wood staff, we find this tool very useful on the vegetable plot. We use it for everything from uprooting perennial weeds, to hoeing drills, to earthing up the potatoes. The sides and point of the blade are sharp, enabling it to dig into the soil for weeding, and used sideways, it spreads the soil afterwards. £48.00 (US $70.50) + p&p   Taurus 3 Claw Also known as a cultivator, this tool is very light and comfortable to use. The long lime wood shaft allows good reach across a border. "A cultivator is most useful in the medium or larger vegetable patch, or in garden beds where there is enough room to manoeuvre a large tool. It stirs the soil and pulls up young weeds between the rows quickly and efficiently. It's also useful when you want to incorporate compost or manure that you've already broadcast on the soil's surface. According to how much pressure you apply to the tool, it can work to differing depths." (The Tool Book by William Bryant Logan, 1997 Workman Publishing Inc) £48.00 (US $70.50) + p&p   Tuza Mattock Another new addition to the range by popular request, Tuza has an ash shaft and heavy-duty, work-hardened tin bronze head. As Pegasus is our alternative to the conventional garden fork, Tuza is the Austrian equivalent to the garden spade. Whereas with a spade the gardener pushes and lifts the soil, with Tuza gravity works for us. The gardener lifts the mattock, lets it drop and cut into the soil with the sharp cutting edge, and then pulls the clod away to form a trench. This is a more efficient way of working than pushing-and-lifting tools, and kinder to the gardener's body from an ergonomic point of view. £70.00 (US $103.00) + p&p