Onion hoes are a great tool, with lots of different uses in the garden, not just cleaning up in between your onion rows. But what makes a good onion hoe? Well, I went out and bought three different onion hoes with my own money, gave them a thorough test over a few weeks, and I’m now reporting my findings.
Burgon and Ball Hand Hoe – My Favourite
If you have ever read any of my other reviews, such as my best hand trowel review, then you will know I adore Burgon and Ball tools. These are high-quality tools, made in the UK from British steel. Like all B&B tools, this hand hoe is built to last, which shows with the 10-year guarantee they have on this hand hoe.
Out of the three onion hoes I tested the B&B is by far the heaviest, which I believe shows its quality. There is no cost-saving trickery here like say a hollow shaft, just solid steel with a comfortable wooden handle complete with leather hanging strap.
Unlike the other two onion hoes in this test, the B&B hoe does not have a sharpened edge. I actually like this, it cuts through weeds just fine but I don’t have the constant worry that I am about to accidentally decapitate an onion!
You can see the edge above, it is blunt whereas the other two hoes in this test are razor sharp. While the sharpness does help in certain situations it isn’t really needed. I am also very clumsy, and at least one onion got sliced in half when using the sharp onion hoes!
Here where the neck joins the head of the hoe you can really see the build quality. When you compare this to the others which are riveted on you can really see quite a large difference.
You can see here the difference in size between the three hoes I tested. The Burgon and Ball hoe is the one on the left. It has a much larger “hoe” than the other two. I found this allowed me to move much more soil at once leading to quicker weeding.
Runner Up
- Mirror polished stainless steel head
- Rust resistant
This again is a good onion hoe but to me just doesn’t seem to have the same build quality as the B&B while being a similar price. This hand hoe has a razor-sharp end which some people may want but to me is just more of a danger than a help.
