Depends on the weed. Shallow rooted and young weeds can be effectively controlled particularly in nice loose soil, such as in a vegetable garden. Heavy soil makes use more difficult, and as you surmise, perennial weeds grow back, although they may have to expend quite a bit of energy to do so. Still, these can be valuable tools. Choice of style depends largely on how you want to work with them and personal taste. I prefer the static types, rather than the ones that move on a pivot, and ones that can be sharpened well.

Since the mulches I put down do a very good job of "weed" control I don't need any such tool.

Do you use any kind of special mulch kimmsr or just regular? I get weeds coming up through mulch, even through the driveway!

ms_minnamouseI think kimmsr uses Lophophora williamsii for all his horticultural and gardening needs.

Lol. That would take care of it. If you can't figure out what a weed is, they can't bother you.

I absolutely love both of these tools! The Hula Hoe is great for getting rid of the weeds in my previously well mulched large perennial beds. I actually pulled all of the landscape fabric out from under the mulch because weeds would start in the mulch and grow through the fabric and into the soil, making it really hard to remove them. Now I just go through the beds every week or so with the hula hoe, and it cuts off the weeds and mixes them into the garden soil where they die. It has cut my weeding time by about 75%! I would not have as many flower beds if I didn't have this tool and the Circle Hoe that is my other favorite tool! I don't put in edging around my flower beds, I use the Circle Hoe to cut through whatever grass is trying to mess up my clean edges every couple of weeks.This tool is so amazing!! I spend about fifteen minutes going around the beds and leave the sliced out grass and soil in the grass where I then mow over it and it's gone! I'm not kidding. That's all there is to it. Between the two of these tools, and probably my arrowhead shaped hoe, weeding is no big deal anymore. Now I can concentrate on how much I hate creeping charlie and spend my time raking that stuff out of my lawn. Does anybody have a magic tool that will get rid of this stuff?