Back in a previous life in my nursery days, I was a buyer (very short term - my expertise is plants) for hard goods or all the tools and equipment gardeners need. Asian hand tools were a big part of that experience - hori-horis, rakes, sickles, gama hoes, ho-mi weeders, etc. Big sellers - easy to use and carry, long lasting and with a decent price point.

I am more jealous about the offspring coming to help :-) It's not so much the weeds but cleaning up all the debris winter threw at my garden - tree branches, fir cones in the millions, chunks of lichen and moss and countless dead fronds from the 2 stupidly misplaced cordylines I inherited. Lotta work for an old lady!!

I'd consider getting a Ho-mi if only for the name!

I am looking forward to this weekend which is, coincidentally, Mother's Day,

I see Mothers Day in the UK isn't on the same weekend as it is in Canada. (Although I do like that ours is in May with a much better chance of good weather.)

Mothers’ Day here, or Mothering Sunday, is a moveable date since it’s linked to Easter. This year it's March 19th.

is a moveable date each year

Yes us also with always in May (i.e, the second Sunday of May each year.)

As mom used to say "had it been a snake it would have bite me". We used a similar tool that was simply a worn out field hoe. I doubt many of you have owned a hoe like used to chop cotton and other farm chores. The metal sleeve connecting handle is forged from one piece with blade. Keep an eye out at estate sales for hoes with one piece head,I guarantee you will love how well it holds a sharpening, will not bend nor lose head from handle. If the handle broke it was normally replaced unless blade was almost worn out,in which case it was relegated to garden or flowerbed duty. A gardener might have blacksmith trim off part of the blade making it narrower similar to Ho-Mi tool. Here's a tip when plant is between you and the weed. Rotate blade diagonal and press it between plant and weed then thrust foward pushing weed out and away from plant. Follow up by dragging soil into divot where weed was removed.

In the states,at least where I live,church attendance on Mother's day is higher than any other day,including Christmas.

I've been using a Ho-Mi for years. It's invaluable in vegetable beds to quickly chop in organic fertilizer, mark rows, pop out weeds, etc. My single most used tool.

I shall call it a Ho-Mi from now on! The first one went by the industrial name of Korean hoe, and that's far less inspiring. Mine went missing (probably in the compost somewhere) so after a few weeks of empty sadness a new one had to be bought, but I feel like it takes a season or two to break one in. The handle is still too clean, not the crusty, dented and scratched one I was used to.

A question to the other Ho-Mi lovers... I use mine tip first mostly, swinging it like a hatchet, but what about the sides? Do you scrape with the flat side or curved? I sharpen mine to a pretty dangerous edge and was never sure if I needed to sharpen both edges.

I got my Ho-Mi last year. It is indeed a helpful tool, and it’s really sharp!

So far, I have been using the edge more than the tip, Like the old draw hoes, pulling towards you is more energy efficient than pushing away. My youngest is a metal fabricator, so for years, I would draw up a plan and he will make it, but he was beaten to it by this giftie from my eldest.

I totally agree, klemt, any tool forged in one piece is always going to come up tops for durability. I have a long handled one I called my ';digging stick' for years and also have a selection of Chillington hoes (but these are heavy duty while I am now old and enfeebled).

I am probably going to bore on interminably at the allotment, about the pleasures of a new, useful (and cheap) handtool. I love, love to hear from homesteaders and gardeners about their new (but often ancient) tools. Last year, the youngest made me something for breaking up grassy soil - a huge frame with a footbar with 6 long rebar spikes. The whole thing works on leverage, plus you get to jump on a bar while hanging on to a handle - I guess photos are required). It is';t the sort of thing you would need often (snd certainly couldn't easily carry about) but I have cleared some rufty-tufty neglected fields using a completely lo-tech, home-made tool where spendy cultivators and tillers have stuttered..

apols for spelling and grammar - having keyboard (and eye) issues.

Can anyone recommend a specific Ho-Mi?

This one looks cool

HOMI YOUNGJU Premium Quality Hand plow Hoe with Safety Cover for Easy Gardening, Weeding and Farming Made by Korean Master Blacksmith