Leonard Classic Stainless-Steel Soil Knife

This is a great hand shovel / knife and the only reason I gave it 4/5 instead of a 5/5 rating is because I have used the Deluxe Stainless Steel Soil Knife, and the serrated edge is much better on the Deluxe model. We own a landscaping company and plant over 3,000 flats of annuals a year in addition to using the shovels for monthly maintenance (weeding) and fall clean-up (cutting down perennials). We were having issues with shovels wearing down and breaking, and having to carry a separate knife to cut things down. Quality has never been an issue with these shovels (soil knifes) and have never broken one. Well worth the extra couple of dollars, because the quality is unbelievable. Only issue we have now with the shovels is when guys leave them at places, although the orange handle makes it easier to find. The serrated edge is good for most people, but definitely be careful that you don't cut yourself with it.

"This tool is used by me in the irrigation tech trade for straightening heads, opening valve boxes, cutting away grass at valve box openings, Etc, just love the power of this tool you can lean on it and it won,t bend "

After purchasing one I ordered about a half dozen and gave to family and friends. Many, many uses for this tool but to me the important feature of it is the handle color. Can easily be found when using it cause not many other tools are orange in color as when working I will often stick it in the ground near-by and it will be very visible when I reach for it again.

bought this for all my employees for diigging, cutting and all around useful tool

If a hand shovel can be bent, cracked, or otherwise destroyed, I will do it. The AM Leonard soil knife is one of the highest quality tools I've ever owned. It's amazing. It's also well balanced, and great for throwing.

A must have tool for anyone who likes to get dirty. From weeding to planting, this tool is perfect in every way. It is sturdy and fits perfectly in my hand. Don't waste your money on the hand rakes or shovels from the big box stores. This one is all you need!

I use this knife for retrieving targets while metal detecting. It cuts a very nice "plug" and seems like it'll last a long time. The handle is a tad bit uncomfortable after a while, but that is a minor complaint.

I bought it to replace my hori hori because the handle was more durable, more comfortable and easier to find than the traditional wooden handle. It lives in my back pocket when I'm gardening.

I love this knife and the covered handle allows for a great grip in my small hand. Going to be my next Christmas gift to friends!

I received this as a gift. I love it so much, I now give it as a gift to all my gardening friends.

I needed a high quality all around tool for myself and my crew. We have al become fiercly protective of our soil knives. The tool is well blanced, feels good in your hand. It works equally well as a weeder and a trowel. The serrated edge is great for tap roots, the very sharp notch cutter is good for getting rid of underground landscape twine on b & b stock, forgotten by previous contractors but not rotten! Well done for offering the perfect tool.

This soil knife is a "must have" for any gardener. It is almost indestructible and it can be used for a multitude of jobs.

A friend let me borrow hers for weeding and I bought 2 for myself and 2 for gifts. The most used and useful tool that I own.

Fantastic product. With this soil knife, the only garden hand tools you need is this knife and Felco pruners. These two do most garden jobs. This is the second soil knife I bought. One for home and one to work in our Arboretum.

Main thing I like is the bump on the handle so your hand does not slip to the knife.

I have purchased many of these knives! I have 3 myself, and have given many as gifts to family, friends, and speakers at my Master Gardener programs. I use the knife for many purposes: basic digging, dividing perennials, planting seedlings, and even hacking through poison ivy in the woods. I love the orange handle, I can always find it after laying it down somewhere in the garden. I own 3 and have them in 3 different sites in the garden. That way I always have one close at hand. This tool replaced a trowel, hoe, garden row marker, bulb planter, and hand rake. Now I only need my soil knife!

The best yard tool around. I have 2 and have gotten several others for friends. Everyone loves it. One friend told me she was mad at me for never telling her about the best tool ever until now. Every gardener needs this tool. You will never go without it again!!!!

We have a nursery with acres of plants in display gardens and in the field, which means acres of weeding. We have 3 soil knives for 5 of us and we all go for the soil knives when we're weeding. Best weeder ever. Thanks AM Leonard.

This gardening knife has been one of the most important garden tools for my volunteers and myself. The strong blade works well in the clay soil we have for both planting and weeding. And we especially like the bright orange handle, which makes it more difficult to lose!

The AM Leonard Soil Knife is wonderful. I can't imagine working without it. Not only is it super useful for weeding, planting, and cutting open bags, it also looks cool too!

I've used this wonderful... not really fair to just call it a knife; I use it for so many things... weeder, planter, bag opener, and the ridges on the side make it a great edger. It is a great gift for gardening friends!

This is a wonderful multi-function tool. It easily helps dig soil for planting, weeding, transplanting small plants.

This knife was given to me as a gift, and has been the best garden tool I have ever owned. I have since bought two more, because I don't ever want to be without it. Great for pulling weeds!!

My wife and I bought our first soil knife and leather sheath about ten years ago. We quickly found that we both wanted to use it so we bought a second one. We have a very large garden and also maintain a large butterfly garden we planted on city property at the entrance to our subdivision. We never go into the gardens without the soil knives sheathed on our belts so they are always available. They are indispensable for weeding and planting annuals and small perennials. I wear it when I mow the lawn so I can pop out the occasional weed when I spot it or scrape the errant straggler out of the sidewalk cracks. It opens plastic bags of mulch or soil with one easy swipe and is great for lifting, leveling and resetting my cantaloupe-sized border rocks. After 10 years of use, I broke the blade on my knife while prying at a stubborn root. I don't think I was using excessive force and know that I have used it for tougher jobs many times over the years, but it broke about a half inch from the handle.

Used it often this summer - edges are nice and sharp,

I have been using one of the classic soil knives for years and I have always found it to be a perfect and indispensable tool. I recently bought three more for my students to use in our school garden and they are the first tools they grab for most garden jobs. I hope to purchase a few more this year so they don't have to fight over them. Quality wise...I still have the first Classic Soil Knife that I purchased over 8 years ago. They almost indestructible and the orange hand makes them easy to spot and less likely to be left at a job site (a big plus with students). This tool is well worth the cost!

Bought this soil knife for my wife, she loves the comfy handle and the lifetime warranty!!

I have one of these and had purchased one for my husband as we are avid gardeners. I ordered two more as my grandchildren have grown up enough to really help in the garden. I thought they needed good tools so their work would be easier and more efficient. They have used them several times now to help me and they love the garden knives and their efforts are sooooo much better. They are getting the weeds out all the way down to the root instead of just scraping at it. I love this tool and the grandchildren are learning that having the correct and quality tools makes the work sooooooo much better.

Sturdy, multi-purpose, bright handle for finding it.

I bought this knife two years ago, but never used it. My garden was neglected, horrific weeds grew in my planters. Sighing at what I thought would be a monumental task - cleaning out my planters - I grabbed my knife, started digging/slicing and heard a chorus of angels singing. The knife cut through roots and hard soil like butter. Even the woody remains of who-knows-what succumbed to my mighty knife. Thank you, A.M. Leonard.

I have been using a Leonard Stainless Steel Soil Knife for years to dig out weeds, plant bulbs and smaller plants, and cut back shrub branches while weeding. It is the garden tool I use the most. I bought this second one because sometimes I need leverage in two directions to remove very large weeds or tree seedlings and I don't have to worry that these very sturdy soil knives will break or bend.

The tool was originally given to me as a gift. I now have six of them (one for each gardening location). It's the most useful gardening tool that I own.

Excellent garden tool on multiple levels from working in soil with rocks, heavy roots, or heavy clay.

The Classic Soil Knife is great for general gardening and yard work. But this year, the weeds were tuff and our soil was dry and hard. I wish I would have purchased the "sharp" Leonard Soil Knife (#4752).

We ordered several to use in our university greenhouse. They are the perfect width.

I’ve had this tool for 15 years! No wear or tear. My main tool in all my gardening. I love the serrated edge to cut plants, open mulch bags and helps with deep digging.

Sturdy,dependable. I use it to divide plants and also to open a small hole for planting small plants.

I always carry this with me. You will never buy a trowel again. Italian quality.

Best garden tool I ever used. Liked mine so much, I bought one for my daughter and one for my daughter in law.

This knife is so amazing that I have purchased two additional knifes to give as gifts to friends and relatives. I use it to divide tough stuff like day lillies etc. It also lends itself well as a planting instrument.

This is my favorite gift to give to gardening friends. I especially like the ergonomic handle and high visibility orange, as I've misplaced wooden handled digging knives in the leaf and soil litter. It's also very sturdy, so can be used to lever and chop, or even slice string and compost bags with the serrated edge.

Love this tool! I use it for everything...digging, cutting edges, splitting roots for transplanting, .....you name it, it does it. It never wears out and is comfortable in my hand.

Soil knife? My best garden friend from now on. Excellent multitasker. Super purchase. And I hardly ever write any reviews.

This is the finest soil knife I have ever owned. Love this one w/o the notch cord cutter.

I BOUGHT ONE FOR ME AND ONE FOR MY BROTHER. THIS IS THE KIND OF TOOL TO HAVE ALONG WHEN METAL DETECTING. SOLID BLADE AND STOUT HANDLE ALLOWS SERIOUS DIGGING FOR THOSE ELUSIVE TREASURES. STAINLESS STEEL MEANS NO RUST AND THE SAW BLADE IS GREAT FOR SOD AND ROOT WORK.

I care for 2 very large gardens in a public botanical garden and carry the classic soil knife at all times as it has made my weeding chores much more pleasant. The finish shows no corrosion after several years' use, and the mild serrations are enough to cut through some roots but not through skin (unlike the newer 4752, which has become corroded and has cut me). This tool seems indestructible.

This tool is a quality product. It is sturdy, excellent design (I especially like the serrated edge). The handle fits comfortably in my hand and I like the orange color (easy to spot amongst the greenery).

This is my favorite garden tool. Very helpful for weeding.

I have owned this tool for at least a decade. It is so useful in the yard and gardens. It is also strong! I have bought many as gifts for avid gardener friends and they love them as well.

I bought this in the spring as my annual gardening tool to myself. It is a wonderful tool. It's the one I carry most of the time. It is comfortable, beautiful, useful, easy to spot, and easy to clean.

I care for a 4 acre garden on a community college. Our soil is good old diablo clay. Hard to penetrate and a regular trowel just doesn't cut it. I carry the soil knife in the pruner/knife sheath holster all the time. It easily penetrates our hard soil to root out weeds. Great for planting pony packs. Will be purchasing more for our department!

What a great tool to have. I have bought many different and useful tools for doing the job of weeding and digging right down to finding moles. This tool is the one I grab frequently. Easy to pull out and easy to use. Never thought about a knife like the one I purchased could have so many uses. My wife and I share this one. A second one could be on its way.

Stainless steel reduces clay - cling, and the handle does not slip in your hand.

Great handy tool.

I love my soil knife and have to keep it hidden from my husband, because he loves it too. It serves so many purposes in the veg garden: cutting string, harvesting asparagus, trimming plants, popping weeds out of the ground, cultivating close the stem....have been using it lately to plant bulbs--it's perfect for cutting a small hole at the correct depth by using the measurement marks on the knife, and it allows me to scatter the bulbs wherever I like so they can naturalize.

I was devastated when I lost my first soil knife after over 10 years of use so I bought 2 more-one for my wife. Undoubtedly the most useful gardening tool I have ever used!

I have had three of these over the years....and they are the best all in one tool on your belt.....planting color, weeding beds, chopping and cutting roots, etc....well worth the money....

this is the first version of the garden knife I bought years ago---I recently purchased it again as I misplaced mine in the garden and have not yet found it---and I certainly can't imagine trying to garden without it. I also bought the deluxe version and both are the best garden tools I ever bought---I use them constantly. If I had to part with all of my other garden tools and just keep one tool this knife would be the thing I kept, without a doubt. I absolutely LOVE it and consider it the best garden tool I ever bought!

I absolutely love it. Been using one for about 12+ years. Best tool I ever purchased! In fact, I am now purchasing another to be given as one of the gifts for our master gardener holiday party in Manatee Country, Floriad

A great basic gardening tool, that is versatilein its use. It is very well made and comfortable in hand.

A neighbor introduced me to this product many years ago. I liked hers so well I asked her to order me seven of these tools, one for each of my six children and one for me. Over the years two of my children's knives snapped off at the handle, but these work so well that I reordered two more to replace theirs. The rest of the knives are well used and guarded like gold. I will replace them again if needed. I think they snapped off because they were not being used for what they were intended. Tree roots were the problem.

I started landscaping as a job and we use these all the time in the flowerbeds. I liked them so much I bought one for myself! They are very sturdy and durable; clients tend to call them a danerous weapon!;)

Had one. Somehow it was tossed in trash. I freaked but was SO happy to find it again!

Love it for getting under weeds, deeper on asparagus and cutting apart heavily rooted plants. Love your products.

My aunt, the gardentire expert, had one and I got to use, will never use another garden tool again. This thing can do anything!

This knife does everything. Don't know how I worked without it!

This is the best knife ever! I've had one for years! It does everything and it's so strong. Others I've had have bent or broken when tackling tough jobs. Not the soil knife. It's up for every challenge and I've not been gentle with it. The serrated edge is a huge added bonus. My neighbor has lusted after mine, so I'm giving her one for Xmas so she doesn't have to borrow mine any longer.

First off it takes a lot to break this tool... essentially it may make you feel invincible for a second and you might try to do something with it that you should never do and that may break it but used accordingly it is a sturdy little tool. When you work as a horticulturist or naturalist one of your everyday pieces of equipment that you keep on body is a soil knife. My company has a combination of the deluxe and classic soil knives on hand for volunteers and employees. The serrations on the classic never even start as sharp as the deluxe and they dull a lot faster! If you are afraid of cutting yourself, such as you are on medication that thins your blood, then perhaps that is a quality that you'd prefer. However it essentially makes the tool a thin but very sturdy hand trowel instead of a knife. If you value the cutting ability of a soil knife to get through roots and any random saplings you randomly need to cut through then splurge the extra $3 and get the deluxe. All staff much prefer the deluxe to the classic for this versatility; with the deluxe soil knife in hand if you suddenly see a 1.5" grapevine that needs cutting you can easily make do. The Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife is the #1 tool that volunteers pursue in obtaining for their personal use once they know it exists, especially for those looking for a tool that can serve as both a regular garden tool and a weapon against invasive or non-native species.

Cuts roots, weeds, and plastic containers. This is the last trowel that you will ever have to buy.

I don't think I could garden without my garden knife! It is the best tool for transplanting, weeding, planting--you name it. Never wears out. Only problemis me--I need a metal detector to find the knives that I have lost in mh garden over the years, but it would have been more without that bright orange handle. This is the perfect gift for my Master Gardener friends!

This is my favorite of all garden tools. Unfortunately, i have lost two of these over the years and absolutely needed replacements!

I use this knife almost daily to dig up and replace sprinkler heads and it is the best tool for the job. The only complaint I have is that my coworkers always “borrow” it, and forget to return it.

I received a soil knife about 8-9 years ago as gift from my mother-in-law who was active in her local garden club. Her gardener recommended the soil knife to her. It is simply marvelous! I have purchased a second knife for my husband. We use them constantly in our large landscaped yard. I have used them extensively for years as a gardener for several businesses and homeowners. I am purchasing 2 today as gifts. Everyone who gardens with me wants one! This is the one tool that every gardener of every age should use! Thanks so much for a terrific product!

Really simple tool that does the trick. Mostly use it for weeding, but I also occasionally use it for transplanting and direct seeding bigger seeds.

This is the best and most durable garden tool I have ever had. Excellent for planting, weeding and trimming perennials . I belong to a garden club and we all have one or two!!!!!

This is by far my favorite tool! This makes landscape maintenance a breeze and with the way this tool is built, it will last forever. (Praying we don't forget where we left it.)