Hand Forged Pointed Trowel:
This gorgeous hand made heart shaped pointed trowel is an ideal small trowel for working in the veggie garden, as well as digging and weeding in all soil types.
This metal and wood trowel is sharpened on the narrow entry point and the blade and shaft is heat treated to 50 RC hardness. It will cut like a knife though soil and roots allowing you to dig small holes in even the toughest soil, while minimising soil disturbance - perfect for no-dig gardens. The short shaft and blade means that it is lightweight and well balanced, while the heat treated shaft means it won't bend, even under serious force. The Spotted Gum wood handle has a brass ferrule for strength and is ideal for all hand sizes.
Australian Made Garden Tools:
F.D. RYAN artisan toolmakers carries on the legacy of his great grandfather, Fredrick Daniel Ryan, a pioneer in blacksmithing and toolmaking. Their tools are skilfully crafted, combining the strength, function, and beauty of traditional techniques. Each piece is truly one-of-a-kind and designed for the discerning gardener who values excellence and are equally at home in a rural or urban gardening setting. These gardening tools are a delight to use and beautiful to behold. With care, they will last a lifetime.
Why are Hand Forged Tools Superior?
The art of forging involves heating steel on a coking coal forge and shaping it with a hammer and anvil under compressive force. Despite being a slow and labor-intensive process, it is still preferred for making quality garden tools due to the improved strength and flexibility of the steel's grain structure when hammered under heat. However, in the modern world, blacksmithing is becoming less common with most steel work being done by mechanical presses and laser cutting.
Garden Tool Materials:
Steel - Garden tools need to be both strong and sharp to handle the tough tasks of cutting through soil, roots, and even rocks. FD Ryan Garden Tools are made with .55% Carbon Spring steel and Boron, allowing us to heat-treat it to 65 C Rockwell for extreme hardness, and then temper it back to 50 C for toughness. This unique combination of hardness and toughness enables the steel to cut through roots and heavy soil without chipping or breaking, while also withstanding impacts from rocks. Unlike Stainless steel, which may quickly lose its edge and bend easily, spring steel is ideal for this purpose. Tools are then either powder coated or finished with burnished oil to resist rust and sticking. Just remember to care for them to prevent rust over time.
Wood - The Tool handles are crafted from responsibly-sourced Spotted Gum - a native Eucalypt timber from the coastal forests of Northern NSW. It is a dense, tight grained timber with excellent bending and shock resisting properties and is used on all the tools that need the extra bending strength - it takes a lot of force to snap a Spotted Gum handle! The handles are finished with a decking stain to give a slightly reddish tinge to the timber and help seal the grain. To preserve your handles, we recommend you store the tools out of the weather and occasionally (once or twice per year) wipe down with a linseed or another natural timber oil.
Other Tools by FD Ryan:
The Story of FD Ryan Handmade Garden Tools:
Born in Wonthaggi in 1909, Frederick Daniel Ryan, son of Irish immigrants, faced an unfortunate orphanhood at age 11. However, his luck turned when he was apprenticed as a wheelwright and blacksmith at age 14. After moving to Melbourne in his twenties, Ryan established a business forging knives and tools for the footwear and horticulture industries. In 2014, his great-grandson James revived the family tradition of tool making in Victoria. These handcrafted artisan gardening tools are crafted with high carbon steel, strengthened with heat treatment, and sharpened to a razor edge. Using traditional designs with a modern twist, James proudly carries on the legacy of his great-grandfather, using inherited tools, materials, and techniques. In honour of his great-grandfather, James has named his garden tool business F.D. RYAN.
