Our latest project... Skatewood Hori-Hori's!

A while back, in February, we said that Skatewood is our material of choice at the moment. We mentioned that we'd be announcing a few new projects this year using it on a some different types of tool handles. Well, a couple of months down the line... and we're very pleased to showcase the first of our new products that use recycled Skatewood - our first batch of Skatewood Hori Hori's!

How did we get here? We started with upgrading the handles of Sneeboer's (already great) Transplanting trowel. These look amazing, so we thought we'd try to apply the same technique to one of our favourite gardening tools - the Japanese Hori-Hori garden knife. 

How are they made? Skatewood is made by laminating recycled skateboard decks into more usable blocks.  Skateboards are made from high quality laminated Maple sheets, and they are usually also highly coloured.  Recycling this material isn't an easy process.  Damaged skateboards have to be sourced, grip tape removed and then larger blocks glued up.  Only then can you actually start the making process.  For these Hori Hori handles we turned to a local maker called Ben Footitt (@afterlifebf) who specialises in using Skatewood.  He's done a great job for us with these and his ability to visualise the layout of the coloured laminates is outstanding.

Which Hori-Hori is this? There are a number of great Hori-Hori's you can chose from. We stock four different versions (all of which we rate for different reasons): the Niwaki Hori Hori, the Barebones Hori Hori and two stainless steel Hori Hori's (one serrated, one not) that we bring in directly from Japan. 

This Hori-Hori is a heavy duty one that is similar to the Barebones version. We chose this one to replace the handle of because of its full tang construction, which made the process more straightforward and robust.

Why chose a Recycled Skatewood Hori Hori garden knife? 

• As well as the coloured layers looking amazing, it means that when applied to garden tool handles you are (hopefully) far more likely to be able to see them once you've put down in a border or on the veg patch. So yes - they look great (especially when given as a gift) but the way they look does actually help if you have a tendency to lose your tools when gardening!
• If you want to know why this particular Hori Hori is a good one to chose, then we reckon it's because it's serrated (great for turf cutting and plant dividing) and it is stainless steel (so it won't rust). If you want to check out the difference between all the Hori Hori gardening trowels we sell, then you need to check out our other Chat
• Finally - a lot of gardeners have come to love their Hori-Hori. Originally bought as an interesting garden tool, you fast realise it's rarely out of your hand in the garden. So, having used one, you may now want an upgrade... one that's unique. 

So... what are you making with Skatewood next? Well, the next project integrates skatewood into something a little bit more sharp. Something you might want to use to cut wood with. Or, given they are going to be so beautiful, they might just be something you want to hang up to look at and enjoy the craftsmanship (and with this collab all four makers are men - so we don't need to say 'crafts-person-ship'.) Watch this space....