Tinker and Fix Skatewood Sneeboer Trowel

Sneeboer are a Dutch family run company that have been making hand forged stainless steel garden tools for multiple generations.  In our opinion they make the best quality garden tools on the market that function brilliantly and feel great to use too.

We are big fans of their standard Cherry handles but we wanted to produce a Tinker and Fix limited edition using one of their really versatile Transplanting Trowels.

Last year I purchased a replacement gear knob for our Land Rover Defender.  It was made from recycled skateboard decks and we fell in love with the depth and variation in colours.  This material is often referred to as Skatewood.

So this was the natural choice for handle material when it came to making these limited edition trowels. Not only is it a recycled material that looks great, but the bright colours make finding your trowel easier when placed down in a border or veg patch.

Preparing Skatewood for use takes a lot of time.  First you need to source the old skateboard decks.  Then the grip tape needs to be removed and the boards sanded.  Then multiple boards are laminated together using glue and a lot of clamps, so that you can make a solid piece large enough for the project.  It's not a simple process so we reached out to a specialist to make them.  Dedwood Designs make some great pieces using Skatewood and they've done an amazing job for us on again on these handles. 

The handles are then finished off with a copper pipe ferrule and oiled to keep them working well in the garden.

Each handle is completely unique.  We did think about clever names for each handle .... but then decided on letters for this batch.

 In our eyes they are things of beauty- but also a functional tool that will last for many, many years.

You can still purchase this trowel with a standard Cherry handle here.

Or if you'd like more gift ideas for Gardeners have a look at our suggestions here.