Daisy Grubber: time for a new one!

The humble Daisy Grubber is my favourite hand tool (if you don't count secateurs) and is permanently in my hand or in my pocket while working... but they don't last forever.

Usually, the metal digging part becomes loosened from the handle, and they have to be thrown out, but recently I discovered that Wilkinson, a local cheapy shop, do a really nice good quality plastic-handled one for about £2, which I wrote about with huge enthusiasm earlier this year.

Well, good news, the cheap red Daisy Grubber has lasted from April right through into July - and that's something that is used every day, and quite often is used nearly all day long.

However, it is time for a new one, as the prongs have worn down to the point where it is getting less efficient to use.

 Here is the new one on the left, and the old one on the right, showing just how much of the metal blade has been worn away!

It has always interested me that one prong wears down more than the other, presumably because - as the tool is used right-handed - it hits the ground first, so it does more than its fair share of work.

Sharp-eyed observers will also note how the black paint has been worn off, but that doesn't affect the tool at all.

So there you go, proof that cheap tools can sometimes be true bargains: I bought three or four of them, but now I'm going to visit Wilkinsons again and buy half a dozen of them, which should keep me going for a couple of years!