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THE BENEFITS
BRONZE TOOLS:
Do not rust or corrode – age with a graceful bronze patina – perfect for the coastal gardener
Has very low metal fatigue compared to steel – the result is a very long working life – hence the lifetime guarantee
Has a low coefficient of friction – easy to slide into the soil, less tendency for clay to cling to the tool
Will stay sharp a very long time and can be touched up with a whet stone, file or by preferably by peening (hammering the edge against a steel anvil).
Up to 40% increase in cropping evidenced by research – this may be due to the fact that bronze is not magnetic and does not disrupt the electrical fields in the soil, also the minute amounts of copper left in the soil are beneficial
Appears to reduce soil pathogens and incidence of slugs and snails
Copper tools are recommended by the originator of bio-dynamics, Rudolf Steiner.
Its a pleasure to own, look at and use the tool
Ark Redwood is head gardener at Chalice Well Gardens, a haven of tranquility at the foot of Glastonbury Tor in Somerset (UK). Here in his beautiful book, The Art of Mindful Gardening: Sowing the Seeds of Meditation, he tells the story of the first time he used one of our trowels.
“One day, at work, I had about a hundred marigolds to plant, and proceeded to do so using my usual steel trowel. The next morning, after a particularly wet night, I went to check on them, knowing full well that, along with the likes of lettuce and delphiniums, they were pretty much at the top of the menu for slugs. As expected, the slimy ones had had a nocturnal feast and managed to polish off all bar one or two. It just so happened that later that morning I took delivery of my shiny new copper trowel, looking more golden than bronze, and I promptly put it to the test by planting roughly the same amount of marigolds as I had the previous day, and in the same place. The next morning I returned to the scene of the crime, and to my amazement there was hardly any damage to the flowers, even though it had also been rainy the night before. Since that day I have hardly picked up an ordinary iron-based trowel, and have added several more copper tools to my arsenal.”
A champion of our tools
Charles Dowding runs very popular day courses on no-dig vegetable gardening, and has written several books drawing on his experiences.
Here is what he says about our tools on page 30 of his book, Charles Dowding’s Vegetable Course :
“My favourite tools are made of copper, or to be precise they are 95 per cent copper and 5 per cent tin … the metal is strong, not magnetic and does not rust. This is a keen advantage for trowels, hoes and spades where smooth, sharp blades make for effortless use, and there is no need for regular cleaning or oiling to protect the metal.
“Although the copper alloy is a little less hard than iron, and might suffer in soils with flint or large amounts of stone, the tools are designed to endure. I have found copper trowels last better than ones made of hard stainless steel, which often snap after a year or two, at a weak point near the handle.”
