Golden Shed Award Winner

 These top quality shears have lightweight aluminium handles and unique solid forged steel blades that put them in a class of their own. The quality of the blade and the adjusting mechanism  mean that they are virtually self sharpening.

I have used and recommended this product for nearly 10 years and know there is nothing better. Oil your shears occasionally and they will last a lifetime. I think £39 is a fair price if you consider that .

Made in Germany

Mr. Arnold Kammerling - Owner of CK Tools and proud inventor of the CK Legend shears

The best Lawn Edging Shears

Lawn edging shears are simple tools that have been around for hundreds of years with few changes. I have tested dozens of pairs and gave one of my coveted Golden Shed Award to the lightweight Aluminium handled CK legend lawn edging shears.

I think these shears are the best because they are light, have longer handles and a better cut than any others I have used. They are made in Germany so are a bit pricey but will last a lifetime if kept oiled and adjusted regularly.

 click for latest price on CK Legend Lawn Edging Shears

Best Lawnshears for flat surfaces

from the same stable as the Golden Shed award winning shears above these lawn shears have flat horizontal blades for cutting areas of lawn around trees and along he side of sheds and walls.

This type of tool is a great alternative to an electric grass trimmer for smaller areas and is much more pleasant to use.

It will also last a lot longer and make no noise!

These German made CK legend shears are lighter and better than any others I tried, that's why I don't feature any others - get the best - forget the rest!

However if you need something different or cant afford the best use the link below for a good range of options

 see the largest range of garden shears from a fredshed recommended supplier

 best price on CK legend lawn shears

These top quality shears make a long lasting and environmentally friendly alternative to electric grass trimmers. No noise, no electricity and 99% recyclable.

Alternative to Nylon Grass Trimmers

Personally I don't like electric trimmers that cut with Nylon cord. I find that the cord is likely to become brittle over time and break, fail to self feed and can be hard to replace or find replacement cord.

For small jobs I prefer an electric version of the sheep shear that has  metal blades and is battery powered.

This type of tool has been around a long time and is well tested. The Wolf tools version is the most versatile as it can be fitted to a telescopic handle and have wheels attached.

check prices and info for Wolf Accu shear range

New Bosch Grass Trimmer Range

18v cordless trimmers

Pictured right is the Bosch ART 26 cordless trimmer. This is a well balanced and easy to use trimmer and has the all important swivelling head to enable you to trim the top and side edge of your lawn. This battery powered trimmer also has the advantage of using small plastic blades instead of a nylon spool.

The Bosch range of trimmers has been improved for 2008 with lighter and more powerful lithium ion batteries.

The 2 Bosch Cordless trimmers are called Accutrim whilst the 3 corded models are called Combitrim as they have a normal tap and go spool and a extra strong spool as well

I really like the idea of plastic blades on grass trimmers and found that they perform well and are VERY easy to change when worn. A pack of 24 for the ART23 and ART 26 Accutrim grass trimmers costs about £5.

 buy the latest model with Li-ion battery

click here for a bargain basement Bosch grass trimmer

 buy trimmer spool for Draper, Ryobi and Bosch Grass Trimmers

Buy pack of 24 plastic blades for Bosch ART 26 Grass Trimmer

FREDSHED TOP TIP

DONT USE YOUR HEDGE SHEARS ON GRASS!

(unless you have the Fiskars pair above)

The wonderful Golden Ceka shears shown right are made from the best quality steel by German craftsmen. However most shears of this type are made specifically for hedges and not grass. If you use hedge shears on grass the blades will go blunt VERY QUICKLY

Not many people know that!

If you want a pair of shears for grass and soft foliage then these little ones below are the type.

 buy single handed grass shears

(blades rotate to different angles)

Shears like these are designed for cutting shrubs and hedges and not grass.

New even more powerful Garden Vac

Although I personally don't like garden vacs I have tested quite a few and the best was this AL-KO Hurricane.

In 2006 this long established model was up rated to 2400W. There is also a budget 1700W model.

AL-KO is a German company well known for its excellent shredders and good quality garden power tools.

Guild price £90

click here for prices and more garden vacs

Fantastic Lightweight Border Rake

I have tried dozens of rakes over the last 15 years that I have been researching and testing gardening products. This narrow border size leaf rake is one of the best as it is so light and effective and its small size ( 8inches wide) means it is easier to store in your shed.

The design advantages of this new tool are that it has an oval shaped aluminium handle which gives maximum strength but minimum weight. Also the flexible nyglass* tines flick out the leaves from lawns and off soil.

Nyglass is an advanced mix of plastic and fibreglass that is more durable than most plastic used in garden tool.

Price approx £20

Click to buy from a Fredshed recommended supplier

Great Tip To Save Time!

Use your mower to collect the leavers on the lawn in winter.

Even if the lawn does not need cutting the mower will collect the leaves, beats raking any day!

The best Lawn Aerator?

One annoying thing about most lawn aerators is that they leave the extracted soil plugs on the ground. If you use one a lot or have a large lawn (and a bigger wallet) there is one model that collects the soil plugs and makes 4 holes.

click here for top of the range aerator that collects the soil plugs

TOP TIP - USE LAWN AERATORS ONLY WHEN YOUR LAWN IS DAMP TO ALLOW SOIL PLUGS TO PUSH EASILY THROUGH THE TINES

Wolf Multichange lawn aerator

If you have limited storage space for your tools then the wolf Multichange system could be the answer.

Wolf offer the largest range of top quality tools and handles to cover virtually every job in the garden, including cleaning greenhouse and conservatory windows.

For lawncare the Wolf Multichange system includes and aerator, scarifyer, lawn edging tool, weeding tools and every type of rake imaginable.

 click for Wolf multichange hollow tine aerator UJM

You will need to buy a separate handle for the aerator on the link above. However this handle can also fit a huge range of top quality German made garden tools.

click here for best prices on Wolf Multichange tools

click here to buy wolf Multichange handles online

If you have a large lawn you will need a more powerful lawn aerator. The budget price 400w electric ones are not up to the job and will take ages to cover the distance.

I am currently testing the new Draper 1300W raker/scarifier which comes with 2 interchangeable cylinders, one with wire blades for raking and the other with fixed metal blades for deeper aerating.

The performance was impressive and I really like this machine. The new one is green so don't get it confused with the old blue one that some people still sell.

Other good makes of heavier duty lawm rakers are

AL-KO

Wolf

Black and Decker GD200GB Lawn raker

To keep your lawn well drained and cleared of "thatch" build up I recommend using a powered lawnraker. Doing this job by hand is for the super-fit, super-skint or totally insane!

The Black and Decker GD200GB has been around for a long time and is a cheap and cheerful workhorse for lawnraking. 

There are better and more expensive machines for larger lawns but at £70 this is as much as I want to spend for something used only once or twice a year. All the cheapie lawmakers I tested had 400W motors which is adequate if you don't abuse them.

Another option is the Qualcast Classic range of Cylinder mowers that come in petrol or electric versions and have the innovative QX scarifier cassette system. I have used the system and although it is a bit of a pain to fit it does work well.

 see the Bosch,Black&Decker and other low price domestic lawn rakers

New Draper 1300w lawn raker/scarifier currently under testing, mail me for latest details

Wolf Multichange lawn Scarifier

If you have some spare energy or don't like electric scarifiers a good option is a manual one like this German made tool. Some years ago I owned its little brother that did not have wheels and I must say it was a b**tard to use.

This new model - the Wolf URM3 Roller Scarifying Rake is more vor sprung dork tecknic and is much easier to use. For fitness fanatics and masochists everywhere this is the lawn tool for you!

You will need to buy a separate handle for this tool and can use the link  below. The good news is this handle can also fit a huge range of other garden tools too.

click here for best prices on Wolf Multichange tools

click here to buy wolf Multichange handles online

click to buy the environmentally friendly lawn scarifier

It's wheely easy!

Long Handled Lawn Edging Knife

Also known as an edging knife or edging iron this tool is the best thing to keep your lawn edges tidy and separate from bedding areas.

The best lawn edges have long shafts, with a wide T grip or D handle on the top and folded over metal treads on the top of the blades to protect your feet when pushing down.

Whilst Stainless steel is not essential for this tool, a good quality stainless steel edging iron may produce a cleaner cut in wet conditions.

Try not to buy cheap and nasty lawn edgers as these tools commonly bend and break where the blade meets the shaft.

 click for lawn edging iron with features recomended by Fred

 click for the Wolf Multichange lawn edger RMM

 click for one-piece Wolf lawn edger with D handle

Smartedge - Flexible lawn edge strip

Smartedge is a British made innovation for making perfect lawn edges to enhance the appearance and ease maintenance of your lawn edges. The patented innovation is the A frame mesh that is pinned down to your lawn to hold the edge in place. This "A" frame quickly becomes covered in grass so all you are left with is a nice smooth edge for easy trimming.

click here to see latest price on Smart edge lawn edging system

Sharpening your lawncare tools

Cutting grass can quickly blunt even the best steel blades so an essential part of lawncare work will be to clean and sharpen your tools.

Traditionally a stone was used but nowadays tungsten carbide and even diamond sharpeners are available in a range of shapes , sizes and sharpening grades.

A good all rounder is this little tool from Bahco that can be used on a wide range of blades to keep a good edge sharp. If your blade edge is really blunt you will need something coarser or possibly a regrind.

click on the shed to return to the homepage