Presented by: Andrea Caisip Date Passed: September 10, 2019

Teacher: Sir Marlon Torres Subject: TLE

Farming Hand Tools

The hand tools still used by gardeners originated with the earliest agricultural implements used
by humans. Examples include: axe, sickle, scythe, pitchfork, spade, shovel, trowel, hoe, fork, and
rake. In some places, the machete may be used as a garden tool as well.

The earliest tools were made of wood, flint, metal, tin, and bone. However, the development of
metal working, first in copper and later in iron and steel, enabled the manufacture of more
durable tools. Industrial metalworking enabled the manufacture of efficient cutting tools
including pruning shears (secateurs – for example anvil pruning shears), grass shears, and
loppers.

In present days the gardening tools are made from light materials and are easy to
handle. Different tools may vary in size depending on their use and brand.
Figure 1: Axe

Axe- An axe is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest
timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialised
uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve.

Figure 2: Sickle

Sickle- A sickle, bagging hook or reaping-hook, is a hand-held agricultural tool designed with
variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting, or reaping, grain crops or cutting succulent
forage chiefly for feeding livestock, either freshly cut or dried as hay.

Figure 3: Pitchfork

Pitchfork- A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and tines used to lift and pitch or
throw loose material, such as hay, straw or leaves. The term may also be applied colloquially to the
garden fork, though to do so is inaccurate.
Figure 4: Spade

Spade- A spade is a tool primarily for digging, comprising a blade – typically stunted and less curved
than that of a shovel – and a long handle. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones.
After the art of metalworking was developed, spades were made with sharper tips of metal.

Figure 5: Shovel

Shovel- A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel,
snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length
handle. Shovel blades are usually made of sheet steel or hard plastics and are very strong.

Figure 6: Trowel

Trowel- A trowel is a small hand tool used for digging, applying, smoothing, or moving small
amounts of viscous or particulate material. Common varieties include the masonry trowel, garden
trowel, and float trowel.
Figure 7: Hoe

Hoe- A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural and horticultural hand tool used to shape soil,
remove weeds, clear soil, and harvest root crops. Shaping the soil includes piling soil around the base of
plants, digging narrow furrows and shallow trenches for planting seeds or bulbs.

Figure 8: Fork

Fork- A hand fork is a small, hand-held gardening tool designed to be used with small plants or
seedlings.