This hoe failed upon the first use. I couldn't even chop some rather succulent young nettles! The temper of the curved tang of the hoe was not spring steel, but rather malleable, indicating a poor quality steel. The coarse grain wood core hidden by the mild steel collar split upon the first use. The rivets were very loose, which undoubtedly contributed to the splitting of the wood core. The curved portion of the tang, upon further inspection, was not tempered like spring steel, which is required of a tool that is meant to withstand a long series of impacts.

I love the GroundWork brand and have several tools in this line. This hoe, however, left much to be desired. On my first use, the head wobbled like a loose tooth, and a closer inspection revealed cracking in the handle around the neck. As I'm coming to find, it's better to purchase in store (versus online) so I choose the best from the lot instead of someone not checking or just trying to clear inventory. I can't confirm that every hoe from GroundWork is like this or will have this issue—this one was certainly a dud and went back.

This tool will last a lifetime

The item I purchased is great , works very well.