Nisaku Hori Hori Japanese SS Knife

First, let me get this out of the way: The sheath is pretty crummy. I knew that before ordering, however. I could have ordered either the same Nisaku hori-hori with an upgraded sheath, or one of Nisaku's pricier variants with somewhat better sheaths, but didn't want to spend the extra money just for an upgraded sheath with this hori-hori, and I don't see the value in the so-called premium hori-hori variants. I can easily fab my own sheath from either cordura or leather. My wife and I have used a hori-hori for years. We currently have a Barnel that has held up beautifully but I wanted to pick up another hori-hori so we had two. Barnel or Nisaku were my 1st choices and the Nisaku is far more easily found. The Nisaku hori-hori is better finished than the Barnel, though the Barnel has a decent sheath. The Nisaku is nicely made. The steel is appropriately thick and is highly polished, which helps whether digging, cutting, or cleaning. It arrived very sharp on both blades, though honestly I think sharpness in a hori-hori is overrated. Our years-old Barnel is quite dull as I've never bothered to sharpen it. It's in constant use for potting, garden maintenance, and weeding (including lawn), and it cuts through turf and roots with no problem with the serrated blade. (I seldom use the plain blade side.) The Nisaku's typical blocky Japanese hori-hori wood handle has some sort of light finish on it, which I will sand off in order to treat the handle with linseed oil. That will take perhaps 5-10 minutes and the handle will hold up far better than with the original finish. Short of a defective blade, which can happen with any brand, I just don't understand how anyone breaks or bends any of the better hori-horis out there when used as intended. It's a gardening tool, not a pry bar, not for hardpan breaking or digging, not for cutting hard dry roots, etc. I weed and repair tough St. Augustine sod all the time with one and the action is quite gentle. Same with weeding garden beds, even heavily weed-choked. The motion is not the vertical stab and pry you would use with a weeding fork. Rather, you slide the blade into the soil at a low angle so as to go just below the weed roots, following with a slight low-pressure push down on the handle - just enough to allow removing the weed, roots and all. This should not feel like prying. Barring entanglements with plants or tree root infiltration , I can usually weed out everything in reach from a single position in seconds and the soil is minimally disturbed. Hori-hori knives are often billed as all-purpose camping and hunting knives. Don't believe it! The blade is all wrong, the steels are wrong, and the handles are wrong. The Nisaku is an excellent hori-hori. Experiment with it and learn to use it gently. It's incredibly fast and efficient when used properly and will last for years.