Jakoti Hand Shears Review

There are certain bits of farming I love and certain bits I hate. Dagging sheep is firmly in the "hate" camp but it's also a fairly essential job to do when it's needed! 

Dagging is the job of trimming around the sheep's bum to remove the muck that accumulates there. 

For years I've struggled with this job, using traditional "Double Bow" type shears. They never cut much, blunt too easily, hurt my hands (and my hands are fairly tough) and won't get through dried muck so you end up pulling that off first. Trouble is until you see something else you carry on with the way you were taught.

There must be an easier way...

What Equipment Do You Duplicate?

I'm building some doors for the extension this week. 

It's a fairly enjoyable job and good to make something nice for us for a change, I'll do a post on the doors once they're all made and hung. I'm just making a batch of six 4 panel 1950's style doors at the moment and maybe some more when I start work on the downstairs. 

Routers and Squares

But one of the reasons it enjoyable is that I have the right kit for the job, I've been doing this sort of thing for 15 years now and have a fair selection of tools. 

I also have some duplicates of some important things as well and this can come in real handy. 

Like in the picture above, two big routers set up with the bits I need to make a door. Otherwise I'd have to change bits and reset each one for each door! This way is much quicker and not so frustrating! 

This got me thinking. Now I know the rule of prepping "three is two, two is one, one is none". 

What do you have multiples of that make your life easier? for example I have three wheelbarrows here, one is never enough!

What do you have to keep a spare just so you could carry on with your day to day life with? 

What do you keep a spare of for emergencies?

Crap Wellies

I wear wellies a lot. 

And I mean A LOT.

Growing up I wore them so much that I had a lump on my foot (the same as my dad) so we both went to the doctor and he decided that it was just a massive callus on both of our feet! 

The callus is no longer there but I still wear them every day and lately I've been getting frustrated. 

They all seem crap.

 Cheap pairs don't last me long so I splashed out and brought some Argyll wellies. 

My verdict on these? 

Still crap. 

 They've lasted me six months and now they've split on the seams so I get a wet foot and the top is all pulling apart. 

 Another set I've had is a cheap pair.

 These split at the back from normal use (I can understand if I spiked them with something).

So I'm trying steel toe caped Dunlop wellies this time and see how they fair.

Who else wears them a lot and have you come up with a good make that will last through daily use?

Pocket Ripper Handle

My mum is an avid carbooter, as was I until I got so there wasn't enough hours in the day! So instead I give my mum a list of things to look out for. 

One of the things was a graft, at least that's what I've been brought up to call them, they have other names like trenching spade, or drain spade. 

My mum picked this one up for a few quid and it works really well, the blade isn't on too much of an angle like many of the new ones they sell and there is some serious weight behind it making digging deep a little easier and breaking through roots. I used it a lot last week and it performed really well digging holes for some rose arches I was installing (not for me unfortunately). 

It does have one feature that my dad affectionately calls a "pocket ripper". I think you either love or hate this style of handle, it's not seen that much on new spades or shovels any more, but it's on lots of older tools. The name comes from when you're using it and you accidentally catch your trouser pocket on it and rip it off with your own momentum! Very funny when it happens to someone else! This type of handle doesn't upset me and I'm quite happy to use it.
What does everyone else call this type of spade? Does anyone else hate this type of handle like my dad?

Azada Or Stocker?

My mother bought me a azada for my birthday the other week. I'd been on about getting one for ages so I suggested it when she was struggling to know what to buy me. A few people had mentioned that they use one, Northsider Dave for one, and they're still used all around third world countries and places that use mainly hand tools.

My three year old took this photo - I think it came out pretty well! The Stocker comes in handy for carrying a tub full of gear as well.

 I've used it a bit since getting it and it seems a really handy tool, but I'm not getting rid of my spade just yet. It makes breaking new ground really easy, with plenty of power for small amounts of effort and I've started to dig a trench down my new garden patch for the rabbit wire and it seems as if it was designed for the job. It also has the added bonus of being able to carry a tub with lots gear on your back, making planting away from the garden much easier. 

I'll let you know how I get on with this tool over the summer and if it becomes a regular in my gardening arsenal. 

The funny thing was when the tool turned up my dad called it a "stocker" and said his dad used to use it to earth up his potatoes and it was used in the past to pull muck off carts in the fields before muck spreaders. 

Does anyone else have any other names for this tool? Do you use one?

A Good Can Opener?

If there was an award for the most boring blog post then I'm sure that this would be up there, but I need your advice!

Lately I've been destroying can openers like there's no tomorrow, any plastic part gets crushed or cogs get stripped. I've been resorting to using the broken can openers one little bit at a time, rather than winding them round, like you would a can opener on a multi tool. Well it's that or going outside and rubbing it on a paving slab for a few minutes and popping the top off - which works surprisingly well, there's a good video on YouTube about it here. 

Two failed can openers, there have been two more lately as well.

The plastic parts seem to be what fails first. So the other day I brought an all metal one, but it isn't strong enough and the handle has already started to bend, that and it keeps slipping off the rim. I don't mind spending money on something that's going to last, and there seems to be plenty of choice out there, I don't want an electric one, just a good solid manual one.

So your recommendations will be greatly received and I'll buy the one most people think is any good, even if I have to import it from the States! 

Sorry this is such a boring post but there's little point of having canned food if you can't open it and I'm fed up of buying rubbish!