Sickle type knife for foraging herbs

[biscuit]

Hi all, I'm looking to get a sickle-like knife for gathering / foraging herbs.

A friend mentioned the Opinel 10 pruning knife (pic below) as one possibility, and I'm aware the locking mechanism can be removed. What do you use and recommend, please? Thank you.

I live in the UK and I've been reading elsewhere on the forum about the relevant knife laws (non-locking, blade length, reasonable to have etc).

 

[Toddy]

Honestly ? save yourself a lot of fuss and bother and just buy a pair of simple pruners.
I get as much use out of my pruners as I do a knife, or my sickle.....the sickle lengthens my reach though in a way that the pruners don't.

Simple pocket pruners, easy sharpened, cleaned, dried/oiled....under £4 delivered.

CURVED PRUNING GARDENING CUTTING SCISSORS PRUNERS SNIPS | eBay UK

Crafted with sharp stainless steel curved blades, these pruners are designed for efficiency and ease in maintaining your garden, herbs, and flowers. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a budding enthusiast, these garden shears promise a seamless cutting experience for your beloved plants.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[TeeDee]

Tend to agree with Toddy - I play around with Karambits a fair bit for different reasons , which tend to have a similar blade shape and angle. Bigger the angle , bigger the potential blade on skin connection if you accidently cut towards yourself


For doing what you want to do I do think a lightweight quality pair of pruning scissors or secateurs which allows one handed use whilst you grab the material with the other hand and lets you cut safely is the clever move.

 

[Kadushu]

The kind of knife you're after is usually called a hawkbill or pruning knife. Rough Rider, Victorinox and Arthur Wright make versions of it, as a few examples. I can't make a specific recommendation but the unbranded piece of junk pruning knife I have is genuinely useful for certain tasks.

 

[Pattree]

I can't make a specific recommendation but the unbranded piece of junk pruning knife I have is genuinely useful for certain tasks.

This.
I’d recommend the little shears above a knife for herbs any day.
But
If you are determined on a knife and it is just for herbs (Not weeks of pruning in the season) then any pruning knife will do the job. Even if it needs to be sharpened each time that you use it - so what? Couple of swipes with a small round stone or a sharpening steel is hardly a problem.

Personally I am so used to the quick blade touch up that it’s become a sort of ritual that is naturally part of the work.

pee ess.
Removing the locking mechanism on a #10 Opinel won’t alter anything as the cutting edge exceeds the limit.
As long as you are legally foraging and have other foraging equipment with you no one is going to worry.
I regularly transport intact #12s between working sites and camps.

 

[biscuit]

Thank you all, good points about getting pruners instead. It is just for herbs.

I hadn't known about pruning scissors - those look great, thanks for the link and I'll order some.

 

[HillBill]

I actually prefer a Japanese sickle for things like that. But i guess it depends on how much you're trying to gather. This sort of thing.

Ice Bear Japanese Gardener's Sickle

A traditional tool, that will come in very handy for all manner of tidying and trimming in the garden. The 160mm curved blade is finely serrated. In use the plant is held in one hand and the sickle drawn towards the user, making short work of even...

www.axminstertools.com

 

[TLM]

WHAT, nobody has mentioned the golden sickle yet and collecting herbs at full moon ...

 

[Toddy]

Eh?

I just use my sickle to cut into nettles, brambles, stuff that's out of reach and I don't really want my hands among.

 

[TLM]

Asterix reference

 

[Pattree]

Those little Japanese sickles are great for weeding around shrubs and crevices. They can be wonderful sharp but I wouldn’t want to be holding herbs in my other hand.

The back curve on a European sickle balances it in use. The Japanese sickle is off balance. It depends for control in the very light weight blade and a tight grip. It’s not as easy to control as a conventional one.

There is little that is more balanced in weight or applied force than scissors. Well worth learning how to maintain and sharpen them.

 

[HillBill]

Eh?

I just use my sickle to cut into nettles, brambles, stuff that's out of reach and I don't really want my hands among.

Think more wild garlic and mint, than Rosemary, Thyme, Basil etc. Saves a lot of time. Grab a bunch, cut the stems with said sickle, sort the rest back home.

 

[HillBill]

Those little Japanese sickles are great for weeding around shrubs and crevices. They can be wonderful sharp but I wouldn’t want to be holding herbs in my other hand.

The back curve on a European sickle balances it in use. The Japanese sickle is off balance. It depends for control in the very light weight blade and a tight grip. It’s not as easy to control as a conventional one.

There is little that is more balanced in weight or applied force than scissors. Well worth learning how to maintain and sharpen them.

I use these for my pot grown herbs/plants, or for more delicate work.
Untitled by Mark Hill, on Flickr

 

[TeeDee]

I use these for my pot grown herbs/plants, or for more delicate work.
Untitled by Mark Hill, on Flickr

As a brand I've been quite impressed by the Darlac range , have a few pruners , loppers and long pole saws. For the price point quite decent IMO ( at least when juxtaposed to other garden type tools )

 

[HillBill]

As a brand I've been quite impressed by the Darlac range , have a few pruners , loppers and long pole saws. For the price point quite decent IMO ( at least when juxtaposed to other garden type tools )

They are what our local garden centre stock/sell. Or did several years back when i bought them.
Haven't had to resharpen them yet, so i'd say they're pretty decent. Got no complaints at all.

 

[Broch]

Sadly, I have found the large (telescopic) ratcheting pruners from Darlac are just not robust enough - when on full extension the handles bend worryingly and the locking mechanism broke after half an hour use. However, I have noticed, the model I have is no longer available!

 

[TeeDee]

Sadly, I have found the large (telescopic) ratcheting pruners from Darlac are just not robust enough - when on full extension the handles bend worryingly and the locking mechanism broke after half an hour use. However, I have noticed, the model I have is no longer available!

Maybe you are just too hench?

 

[HillBill]

Sadly, I have found the large (telescopic) ratcheting pruners from Darlac are just not robust enough - when on full extension the handles bend worryingly and the locking mechanism broke after half an hour use. However, I have noticed, the model I have is no longer available!

Perhaps a well reported issue? That's always going to be an issue with telescopic tools... they're either going to have that weaker point, or be heavy/more expensive. I expect a large part of the gardening customer base will be the more elderly amongst us. Weight can be an issue in that case. I guess there just isn't a perfect tool for all.

The locking mech, well, that's a separate issue...

 

[Broch]

Maybe you are just too hench?

Ah, you know me so well

 

[Keith_Beef]

A few years ago I picked up this gardener's knife. It's a very simple thing with no spring; a mechanism that in French might be called a "piedmontais" or in English a "two-nail" or "penny knife".