1. Buy a strong cheap putty knife. The steel blade should go down through the handle. It should cost no more than 3.00. I sharpened mine before bending. I'm not sure its necessary, if the blade is thin.

2. To bend the putty knife it must be heated first. Use a torch and heat the center of the blade until it turns red.

3. - 4. I find the easiest and safest way to bend the knife is to put it in a vice (after heated) and just pull the handle down. You may want to use a hammer to make the bend sharper. In photo 4, I didn't need a hammer.

5. And there you have a weeder! Much better and stronger than any you could buy. Believe me! You will never go back to your old weeder. Being you have a good handle and a thin blade you should be able to cut through the hardest crust with little effort and with this right angle and tip you will be able to get right up next to the plant.

When weeding don't dig too deep. The deeper you go the more dormant weed seeds are disturbed. Go down no more than a half inch. Also the best time to weed is when the weeds are no more than a half inch high. You'll find that weeding early, and not too deep will save you a lot of work and time in the long run.

Good luck and let me know how it works.

John Sexton
sean@seans.com
Visit us at The "Hobbitat"