A little more expense now saves a lot later

Let's be honest, we are all trying to get the job done with as little expense as possible. This drives us to tool places like Harbor Tool and Freight to get that tool for less. But there is no single bigger garden rip off than a cheap tool.

We have a limited amount of time to get the job done. When that tool breaks that precious time is lost. There just is no substitute for good tools that work.

Consider the fact that a tool that cost double, is it a rip off to pay that extra money?

Let's put it to the test:

A Shovel with a flimsy steel in the blade and weak wood in the handle will cost $11.50 at Harbor Freight on line.

A proven quality shovel such as a Seymour SV-LR20 is $33 on Amazon.

That's nearly triple the cost, so you are very tempted to purchase the cheap one. But if it breaks in the first job and you go buy another one that week, now you are down to only 30% more, and that doesn't count your time loss that could have finished the garden job or the fuel to go back to the store.

Quality tools ALWAYS pay for themselves.

Some Shovel Quality discussion 

This get's even more important as we look at pruning tools. Poor quality pruning tools will actually shatter or crush the plant instead of shearing it properly. Corona has been the leader in quality tools but as the years go by they have tried to make them cheaper, so if the name brand is there with a cheaper price, you probably are going to still get what you paid for.

I like Fiskars as a medium level pruning tool, they are not the best but probably the best for the price for the average home owner, doing smaller jobs every year.

If you want to stop getting ripped off by cheap poor quality tools you have to change the way you purchase them. Tools should be bought as an investment. If you are going to pay more for them you are going to be willing to take the time and look them up online to see what kind of reviews they are getting. You'll take better care of them with a tool shed. And interestingly enough, as the years go by and that tool continues to serve you well, it will become like an old friend to you that never lets you down.