Zelin Steel Grass Sickle - Manganese Steel Blade/Hardwood Handle Hand Held Tool - Professional Clearing Vines and Farming

I strongly advise gardeners in North America to adopt some Japanese gardening practices. Three simple tools make garden tasks so much easier. This one works well for pruning grasses and herbaceous vines in tight quarters, and does so with precision and silence that no weed whacker can match.

Fast shipping. Used it to harvest some kale from the garden and it is sharp and lovely. Worked great. I gave this to my friend who wanted one so I’m here to buy another one for myself. The size is great. Handle did not slip out of my hand and this was extremely easy to use. Sliced like butter.

I own many kama and use them extensively for cutting grass/weeds as well as martial arts. PROS: This is currently the cheapest wooden handled kama on Amazon and that should be kept in mind. The kama is so light that I thought they sent me an empty package at first, and it is by far the lightest kama I have owned. Mine came shaving sharp as kama should, and I like the pointed rather than blunted tip. CONS: The blade came bent to the side. Whether this was intentional (as some kama do have tilted blades) or a result of shipping/QC I don't know. Either way I prefer straight blades and it would've been nice if they showed the bend in a picture if it's intentional. The largest con is durability. With pretty light use the blade began to click forward and backward. As I've used it for a few days the blade shifts rather dramatically. Unfortunately the full metal collar and 3 metal pins make it seem like I will be unable to remove and refit the blade to a new handle without damaging things. It's a shame because the blade is sharp, light, and has a nice shape. There are dozens of kama on amazon and some very well made ones for only a few dollars more than this, but for this being the cheapest and lightest while still performing well it has its place. If you want something small and light for small tasks in the garden this may be a good choice.

One of my favorites for cutting down tall grass. Very sharp.

This Japanese sickle is sharp enough for immediate use. The blade is well rivetted to the handle.

I'm spoiled when it comes to sickles. I've had an inexpensive Japanese sickle I've used for 20+ years that I had to retire because the handle started to break. The Zelin sickle is my 4th Chinese sickle that has had short lived usefulness before breaking down. This Zelin sickle died during its 1st use. The others at least lasted a few uses. I believe part of the problem is the blades are tempered too hard making the metal brittle. Thus, when shaving branches from a bamboo stalk, the edge starts to break off over time. It probably would have been fine if I was only cutting grass or soft vegetation. The blade did arrive bent distinctly to the left with a slight counter-clockwise twist. Easy to fix with a vise but unfortunately boded poorly of what was to come. The search for an adequate sickle goes on.

Good sickle or 'kama' as they called it in Okinawan kempo class. Handy for yard work. Mine got sharper with very little effort.

Good for Bonsai. Good rooting.