Useful for digging, cutting and planting, hori hori knives are versatile gardening tools. Although they might look fairly simple in design, most have several clever features to make them well-suited to a range of different outdoor jobs.
We’ve scoured the internet to find the very best hori hori knives you can buy online - only high-quality designs have made it onto our list. Scroll down to see our favourites or skip to our buyers guide at the bottom of this article.
Interested in Niwaki's iconic hori hori knife? Read our review to see how we rated it.
The best hori hori knives for gardening tasks
Niwaki Hori Hori Knife
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- Carbon steel blade, beechwood handle
- Comes with canvas sheath
- 300g
Pros: from a specialist brand, comes with sheath
Cons: no serrated blade or measuring guide
No list of the best hori hori knives would be complete without a mention of Niwaki. The renowned outdoor brand takes inspiration from Japanese gardening techniques, so it's no surprise its hori hori knife is a gardener favourite.
Read our full review of Niwaki's hori hori knife to see how we rated it and find out more details.
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Esschert Design hori hori with canvas sheath
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- Straight and serrated blades
- Stainless steel with an ash wood handle
- 276g
Pros: straight and serrated blades, measuring guide, comes with sheath
Cons: you can find alternatives with more features
Another inexpensive choice is this option from Esschert Design. It has a curved, serrated blade and a measuring guide, making it one of the best hori hori knives you can buy when it comes to versatility.
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Flora Guard Professional Hori Hori Garden Knife
- Straight and serrated blades
- Stainless steel blade, redwood handle
- Comes with leather sheath
- 290g
Pros: straight and serrated blades, comes with sheath, measuring guide
Cons: you can find alternatives with more features
Like all the best hori hori knives, this one has two cutting edges: a sharp, straight blade for slicing and a serrated one for sawing through roots. Plus, the makers have included depth markings, making it easier to judge measurements when planting.
The full-grain cowhide sheath is the finishing touch, and it comes with a hanging loop and a popper strap to keep the knife safely in place.
Felco Swiss Hori Hori Tool
- Forged boron steel, ash wood handle
- Red Felco handle
- 220g
Pros: leather hanging loop
Cons: no serrated blade, no sheath
With a curved head in the place of the usual pointed blade, this hori tool is Felco's 'Swiss' version. Thanks to the long, slim shape of this tool, it's ideal for loosening weeds with long roots, and creating small holes for plants and bulbs.
Garrett Wade Hori Hori & Sheath
Buy knife from Garrett Wade ($35.00)
Buy knife with sheath from Garrett Wade ($63.00)
- Straight and serrated blades
- Stainless steel blade, tropical redwood handle
- Option to buy with leather sheath
Pros: straight and serrated blades, option to buy with or without sheath
Cons: no measuring guide
Garrett Wade is an Ohio-based brand focused on creating high-quality garden tools and equipment designed to last. This is its Japanese hori hori knife, made from stainless steel and tropical redwood, and it comes with a leather belt sheath for safety as you move around the garden.
Barebones Hori Hori Garden Knife and Sheath
Buy from Bespoke Post ($70.00)
- Straight and serrated edges
- Stainless steel, hardwood handle with walnut finish
- Curved scoop, pommel base for hammering and twine-cutting notch
- Comes with waxed canvas sheath
Pros: straight and serrated edge, curved scoop, hammer base, cutting notch, depth markings, sheath, great for gifting
Cons: more expensive than other options
If we were handing out a prize for the best multi-purpose hori hori tool, this one might just win it. Not only does it come with both a straight and serrated knife edge with a measuring guide; it also has a curved scoop, a pommel base for hammering and a notch for cutting twine or removing bottle caps.
The makers have finished the hardwood handle with walnut for a smart look, and included a waxed canvas sheath with stylish copper and leather details.
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Spear & Jackson Kew Gardens Planting and Weeding Knife
- Stainless steel, FSC-certified wooden handle
- Straight and serrated blades
- Pronged weeding blade and twine-cutting notch
- 160g
Pros: straight and serrated blades, weeder, cutting notch, measuring guide, hanging loop, inexpensive
Cons: no sheath
While the makers describe this multifunctional gardening tool as a planting and weeding knife, it shares lots of its features with the Japanese hori hori. Plus, it's made by trusted brand Spear & Jackson, and endorsed by Kew Gardens, so you can be sure you’re getting a high-quality design.
You’ll get a mirror-polished stainless steel blade with one serrated edge for sawing through roots. Use the pronged tip to remove weeds from your lawn, and the cut-out notch for slicing through twine.
What is a hori hori knife used for?
A hori hori knife is a traditional Japanese gardening tool with several different functions. Many have a straight and a serrated blade for cutting and sawing through roots, and some have in-built weeding forks and twine cutting notches too.
The best hori hori knives also come with depth measurement markers on the blade to help with bulb planting and other precise tasks.
Here are some of the gardening jobs you can tackle with a hori hori knife:
- Digging
- Scooping
- Cutting / sawing
- Weeding
- Bulb planting
- Transplanting
Features to look for in a hori hori knife
The best hori hori knives usually have a strong stainless steel or aluminium blade and a hardwood handle. If you’re on the lookout for a particularly grippy or ergonomic design, you can find versions with moulded, rubberised handles.
Some hori hori knives come with extra features too. Look out for designs with:
- Straight and serrated blades
- A slightly scooped blade
- Depth measuring marks
- A weeding prong
- A twine-cutting notch
- An extended tang for strength
- A protective sheath with a hanging/belt loop
For similar options, see our round-up of the best gardening knives for pruning. Don’t forget to keep them sharp with one of these whetstones, which you can use for lots of different gardening tools.
For tougher jobs, where compacted earth, rocks and roots are a problem, consider using a pickaxe to cut through quickly.