The CobraHead at rest in its natural habitat.

It was love at first strike. With one smooth movement, the CobraHead sliced into the ground. I gently angled it and then pulled up, releasing the gnarliest dandelion from its smug existence. Ironically, I was the one that was bitten.

My CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator arrived in April’s mail. The Wisconsin-based makers of these tools (there’s a short-handled version, shown at left, and a long-handled style) had asked if I’d like to trial one. Now that spring has finally arrived in Southern Ontario, I saw my opportunity to set it loose. In the accompanying literature, the blade of the tool is described as a “steel fingernail”. After making short work of some weeds, dirt clods and an unruly lawn edge, I’m convinced the CobraHead takes multi-tasking to a whole new level.

Here’s what you can do with this baby:

• Weed. You can get into tight spots where weeds are growing close to plants and even in pavement cracks or between paving stones.
• Make a furrow or dig a trench for a row of seeds
• Use it like a dibber to create small holes for individual seeds or bulbs.
• Plant out seedlings
• Gently dig up a plant for transplanting
• Break up earth and mulch where the plant spacing is too tight to use a hoe.
• Use it to scrape mud and debris off of other tools. It’ll even get into cramped parts of your lawn mower.

I also found that the CobraHead was easy to use and, because you’re doing more pulling than pushing, not as tiring as using a trowel. The blade (which, by the way, has a sharp edge to it) is made of forged steel with a minimum recycle content of 60%. The handle is a mix of recycled polypropylene and organic fibre.

You can order CobraHead tools online directly from the company but they are carried at select hardware stores across Canada, including my favourite: Lee Valley Tools.