How tools actually work, and how to choose one
Find Tool Editorial Team 
A lawn scarifier is a machine or hand tool that drags blades or tines through the surface of a lawn to pull out thatch, moss and dead grass matted between the soil and the living grass. It doesn’t loosen the soil itself — it clears the layer sitting on top of it so air, water … Read more
A rotary mower cuts grass by spinning a horizontal blade fast enough to slice through it on impact, like a machete. A cylinder mower cuts by trapping grass between a spinning set of spiral blades and a fixed bottom blade and shearing it, like scissors. The shearing cut gives a finer, more even finish; the … Read more
A two-stroke engine completes its power cycle in one up-and-down movement of the piston instead of two, by combining intake, compression, combustion and exhaust into fewer mechanical steps. Garden tools still use them because the design is light, simple and works in any orientation — which matters for handheld equipment. How does a two-stroke engine … Read more
A strimmer uses a spinning nylon line to tidy grass and light growth around edges and obstacles. A brushcutter is a heavier-duty version of the same idea, built to swing a metal blade through tough weeds, brambles and saplings. A lawn edger uses a fixed rotating blade to cut a clean vertical line between lawn … Read more
A hedge trimmer’s blade gap is the small space between the moving cutting blade and the fixed blade beneath it. Too wide, and stems get pushed and torn instead of sliced, and the motor strains. Too tight, and the blades bind, overheat, or wear out fast. The gap is a running health check on the … Read more
Bypass secateurs use a sharp curved blade that slides past a lower jaw, cutting like scissors — best for live, green stems. Anvil secateurs use a straight blade that closes onto a flat plate, crushing through the stem — better suited to dead or woody wood. The stem type decides which is right. What is … Read more
Secateurs, loppers and a pruning saw are three sizes of the same job. Secateurs cut thin stems one-handed, loppers use long handles for leverage on thicker branches, and a pruning saw handles wood too thick or too hard for either. The right choice mostly comes down to branch diameter. What is the actual difference between … Read more
A border fork is a smaller, lighter version of a digging fork, sized to work in tight spaces between established plants without wrecking their roots. It loosens and turns soil, lifts small clumps, and works flower beds and containers where a full-size fork is simply too wide and too heavy to use safely. What actually … Read more
A spade has a flat, relatively short blade with a straight edge, built for cutting into soil and slicing straight-sided holes or edges. A shovel has a longer, scooped, often pointed blade, built for lifting and moving loose material — soil, gravel, sand, snow — from one place to another. The two get used interchangeably … Read more
Metric fasteners are sized in millimetres with thread pitch measured in millimetres per turn; imperial fasteners are sized in inches (or fractions of an inch) with threads counted per inch. The real-world difference is that a metric tool almost never grips an imperial fastener properly, and forcing one to fit rounds off the corners. Why … Read more
About what you read here. Everything on Find Tool is general information and our own editorial opinion. We research carefully and we say when the evidence is unclear, but we can be wrong, things change, and no article can know your particular situation. Please do your own research and make your own judgement rather than treating anything here as the final word. Prices, products and specifications around tools and workshop equipment change constantly, and what suits one person will not suit another. Check current details yourself, and where a decision involves real money, safety or something you cannot undo, it is worth confirming with the manufacturer, or a qualified electrician or tradesperson before you act.