How to work with a flat cutter efficiently, saving energy, and with pleasure

How to work with a flat cutter so that cultivating your plot brings only joy instead of fatigue? This tool is designed for loosening the soil, weeding and mowing grass in the area. To use it easily, you need to take into account certain rules of agricultural technology and know about the methods of working of different types of this tool.

What is a flat cutter

It is a hand-held gardening tool that combines the characteristics of a hoe, scythe, plow, shovel, hoe, rake and other agricultural implements. It is a wooden handle with a metal attachment in the shape of a slightly curved letter "L". Its edges are sharpened to effectively cut plants and break up clods.

What is a flat cutter for? First of all, to facilitate manual labor in the garden:

• they can loosen the ground to a depth of 15 cm and cultivate virgin soil without using a shovel;
• he easily cuts off the roots of adults weeds and pulls out the "young" entirely from the ground;
• they can huddle plants and collect tops, throw hay into sheaves;
• he easily cultivates the land under the low branches of the bushes, without injuring the roots;
• with this tool it is easier to cut furrows and form ridges, level the surface of the earth.

When mowing grass, you should direct its blade parallel to the ground in the direction "towards you". For loosening, the nozzle is lowered into the soil to the required depth and processed with movements similar to that of a rake.

How do I use my flat cutter to uproot large weeds? First, you can loosen the ground around the plant, and then with the sharp end drive a metal plate into the ground under the trunk of the plant. Then the person easily pulls it up along with the roots. Tilling the soil with a flat cutter does not destroy its structure and saves the strength of the summer resident during work.

To prevent the tool from rusting in winter, it is best to treat the steel blade with an anti-corrosion compound and store it in a warm, dry place.

Tool assembly rules

A simple mechanism should be properly configured before working for your height and physical capabilities. The efficiency of the actions produced by him depends on how the Fokin plane cutter is assembled. The length of the handle, the sharpness of the sharpening and the angle of inclination of the steel tip are important. If everything is assembled correctly, the blade does not get stuck in the ground, the worker's back is not overstrained.

What you should pay attention to when assembling the flat cutter:

1. For right-handed people, turn the sharp part to the right relative to the handle, for left-handers - to the left.
2. A physically strong person can increase the load by attaching a metal attachment to the inside of the handle. Others may want to reduce the working area of ​​the steel plane by attaching the tip to the outside of the wood base. In the second case, the tool will lift less ground.
3. Screw the blade at a slight angle towards you on the handle. Try it out. If the tool gets stuck in the ground, change the tilt angle. Choose the perfect one for you. How best to set it up to work with a flat cutter easily is a matter of practice for each individual.

A large plane cutter for a tall person can be attached in the direction of the handle. The main thing is that the summer resident does not bend over unnecessarily during work.Therefore, the wooden handle for all types of this tool must be long enough.

If necessary Fokin's flat cutter you can also perform other work in the garden or vegetable garden, taking into account the instructions for use, which necessarily accompany the original product in the package.

Use a handle 30-40 cm shorter than your height to assemble the tool.

How to choose a flat cutter

In 2018, various types of tools went on sale, including combined flat cutters. Each is most effective in a particular job.

Let's start the review with the modifications of Fokine's invention available today and at the end we will consider several more options from other manufacturers:

1. "Big" - has a wide and long blade. It is used for spring tillage, formation of rows and grooves for replanting. May come in handy during the summer hilling potatoes. 
2. "Fokin's Small Plane Cutter" - it has a narrow and short blade. It is convenient for them to weed ridges between plantings, loosen the ground and thin out dense shoots. Make narrow grooves and throw hay.
3. "Krepysh" - the most effective on heavy loamy soils due to its short and powerful blade.
4. Ploskorez "Mighty" - has the widest blade and therefore is indispensable for hilling plants, collecting hay and forming beds.
5. "Big and small carpenters" are most useful for various types of weeding and processing of a large number of plantings, as they have a narrower and longer blade. The tillage depth is low - about 3 cm.
6. Ploskorez "Hydra", how to use - the question often arises among those who are accustomed to products from Fokin. Since its blade is much wider and thicker, this tool is more convenient for working on heavy soil.
7. Ploskorez Chizhova, otherwise "Strizh", is produced in several modifications, which differ in width and length of the blade. In the Swift, it resembles the shape of a drop, curved to one side. Suitable for most gardening and gardening jobs except throwing hay.
8. How to use the flat cutter "Bee" - the difficulty often arises for those who buy a combined version of this tool, because in addition to the usual nozzle in the "G" shape, there is also a second blade. Due to its shape, the implement not only copes with weeds, but also effectively loosens the soil. They need to work like a regular flat cutter.

How to distinguish from a fake and choose a Fokin flat cutter

He alone replaces almost all gardening tools, but it will be truly effective only if it is an original product. Counterfeit weapons break down quickly due to the poor quality alloy of the metal from which the blade is made. In addition, they either do not have any sharpening or they quickly become blunt during operation.

In 2018, only the creator's family has a license to produce Fokine flat cutters. The tool created at their production has:

• stamp (letter "F") - put in 2016;
• black color;
• slightly rough surface from paint;
• sharp sharpening;
• the distance between the holes for the mounts is 7.5 cm;
• 4 bends on a metal plate;
• strong and flexible blade (slightly bouncy under load);
• set of nuts and bolts (included).

The original product is sold without a handle, the packaging must include the author's brochure "Towards the Earth with Science".

This tool is gaining popularity with gardeners every year. Many people can no longer imagine working on their land without him. They write books about him and publish videos, demonstrating by their example how to work with the flat-cutters of the folk craftsman V.V. Fokin.