Metal leaf rakes, are they all junk?

[lawn and stump]

Is it just us? the rakes now seem to have crap wood handles
that last about 4hrs and the tines seem to have no temper they bend back and don't return. I have tried Tru-value and
even the so called commercial ones at the nursery looked bad. A while ago a had some fiberglass handle ones from Costco that were decent but they keep changing brands.

[AB Lawn Care]

Up here in Canada their is a store called Canadian Tire.I love buying hand tools their becouse they have a 2 year warranty on all their tools and I have seen some snow shovels with lifetime warranty's on them.I have bought about 5 rakes in the past 6 years and still am using 3 of those.

This winter I bought 5 snow shovels from that store and all 5 are now toast.I'll be going and getting a hole new set of shovels for free this winter thanks to the warranty.

.......man I love that store!

Maby you should look for rakes with warrantys on them and get 2 for the price of 1 if it breaks during the warranty period.

Hope that helps!

[mdb landscaping]

i broke two huge plastic leaf rakes in a few weeks. it always snapped where the handle and pole meet. i have a few smaller metal rakes and they work good, but they arent as big as the plastic ones.

[dan deutekom]

You gotta love crappy tire. The best part is the funny money they give out!

[Eric ELM]

Since this is a rake thread, I'll add what happened today. We found a brand new dirt rake along the road at a customers lawn today. It still had all the stickers and the steel teeth were all still shiny and new looking. It is a commercial grade rake and is very heavy duty. I have found used tools before, but never new ones. :)

[Island Lawn]

Man I was wondering where I put that!

I got this route that thakes me through the piedmont, Clemson, through IL, and into Janesville, WI....

Now that I think about it, I hit pothole about where you found my rake!

[Grateful11]

I been using Ames Kodiak rakes with the plastic frame and steel tines and it seems to be doing great. You can get them less than $6 at Lowes and HD. As for the handles, most are now made of a cheap wood called Ramin from overseas.

[jay]

cRAFTSMAN LIFETIME WARRANTY RAKES WORK GOOD, BUT THERE a little stiff. (the fiberglass ones)

[Keith]

Originally posted by jay
cRAFTSMAN LIFETIME WARRANTY RAKES WORK GOOD, BUT THERE a little stiff. (the fiberglass ones)

Picked up about 4 last week. They were half price :)

[gusbuster]

lawn and stump
Have you ever used the "Flex Rake" brand(yellow handle with green tined head). That's all we have ever used. They last us anywhere from 3 to 6 months of constant use. I will say this though, the Flex Rakes of today are nothing like yesteryear. At least those old rakes would last at least a year. Cost for the wide tines is around 10.99 @ Home Depot and around $14 for the wide skinny type.
John

[Paradise Yard Service]

Yep, Flexrake all the way. Get mine from HD. Gave up on plastic years ago.
Aloha,
P.Y.S.

[Craig Turf Management]

I use Ames rakes that I get from Home Depot. They aren't very expensive, and I only expect to get about one season's use out of them. If they last longer, cool. I've never had trouble with the handles though. I also keep them upright in a rack so they aren't damaged lying around in the back of my truck. Bill Craig

[jeffyr]

McGuire's Bamboo rake is my favorite. Gentle on the turf---but as stated with others they wear too quickly.

[yardmonkey]

I have bought lots of tools from AM Leonard through the mail. See http://www.amleo.com They seem to try to sell only high-quality stuff. There is one type of rake that I have bought from them which I no longer see in their catalog (but I think they still have it), the "Pope's rake". This is an adjustable metal rake. You can adjust the length of the handle and also the width of the head. But the best thing about it is that it has hard wiry tines instead of flat ones. I have done some raking where no other rake would work. I know there must be other rakes with tines like this, but I have not seen them in stores (some of the other rakes AM Leo sells may have such tines). The Pope's rake is not the highest quality, I have worn one out, but I like it alot anyway. If you haven't checked out AM Leo, have a look, you can sign up to get a catalog on the website. If you buy something, you'll be getting catalogs regularly. They have tons of stuff that you don't find in stores. When I bought loppers from them over a year ago, I noticed that they sold about 25 different pairs of loppers in the $50-150 range (Felco, Sandvik, etc) while Amazon sold about 50 loppers, all under $50.
"Tools that work!"
"Serving Growers, Landscapers, Grounds Management Professionals, Arborists & Contractors since 1855!"
http://www.amleo.com

[MOW ED]

Those metal leafs are tough on all rakes:)
I use a Walker.

[Mowman]

Try a Razorback. They have a lifetime warranty. They sell for about $19.99 at Quality Farm&Fleet. I think you can also get them at a Home Depot Store. I've had good luck with the Razorback brands. They make alot of hand tools.
Mowman

[Fine Lines Lawn]

Those metal leafs are tough on all rakes
LOL Mow Ed