Does Your Rake make the Grade?

We like to keep things as simple as possible. That being said, the tools we use are also fairly simple.

They consist of a fan rake, 2 thatching rakes, a shovel, a pitchfork, and a rusted wheelbarrow. All the work is done by hand. We feel that God had given us two hands to use, so we do. The more moving parts a tool has the harder it is to repair.

tools of the trade

Our thatching rakes are used extensively. Using the flat side of the rake to clean the goat area. We push the goat berries out of the pen in the same fashion as a push broom. We found this helps to minimize the dust by keeping things low to the ground.

The construction of this rake is a wood handle with a one piece constructed bed of tines. The tines are secured to the handle by fitting the sleeve over the handle. These are generally inexpensive and can be purchased anywhere garden tools are sold. For our operations here, we keep this rake for light weight work. Primarily for the goats and chickens.

A better constructed, heavy duty work horse, is required in the horse area. We had used our initial thatching rake (the one mentioned above) for the composting position only to have it break within a week. So we retired the first rake to the lighter jobs. In the purchase of a new thatch rake, it was necessary to determine the type of load it would be used for. Since our composting and screening is performed by hand, the rake would be enduring a much heavier work load. The pasture also contains centipede grass and vines which the lighter rake couldn’t handle.

We found the rake for the job. It is constructed with a wood handle which fit the hand very comfortably. The handle is about 1 inch diameter. The metal sleeve is secured onto the handle, and the tine bed is fastened into the metal sleeve with rivets. The metal is forged steel which is more durable. This thatching rake is heavier and a more solid construction. The cost of this rake , purchased at Tractor Supply Company, was less than our lighter model