Niwaki - Quality Gardening Tools

If you know about quality gardening tools, you will have heard of Niwaki. We have proudly stocked their products since we first opened our doors back in 2019 and they are still our go to when it comes to indoor and outdoor plant care.

Niwaki literally translates as “garden tree”. After travelling to Japan to witness the Cherry Blossom Season in Hanam, founder Jake discovered a whole new world in Japanese gardening. He worked in rural Osaka learning about the art of tree pruning, training and rootballing which led to an appreciation for the craftmanship behind Japanese tools. This led to the beginning of Niwaki -  bringing traditional Japanese gardening tools to UK gardeners.

Choosing the right Snips, Secateurs or Scissors

We have so many incredible Niwaki tools on offer, it can be overwhelming to find the right one for your needs so let us break down our favourite tools and how to use them when caring for your plants.

If you want to elevate your plant care, start with swapping out blunt scissors for high quality snips and secateurs. If you can – go for both! Each tool is designed for a different type of cutting. For thinner, green stemmed plants such as most houseplant stems and flowers, choose the Niwaki Forged Snips. Their thin, pointed blades are perfect for precision cutting and ensure a clean, sharp cut when pruning your plants. Although perfect for thinner stems, snips are not suitable for thick, woody stems. Instead choose the Niwaki Pro Secateurs or the Niwaki Mainichi Secateurs. These are a much stronger option and will easily chop through stems of houseplants like Ficus or woodier plant stems. To use secateurs, always cut your stems at an angle and use the base of the blades as these offer the strongest cuts. If secateurs just don’t fulfil your cutting needs try the Niwaki Folding Saw. This saw is designed to tackle thicker shrub and tree pruning. Japanese saws favour a narrower blade and offer efficient sawing through rhythm, precision and proper positioning rather than brute strength. Twisting will damage the blade so take it slow using a gentle sawing action and allow the blade to cut on the pull stroke! This tool can easily be folded down to keep you and your tools safe when not in use!

If you just prefer using scissors, choose something with a high-quality blade that can be easily maintained with a sharpening stone such as Niwaki Utility Scissors. These are a great general option for pottering around the garden and house. For Bonsai enthusiasts, why not try Niwaki’s Sentei Bonsai Scissors? Bonsai care is an art form and these speciality scissors are designed with long handles and thin strong blades for detailed pruning work. 

Top tools for City Gardening

Are you lucky enough to have a garden in the city centre? If you are, Niwaki offers a whole host premium gardening tools to help! As the season changes, it’s time to prepare your garden for next year by clearing back old growth and garden debris. This is the perfect time to make use of the Niwaki Rake. This long-handled rake means you don’t need to worry about bending down to scrape back garden debris and has adjustable tines to allow for raking in narrower spots. Alternatively, go the more traditional route with the Niwaki Bamboo Hand Rake for leaf clearing and garden debris ready for next year's planting! When it comes to preparing garden beds for planting we love using the Niwaki Forked Hand Hoe. This is a fantastic durable option for digging, weeding and planting, as well as prising out roots and rock clumps in garden beds. Another fabulous gardening tool is the Niwaki Hori Hori and Canvas. This tool is made up of a carbon steel blade which runs the whole way through the handle to create a strong and durable addition to your gardening tool kit. This versatile tool can be used for all your weeding and bulb planting needs. It even comes with a tough canvas sheath that can be easily slipped onto your belt when pottering around the garden. 

Sadly, it is impossible to escape weeding so make your life a little easier by some of Niwaki’s best weeding tools such as the Niwaki Weeding Hoe which is perfect for slicing through pesky weeds in borders and beds. This is also a very handy little tool for preparing seed rows. Finally, try the Niwaki Sickle for grass scything and cutting back overgrown bramble bushes! It’s robust and lightweight so perfect to add to your gardening tool kit!

Finally, treat yourself to the Niwaki Golden Spade available in sizes small and large! They are incredibly strong, lethally sharp and supremely stylish – what's not to love?

How to care for Niwaki Tools.

What makes Niwaki’s tools so good is the quality of their blades. They favour the Japanese approach of using steel with a high carbon content, over cheaper, more brittle stainless steel. By choosing Niwaki you are investing in high quality, durable tools, but as with all good things they require a little TLC to keep them fresh and functional for years to come! 

To begin caring for your tools, wash them by hand after use and dry them thoroughly. Although an incredible material, when used regularly, carbon steel is prone to staining, which can lead to rust. To prevent this, remove any sap or leaf resin from the blades using a little bit of water (or Camellia oil) on your Crean Mate and apply to the blade of your tools as if you are using a rubber! Once dry, wipe your tools with Camellia oil. This oil is a traditional Japanese method for protecting tools from rust and is a great addition to your tool maintenance regime.

Sharp tools are a must for gardening as blunt blades can lead to uneven cuts. The cuts from pruning are essentially open wounds on our plants. Much like when our bodies heal if the cut is clean and sharp it will heal much faster than a raggedy cut made from a blunt, dirty blade. Uneven cuts also make plants more susceptible to the spread of disease. We recommend sharpening your tools regularly with the #1000 Niwaki Sharpening Stone. Topiary Clippers and Shears should be sharpened after every use to guarantee a premium finish. This stone is designed with a convex curve to ensure it fits snugly within Niwaki Secateurs to allow optimum sharpening results. Before using, soak the stone for around 3 minutes or until bubbles stop rising. These stones are designed to fit into tight spots so make sure to go the full way along the blade during sharpening!

Gifts for flower enthusiasts

If you love displaying flowers, but are sick of single stems falling over - why not treat yourself to a Kenzan? These weighted, spikey plates are designed to create sculptural floral displays with fewer stems in the ikebana style. Ikebana is a traditional Japanese form of flower arranging to create striking and sculptural floral displays. We recommend the Niwaki Flower Scissors for snipping your preferred blooms ready to arrange! These scissors have fluorine coated blades with ergonomically designed, resin moulded handles. 

Gardening in style

Niwaki offer a whole host of functional (and fashionable) accessories to aid you with indoor and outdoor plant care.

Whether it’s to prevent cuts and scratches from heavy pruning or an attempt to keep your hands clean whilst working in the garden we recommend grabbing yourself a pair of Niwaki Gardening Gloves. These gloves are super comfortable and breathable due to their nylon/ spandex liner. They also have a nitrile coating which gives slightly more grip than your standard gardening glove. These sizes run small so we recommend starting at a size medium for small hands! 

Keep your tools handy in our Niwaki Pouch with reinforced inner and outer pockets to keep your sharps safe. Either wear across the body with their detachable shoulder strap or slide onto your belt. This bag is made from fully waterproofed, heavy duty canvas and is perfect for holding any smaller items you may need around the garden such as secateurs, gloves and care accessories. 

A great little cap for protecting your head from debris and sun during days out in the garden. The Niwaki Cap is made from heavy duty canvas and is the perfect fit for heads of all sizes with its adjustable strap.

A fun little addition to your mug collection, our Niwaki Enamel Mug is available in red and mustard yellow. These cups are vibrant enough to ensure you don’t lose your brew while pottering around the garden. They are also lightweight and far more durable than easily breakable ceramic mugs! These cups are made using enamel steel by The Fuji Porcelain Enamel Company (est.1947) and are finished in Thailand. We think they make thoughtful gifts for gardening friends.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to give Niwaki a try! You won’t regret it – we promise!