In April 2021, I decided I was going to move a massive, stubborn rhododendron that had been hogging the light in the corner of my yard for a decade. It was raining, the ground was that thick, soul-sucking clay we have here in the Midlands, and I was using a ‘premium’ spade I’d paid sixty quid for. Ten minutes in, the handle snapped with a sound like a gunshot. I was left standing in the mud, holding a useless stick, feeling like an idiot. That’s when I drove to the local B&Q and bought a Magnusson digging spade because it was the cheapest thing there that didn’t look like a toy. I didn’t expect it to last the month. Three years later, that same spade is still leaning against my shed, slightly rusty but terrifyingly functional.

The spade that actually survived my backyard

I’ve tracked my usage of this thing. Over 14 months of heavy clearing, I’ve moved roughly four tons of soil and rocks. Most reviews tell you that weight is a bad thing in a garden tool, but those people probably have soft, loamy soil that behaves itself. My Magnusson spade weighs exactly 2.1kg. It’s heavy. It’s a blunt instrument. But when you’re trying to slice through a mat of couch grass or kick the blade into compacted gravel, that weight is your best friend. The weld where the blade meets the socket is thick—almost ugly—but it hasn’t budged.

I know people will disagree with me on this, but I actually prefer the steel handle over the wooden ones. I used to be a purist about ash handles because they look ‘traditional’ on Instagram, but wood rots if you’re lazy like me and leave it out in the rain once or twice. The Magnusson steel core is basically indestructible. It’s not elegant. It won’t win any design awards. It just works.

I honestly think people who buy $100 Japanese pruning shears or boutique hand-forged trowels are mostly just bored and rich. They aren’t gardening; they’re collecting shiny things. If your tool costs more than the plants you’re putting in the ground, you’ve lost the plot.

The part where I admit I was wrong

I used to think that Magnusson was just another generic house brand meant to be replaced every season. I was completely wrong. At least regarding the digging tools. The fork is just as solid as the spade. I’ve used it to pry up old fence posts—which you aren’t supposed to do—and the tines didn’t even bend. What I mean is—actually, let me put it differently. They aren’t ‘good’ so much as they are ‘adequate enough to not annoy me.’ In a world where everything is made of cheap plastic, that’s a high bar.

But it’s not all great. Not by a long shot.

The loppers are, frankly, a bit of a disaster

While the digging tools are tanks, the cutting tools are… temperamental. I bought the telescopic bypass loppers for £22 thinking I’d scored a bargain. Total lie. The locking mechanism on the handles is a joke. You’ll be halfway through a thick branch of an overgrown buddleia, and the handle will suddenly collapse or twist because the plastic internal catch can’t handle the pressure. It’s frustrating. It ruins your rhythm.

The blade also lost its edge faster than any tool I’ve ever owned. After one afternoon of pruning, it was tearing the bark rather than slicing it. I tried sharpening it with a whetstone, but the steel feels soft. It’s like they spent all the budget on the spade and ran out of money when they got to the pruners. I’ve since switched to a pair of Spear & Jackson loppers for the heavy stuff. The Magnusson ones are now just taking up space in the back of the shed. Avoid them.

Absolute trash.

A brief moment of pure hatred for leaf blowers

Anyway, speaking of tools that annoy me, can we talk about leaf blowers for a second? I don’t care if Magnusson makes one or not (I think they do, under the Erbauer or Mac Allister umbrella), but they are the most obnoxious invention in human history. You spend two hours making a deafening noise just to move a pile of leaves three feet to the left. Just use a rake. It’s quiet, it’s exercise, and you don’t look like a ghostbuster with a grudge against nature. But I digress.

Why I’m probably wrong about the handles

The one thing I will say is that the ‘soft grip’ handles on these tools—the orange and black rubberized bits—don’t age well. After three years, the rubber is starting to get that weird, sticky texture. You know the one. It feels like it’s slowly melting in the sun. It hasn’t peeled off yet, but I can tell it’s coming. I might be wrong about this, and maybe I just have particularly acidic sweat, but I suspect in another two years I’ll be scraping the rubber off and just using the bare metal.

Also, I have a weird, irrational hatred for the brand Gardena. Their tools look like they were designed by someone who usually makes high-end vacuum cleaners or futuristic coffee pods. All that bright turquoise and orange plastic makes my garden look like a construction site for preschoolers. Magnusson at least has the decency to look like a tool, even if it is a cheap one.

• Digging Spade: Buy it. It’s a tank.
• Garden Fork: Buy it. It won’t bend.
• Bypass Loppers: Skip them. The handles are flimsy.
• Hand Trowel: It’s fine, but the handle is too thick for small hands.

I work a pretty standard 9-to-5 in logistics, and my hands aren’t exactly calloused from a life of hard labor. But I know when a tool feels like it’s fighting me. The Magnusson digging tools don’t fight. They just sit there and wait for you to do the work. There’s a certain honesty in that. You aren’t paying for a heritage brand or a fancy ergonomic study. You’re paying for a piece of sharpened steel on a stick.

I sometimes wonder if I’d be a better gardener if I had better tools. If I had the £80 spade and the carbon-fiber rake, would my borders look less like a chaotic mess? Probably not. The weeds don’t care how much you spent on the fork you use to pull them out. At the end of the day, I’d rather have the extra fifty quid in my pocket for more plants.

Is it the best brand in the world? No. Is it the best brand for someone who forgets their tools in the grass for three days straight? Absolutely.

Do you ever feel like you’re just buying stuff to feel like you’re making progress, or is that just me?