Pulling And Digging Not Required: The Quick Way To Remove Weeds From Gravel Driveways

If you have a gravel driveway, it's fairly certain you'll have to pull weeds at some point, even if the driveway was properly installed with a weed barrier. There are plenty of unwanted plants that can grow in the layer of sand and gravel between the barrier and the surface. You might have been pulling and digging weeds manually, and if so, your back will be happy to know there's an efficient tool that allows you to do it without crouching. It's called the Whizbang Wheel Hoe. 

This tool is the brainchild of Herrick Kimball, who made the first one in 2009 and has demonstrated how to use it in a YouTube video. It's basically a scuffle hoe on wheels. If you're unfamiliar with scuffle hoes (also known as hula, stirrup, and hoop hoes), they are shaped roughly like a horseshoe with a metal blade extending across the open end. You use a standard scuffle hoe by dragging the blade just under the surface of the ground to cut weeds. Kimball has improved on the standard design by adding wheels and a more sophisticated handle.

You won't find the Whizbang Wheel Hoe in stores. You can order kits from Hammerschmidt Homestead Machine Works to make it. A kit containing just the metal parts costs $149, and one that includes a wooden handle assembly and a wheel costs $179.

Rather than using a hand tool like a or hori hori knife or trowel to remove weeds from a gravel driveway, or drenching them with chemicals that could affect other parts of your yard, simply roll the wheel hoe onto your driveway. Once there, put enough pressure on the handle to dig the blade an inch or two into the gravel while you push and pull the tool back and forth. The blade does all the work, just as it does when you use a standard scuffle hoe, and the wheel makes this tool easier to use than a standard one.

Moving the blade back and forth through gravel will dull it fairly quickly, and it needs to be sharp to cut through weeds. The blade is attached to the hoe by four bolts, which make the blade easy to remove and sharpen with a file or a bench grinder. You can even sharpen it without removing it from the hoe, just like you can sharpen a lawn mower blade without removing it. The blade doesn't need to be super-sharp, or it will wear out more quickly, but you should be able to feel the edge. 

The wheel makes this tool handy for clearing weeds from a large area, such as a driveway, but it could get bogged down in loose garden soil. A standard scuffle hoe doesn't have that problem, so you may want to keep both in your shed.