With a lawn rake you can reliably remove leaves and weeds from your lawn. But not every model works equally effectively. In our guide you can find out what you should look out for when buying a lawn rake and which designs are really recommended based on the reviews on Amazon.

Metal lawn rakes are durable and resistant

Our recommendations

our recommendation
Fiskars Lawn Rake 35 Prong Tool Head Width: 57 cm Hardened Steel Prongs Black QuikFit 1000656
30.96 EUR To the product
material of the head steel/plastic
calculation width 57 cm
number of tines 35
Weight 1.02kg
handle incl. no

The Fiskars lawn rake convinces with its excellent price-performance ratio. It tends to have a large rake width and many tines. In addition, the material and workmanship are impressive, as can be read from the Amazon reviews. The rake should be "robust" and "easy to use". A deserved comparison winner that can enrich your garden equipment.

our recommendation
Gardena combisystem lawn rake: garden rake with a working width of 73 cm, ideal garden accessory for sweeping up grass cuttings, suitable for all combisystem handles, with grass catcher (3382-20)
49.99 EUR To the product
material of the head steel/plastic
calculation width 73 cm
number of tines 32
Weight 0.5kg
handle incl. no

With the Gardena lawn rake, the following seems to apply: If it is used for the purpose for which it is intended, it does its job excellently. Most of the Amazon reviewers are very satisfied with the device. They describe it as easy to handle and durable. Only damage to the paintwork during delivery was repeatedly criticized.

our recommendation
WOLF-Garten - Ironing rake multi-star DO-M 40"NEW2018, red, 40x28x8 cm; 71AAA029650
15.99 EUR To the product
material of the head Metal, plastic
calculation width 40 cm
number of tines 16
Weight 0.9kg
handle incl. no

3rd place goes to the bracket rake from WOLF-Garten. Although it is "only" made of metal, it is praised for its robustness by most buyers on Amazon. The solid working width and the sharpness of the tines are also among the positively mentioned features.

Note: All recommended lawn rakes are part of a combination system. Every supplier offers suitable handles in different lengths for the respective attachment.

Purchase Criteria

drive

Most lawn rakes are driven manually - i.e. solely by the physical strength of the gardener. The advantages include ease of use and low price. The disadvantage is that working with the rake requires a certain amount of effort, depending on the duration and intensity.

There are now alternative electric lawn rakes that make your work noticeably easier, but of course are also significantly more expensive - both in terms of purchase and in terms of follow-up costs (electricity consumption). We're talking about scarifiers.

Note: In our article we concentrate (almost) entirely on manually driven lawn rakes. We dealt with scarifiers separately, especially since these devices can “only” scarify. They are not suitable for picking up leaves - the actual main task of a lawn rake.

material

Classic lawn rakes are made of wood. There are also modern examples made of metal, steel or plastic.

Note: Handle and head can, but do not necessarily have to, be made of the same material. First of all, it is about the material of the head. Logically, however, the described properties of the respective material do not change if the handle is made of it.

wood: Wooden rakes are the classics, but nowadays they are in the minority. This may be because they need to be impregnated to withstand the various weather conditions. In any case, wooden rakes are characterized by their high stability. In addition, they are often made by hand. All of these features make wooden rakes cost more, on average, than lawn rakes made from other materials.

metal: Metal lawn rakes are commonly made of aluminum. The big advantage of this material is its low weight. Aluminum rakes are also among the cheaper options. But: If you work vigorously, they can break.

steel: Steel rakes are just as robust and durable as models made of wood. In addition, they are considered weather-resistant, easy-care and durable.

tips

Metal and steel rakes should always have corrosion protection. Otherwise they are in danger of rusting (exception: lawn rakes made of stainless steel are usually rustproof even without extra protection).

plastic: The same characteristics apply to lawn rakes made of plastic as to those made of aluminium. They are light and inexpensive, but less robust than wooden and steel rakes.

stem length

It is important that the length of the handle fits your height. If you operate with a lawn rake that is too short for a long period of time, you will certainly suffer from back pain, possibly even chronic ones. So don't compromise on this feature.

Practical: The handle length generally varies between 120 and 240 centimeters - there is certainly the right size for every gardener.

Note: In many cases, the handle is not included with the lawn rake, so it must be ordered separately.

calculation width

The wider the head of the rake, the faster you can finish mowing. The raking width is usually between 40 and 100 centimetres.

tips

How is your garden shaped? If there are narrower corners, it can make sense to buy a lawn rake with a smaller width.

tips

Basically, keep in mind that larger and wider rakes require more effort than smaller and narrower versions.

Number, size and spacing of the tines

There are lawn rakes that have just eight or ten tines, but there are also some models that have up to 60 tines.

The following applies: The more tines the lawn rake has, the closer they are usually to each other. This has the advantage that no leaf can escape through the gaps. Even smaller objects can be picked up and collected more easily with a denser "zinc-coated" rake.

But: The closer the tines are to each other and the larger they are, the more difficult it will be for you to guide the rake through a dense, overgrown lawn. It therefore depends on the individual condition of the lawn which tine characteristics are to be preferred.

frequently asked Questions

What is a lawn rake and what is it used for?

A lawn rake is a handy gardening tool that consists of two parts: a handle and a multi-pronged "head". Every gardener who values a beautiful, well-tended garden should own one of these tools. With the lawn rake you remove unwanted leaves and weeds as well as other unpleasant things from your lawn. It is also ideal for scarifying the lawn and for haymaking.

tips

Creative hobby gardeners even use the rake to loosen and/or level the soil in flower beds.

How do I use a lawn rake correctly?

How often you should rake your lawn depends on what exactly you want to do. If it's just a matter of removing leaves and the like, you can use it as you wish. You should scarify your lawn no more than once or twice a year (between April and September) or whenever it is necessary (weeds).

This video shows a lawn rake in action:

youtube

What is the difference between raking the lawn and scarifying the lawn?

Basically, raking is “only” about collecting leaves and the like from the garden floor. Scarifying, on the other hand, has a deeper mission: It serves to remove moss and thatch from the lawn in a targeted manner by loosening the soil so that more oxygen can penetrate, which means that the grass grows denser and weeds no longer have a chance or space.

Lawn rake or fan broom - which is better?

Both garden tools are suitable for removing leaves from the lawn. With the fan broom, you can do this particularly gently thanks to the softer and more flexible teeth, but the procedure with it takes longer. If in doubt, we advise you to buy a lawn rake, as you are faster with it and can also scarify the lawn at the same time.

Which brands offer good lawn rakes?

Gardena, WOLF-Garten, Lux and Flora are among the best-known and most popular brands for convincing lawn rakes.

Where is the best place to buy a lawn rake?

Lawn rakes are essential, almost indispensable garden helpers. That's why they are available in most hardware stores and garden centers - for example at OBI, Hornbach, toom, Bauhaus or hagebaumarkt. Amazon offers you the largest selection.

How much does a lawn rake cost?

A manually operated lawn rake costs between ten and 50 euros, depending on the manufacturer, material and level of processing quality. Versions made of wood and steel (from 20 euros) are more expensive than models made of metal (aluminium) or plastic (from ten euros).

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