Design Niwaki
Made in Japan
Dimensions 195mm blades, 550mm length
Colour & Materiality SK steel, white oak handles, leather sheath
The very best option for an all-round pair of garden shears - ideal for hedges, shrubs, box clipping and topiary. Hard-wearing SK steel holds its edge and puts up with a bit of mistreatment here and there, while the white oak handles are the perfect length for everyday use, and have subtle but satisfying bulges halfway down, offering a subliminal hotspot for where best to hold them for optimal balance.
They are not loppers and should not be used for hard woody cuts, especially when fully stretched.
Niwaki means garden tree, but implies far more—Japanese gardens are landscapes, microcosms of nature, and the trees are all shaped to fit into those landscapes. Niwaki was founded by Jake Hobson, who through a thoughtful collection of shears, secateurs, and sickles, has created a strong community of gardeners who appreciate the superb quality of Japanese craftsmanship. Originally trained as a sculptor at The Slade School of Art, Hobson looks to his hedges like a sculptor looks to a block of stone, anticipating the form waiting to reveal itself from under the deep mass of foliage. Beyond his natural skill with shears, it is his unique eye that has given Jake Hobson international acclaim. Shaping shrubs into rolling waves and pines into billows of clouds—these Japanese forms, in harmony amidst the English countryside, are a sight to behold. Read our interview with Jake Hobson in Volume II of MINKA.
