Soil knife (Hori Hori, etc.) for general outdoor use?

[Inazone]

With gardening season just around the corner in my little niche of the tundra, I've been kicking around the idea of getting a soil knife. I had never thought of these as a multi-purpose tool beyond the garden, but I've read reviews of various models where people mention using them as camp knives, among other things. They're not suited to bushcraft - they're concave for scooping - but paired with something smaller for tackling wood, could this be a great outdoor option?

Just curious if anyone has used a soil knife for anything, really. I'm going to order an inexpensive one from the rainforest site, but would love to hear of others' experiences.

 

[sideways]

You want something with a long handle to turn your garden soil if you are turning it by hand. Saves the back from bending over all the time.

The only use I can think of for a soil knife on the trail is digging a cat hole.

 

[upnorth]

I used a Hori Hori (black painted carbon version) for several years while metal detecting. I never saw it as being really suited to knife tasks, it is really a digging tool for soil etc. I moved on to a Lesche digger and never looked back.

 

[Bill Siegle]

I don't know but looking at a Hori Hori I found in a discount store, I'd say it might be a handy tool to have on the belt around the garden/farm. Not really suited perfectly to any one task but capable of many uses including some not really knife like tasks such as digging.