Where Have You Been All My LIfe, Ho-Mi?

The Ho-Mi - or Korean Hand Plow.

It was by sheer luck that I discovered the most useful gardening tool I have ever owned.  I was exploring a nearby wooded area with my kids this summer when my son spotted something on the forest floor that wasn't put there by nature.
 "What's this, Dad?" he asked, holding out the rusting implement for my inspection.  I had never seen a hand tool like this before.  It had what looked like a miniature plow blade attached to a bent handle.  It must have been left behind long ago by someone digging around on the forest floor for who-knows-what.


The shape of the tool and it's feel as I held it in my hand screamed out at me to try it right away.  I didn't argue.  It was so intuitive to stick the miniature plow blade in the ground and pull; and as soon as I did this, I knew I had discovered my new favorite gardening tool.  It quickly and easily made a little furrow in the ground, throwing the soil up to the side, just like it's horse or tractor-drawn counterpart does.  Just as efficiently, I was able to use the edge of the blade to neatly close the furrow I had made.  Turning it on it's edge, I was amazed at how precisely I could chop down weeds or scrape the top of the soil to clear it from debris.  I quickly dug several holes with it as well.  Then I used the point to surgically remove a few weeds; roots and all.

"I don't know what it is, but it's really useful" was my reply to my son's question.  Let's look it up on the Internet when we get home.

Not sure what to call it, I started with the Korean writing on the handle and did a Google image search on "Korean gardening hand tool".  Sure enough, this resulted in several matching images.  We found out that this tool is called a Ho-Mi and has been used for centuries in Asian countries.

I've been using it for a while in my garden now, and find it's usually the only tool I need.  It's, hands down, my favorite tool and I wouldn't want to be without one.

How about you?  Do you have an Asian Hand Plow?  If so, is it your favorite gardening tool or is there another one you find more indispensable?