Garden Rake

A rake is a tool used to gather or loosen material, or to grade or level a surface, in agriculture and landscaping. A garden rake is made up of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle. It can also be used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and leveling, removing dead grass from lawns. Modern hand-rakes usually have steel, plastic, or bamboo teeth or tines. The handle is often made of wood or metal. Some rakes are two-sided and made with dull blades in the shapes of slight crescents, used for removing dead grass from lawns. When rakes have longer teeth, they may be arranged in the shape of an old-style folding fan.

There are two major kinds of rakes: an attachment for a tractor and a hand tool.
1. Hay Rake. A hay rake is pulled behind the tractor, and forms the hay into individual windrows to dry. Tractors pull several kinds of rakes: wheel rakes, parallel bar rakes, twin or double rakes, and rotary rakes. Parallel bar rakes are used less than they were at one time, having lost favor due to cost and limited width. Twin rotary rakes merge two windrows, though there is also a separate class of equipment that does this, called mergers.

2. Home and Garden Rakes. There are a wide variety of handheld rakes, specially designed for different purposes. The name of each of the types of rake will give you a rough idea of their purpose.

Types of Rakes

Bow Rake - This kind of rake, with large, thick, unbending teeth, can both level and work the soil. One of its uses is to prepare ground for planting after the soil has initially been broken up.

Leaf Rake - A leaf rake is mostly used for raking up leaves. Leaf Rakes can have steel wire tines. Do not use these rakes on your lawn; the wire tines will tear the grass. However, you can use it anywhere else. Use a sweeping motion, as with lawn rakes.
Some places in the world require leaf rakes more than others but they are generally a useful tool to have. Leaf rakes have large, often somewhat triangular groups of teeth that are quite flexible. They are used to pull together piles of fallen leaves and to do light lawn work. When buying a leaf rake there is one main variable to consider, how light is the rake. Quite simply, leaves themselves are not heavy so you do not need a heavy duty rake to rake them up. What you do need is a tool that you can use for long periods of time and do not tire too easily. Especially during autumn or fall, raking leaves can be a big task and so you want a tool that is light weight, flexible and has a broad head. You also want very small gaps between the rakes prongs so that leaves can’t slip between them.

Leaf rakes are about the ONLY garden tool recommended buying something with plastic as plastic heads are generally the lightest and so make for a good leaf rake. Some are specifically designed and labeled as "Leaf/Lawn Rakes." Use a leaf rake for scarifying and clearing leaves from a lawn if you have a lawn then you will need a leaf rake for scarifying and clearing leaves.

Lawn rakes have fanlike, dull, springy teeth. These rakes are designed to glide over the grass so that they can remove clippings or leaves without catching in the sod. Lawn rakes commonly are made of steel, bamboo, or polypropylene (the last two don't rust). Lawn rakes work most efficiently when handled like a broom use a sweeping motion rather than a raking action.

A lawn rake is actually very similar to a garden rake; in fact many people don’t differentiate between them because a lawn rake CAN be used as a leaf rake. The main difference here is that a lawn rake needs to have a stronger, sturdier and therefore generally heavier head. Lawn rakes are usually used to remove dead grass on the top layer. Sometimes even dead grass can be well rooted and so you need a little bit of strength in the head to help pull out the grass. It is important when choosing a lawn rake that you get one with a solid join between the head and the handle as this is where all the pressure will be. If you choose a lawn rake with a weak join, the join may give way and leave the dead grass embedded in the ground! Lawn and leaf rakes have long prongs that mostly go in the same direction as the handle where as a garden rake has prongs that are totally on a 90 degree angle.

Garden rake - a garden rake is usually used in soil, often for moving or leveling soil. This job requires that soil can both be pushed by the rake but also not provide too much resistance. As such a garden rake has fewer prongs on the head and they are spread out more. Garden rakes and flat rakes take some beating for breaking down soil to a finer degree that has been previously dug over by a spade or a fork.  They are both ideal for removing stones and general debris, covering over seedbeds and earthing up.

The garden rake comes in flathead or bowhead styles. Gardeners commonly use it to break up clods of dirt when preparing a seedbed for planting. Once the soil is pulverized, the rake can be turned over to level and smooth the soil. Some gardeners also use this rake for thinning vegetables. A garden rake's quality is determined largely by the quality of steel in the rake head.

For a large flower garden, a garden rake for all general rake work is needed. They can be used for spreading compost or fertilizer. For a vegetable garden, a flat rake or a garden rake is a must for earthing up, preparing seedbeds, covering seedbeds and spreading compost or fertilizer.
Garden rakes need to be sturdy and they need to be make of really solid materials. A good garden rake is like a good garden spade or shovel, if you buy the right one it really could last for life. Don’t scrimp when it comes to choosing a garden rake!

Flathead Steel Rake - All flathead (or level head) steel garden rakes have similar designs. The head is about 15 inches wide. The 12 to 15 teeth are straight, or nearly so, and about 2.5 inches long. The handles are 54 to 60 inches long.

The flathead is good for doing fine cultivating or for finishing a seedbed. You can use it to work the surface soil to a very smooth, fine texture. Then, by simply turning it over, you can do additional smoothing with the flat side.

Bowhead Steel Rake -The bowhead steel garden rake is named after the two tangs, which resemble a drawn bow, that hold the head away from the handle end. When in use, therefore, this rake has a little more spring action than the flathead rake. Some gardeners feel that this action reduces the strain that comes with extensive use.

The bowhead is stronger and sometimes heavier than the flathead rake and its longer handle and wider head tend to make it larger. Use it for leveling soil, raking heavy material, or spacing seeds in a prepared seedbed. To accomplish the last task, place the rake handle on the surface of the bed with the tines facing upward. Press the handle lightly into the soil. Then, using the head of the rake, press the tines lightly into this line. The small impressions (holes) from the tines are usually spaced about 1 inch apart. Place the seeds in these holes.

Hand rake - A hand rake is a small version of a rake, whether a bow rake or a leaf rake, used to work the soil or clear small areas in flowerbeds.
Thatch rake - This type of rake is for lawn grooming, allowing the user to remove thatch and moss from a lawn.
Lake Rake - A lake rake is used to skim vegetation or algae off the surface of a lake or pool. Some lake rakes are made for secondary use in dressing beach sand.
Landscape rake - The landscape rake is a tool for spreading ground covering material smoothly over a surface, whether dirt, gravel, or sand.
Specialty Rakes - There are also specialty rakes designed for working with a particular material. An asphalt rake is used for spreading and grading asphalt. A road and stone rake is designed for raking and leveling stone. A field/aggregate rake is specifically created for use by baseball grounds crews. A concrete rake is a kind of rake with no teeth: it is a straight edged blade on a handle, and is used to level concrete after it's been tamped.

Border Rake - If you grow vegetables or have closely planted flowers or shrubs a border rake will be needed. For a small flower garden a border rake is all that is needed. And if you grow vegetables or have closely planted flowers or shrubs a border rake would also be ideal

Long-Handled Cultivator - Although the long-handled cultivator is not really a rake, it is used for much the same purpose as the garden rake. It breaks up clods of soil and stirs the ground more deeply than a rake can. The lightweight cultivators are very good for raking leaves in flower beds when you have to work in close around plants.

Potato Fork - A potato fork, which is used for harvesting potatoes, resembles a large, heavy-duty cultivator. Landscapers sometimes buy these forks and saw the tines off to about 4 inches. This makes a very coarse rake that does a quick (though not very thorough) job of cleaning. It's handy for cleaning very large areas, leveling a lot of soil quickly, or unloading coarse material from a truck or trailer.

Leveling Rake - The leveling rake is much like the antique hay rake. Usually made of aluminum to keep this large rake from being too heavy, it isn't strong enough for cultivating. Its head is broad (25 to 30 inches) and flat, with about 25 teeth. These teeth, each nearly 4 inches long, will readily break up large, soft clumps of dirt in a freshly spaded garden. The rake can then be turned over to smooth and level the planting site. Rental shops carry this rake. It is most commonly used for putting in a new lawn or leveling a tilled landscape for planting.

Bamboo rakes - are made of cheap materials, so they are relatively inexpensive. When one finally does wear out or break, you can replace it without making a big dent in your budget. To keep the tines flexible (particularly if your climate is arid), every two or three months soak the rake head overnight in a tray of soapy water. Be sure to soak it before using it in the summer.

Polypropylene rakes - used to be made quite poorly, but their improved construction out of stronger, new materials has caused their popularity to grow. They don't rust like metal rakes, and they don't become brittle and frayed like bamboo rakes. Look for good reinforcement across the tines and around the area where the head attaches to the handle. The heavy-duty models are most durable and are worth buying even if your lawn is small.

Thatching Rake - The thatching rake is a specialty tool for clearing lawns of thatch, the mass of dead stems that accumulate between the soil and the live grass. The 15-inch-wide head has 20 or more curved cutting edges that pull and slide through the matted grass. Some models have heads that adjust to different angles, according to your height. Another model has teeth that move back and forth: When you pull, the teeth lock in place and bite into the thatch; when you push, the teeth roll up under the head to clear themselves.

Best Quality Rakes
Good rakes are made with high-carbon steel; the cheapest varieties may be of cast iron. A few high-quality rakes have a forged socket that connects the handle to the rake head. In some of these, the teeth are individually inserted through the head for greater strength. But for the most part, steel garden rakes are made with tang-and-ferrule construction. When you choose a garden rake, make sure the head is firmly attached to the handle. Don't buy a garden rake with a head that wiggles — the head is bound to fall out when you use it.

A gardener needs two rakes: a steel garden rake and a lawn rake. A steel garden rake has many uses, but raking a lawn isn't one of them. The stiff tines dig into the grass instead of just sliding over it, and they quickly get clogged with leaves.
General Cost of Rakes

Leaf Rakes
definitely the cheapest as far as rakes go. Probably the only garden tool I’ll recommend where you can buy the cheapest tool available and it will probably be ok AS LONG as you only use it for it’s purpose, raking leaves. The more expensive leaf rakes only cost more because they improve the ease of use or are slightly lighter. Still, a $10 leaf rake will do the job.

Lawn Rake
because a lawn rake needs to be stronger than a leaf rake the cost is slightly higher. I’ve been solid lawn rakes for as little as $20 and a lawn rake CAN be used as a leaf rake, it’ll just take more effort since a lawn rake will be heavier.

Garden Rake
this is the most costly rake. A budget garden rake still shouldn’t be less than $25 and a solid garden rake will probably set you back $30+. Spending $40-$50 will make it more likely that you are buying a tool for life

Maintenance
It's easy to maintain rakes: Keep them clean, dry, and stored indoors. Clean your metal rakes as you would a hoe, being careful to remove dirt from the area around tang-and-ferrule fittings. On lawn rakes, straighten bent steel tines with pliers. Never sharpen the tines on either garden or lawn rakes. If you place the rake on the ground after using it, get in the habit of pointing the tines downward so you won't step on them. As with all your tools, remember to put your rakes away when you finish with them.