An ode to Holly and the hori hori knife

The hori hori knife all round gardening tool from Japan

Genus is all about performance. We also pride ourselves on great customer service, enjoying conversations with our customers about their views and ideas concerning our products. It was a great day when Holly from Meridian, right in the centre of the Treasure Valley in Idaho USA, got in touch with her own feedback. Holly had discovered the hori hori knife, a tool developed in Japan and originally used by bonsai gardeners. It’s a garden tool trend that has swept over the USA. Holly was never without it in the garden, and wondered if Genus trousers could be adapted to carry a hori hori knife more easily.

Taking customer feedback seriously, but never having heard of a hori hori before, we invested in a knife to find out more about them. Wow! What an amazing discovery! No wonder Holly had been won over by the hori hori. This was such a versatile tool, good for digging, planting bulbs, cutting through tough roots and even stabbing slugs! We were won over by performance and great design. After months of looking for a supplier we found a Japanese company able to provide us with what we were looking for, and we have recently added the hori hori knife to our product range.

The design of our new 3-Season and All Weather trousers, was underway at just the same time. So we were able to build into the design two stab-proof pockets, one for secateurs and one that holds the sharpest of hori hori knives in absolute safety and comfort. Brilliant! We hope that Holly will be proud of her inspiration and the part she played in the development of Genus trousers. Our clothes focus on the gardener, and on providing performance products for the gardener, so we will always have ears for gardeners’ comments!