What is a Fokin flat cutter and how. Functions of a flat cutter in the country. Strong - assistant for cultivating heavy soils

What is a Fokin flat cutter and how. Functions of a flat cutter in the country. Strong - assistant for cultivating heavy soils

Promoted by enthusiasts, organic farming is becoming widespread. The principle of such management is considered to be non-moldboard (without turning over the formation) soil cultivation. In small garden plots and dachas, farmers use a Fokin flat cutter, modifications of which carry out most agrotechnical plant care operations.

Curved in a complicated way metal plate with holes for mounting on the handle. The larger blade has mounting holes made taking into account possible installation under different angles, providing ease of use. The three working edges of the product are sharply sharpened.

This is how you can describe the instrument invented by V.V. Fokin. The kit includes two working blades - large and small - mounting bolts and instructions for use. Additionally, a flat handle is available.

What it can handle

The tool performs:

  • loosening and weeding beds planted with vegetables and herbs;
  • formation of beds;
  • ground leveling;
  • deep loosening;
  • making furrows for sowing seeds or planting seedlings;
  • soil cultivation - destruction of large lumps of soil;
  • weed control;
  • hilling of plants;
  • processing of seedlings, thinning of plantings;
  • Digging up small weeds with thick or deep roots.

The shape of the bends allows you to work with minimal inclination, immersing the working part shallowly in the ground.

What tools does it replace?

Thanks to its design, the Fokina flat cutter replaces:

  • hoe or chopper;
  • shovel;
  • rake;
  • braid;
  • furrower

Types and features

Manufacturers offer several options for flat cutters. The choice is made taking into account the composition and type of soil on the site, as well as the upcoming work.

Using a large flat cutter, beds are prepared and furrows are cut for planting. Weight and dimensions contribute to easy and quick weeding of rows, hilling, cutting down large weeds, deep loosening of the soil. The model will replace the scythe in hard-to-reach places, for example, around bushes and trees. Tedding of cut hay during drying and mixing of small volumes mortarsunusual ways use.

The small flat cutter looks like a large model, but with smaller dimensions. Useful for processing row spacing and vegetable beds. Light weight allows for shallow weeding and loosening. Convenient mounting for right-handers and left-handers is provided.

Large and small weeds are used to perform weeding operations in large and densely planted areas. cultivated plants areas. The design feature is an elongated and narrower blade compared to flat cutters. The narrow structure of the working part imposes a limitation on the depth of processing - to avoid breakdowns, it is better not to loosen the soil deeper than 3-4 cm.

Thanks to the wide blade, the “mighty” modification makes it easier to hill up potatoes and leeks at the stage of whitening the stems and create side borders of beds.

The “strong” model is designed for processing heavy and clay soils, virgin and long-uncultivated areas. The working part is shortened by 3 cm, and the width is the same or slightly wider than that of standard blades. Suitable for older gardeners.

How to choose the right one

Devices that are gaining popularity are causing counterfeits from unknown companies to appear on the market. The products are made of low-quality, quickly dull metal, the shape of the bend negates the ease and quality of work. The constant need for sharpening extends the work over time and requires metalworking skills from the user.

Before purchasing, you should decide on the purpose of the tool and choose the appropriate modification.

What to pay attention to

Original set:

  • packed in a branded triangular box with a logo;
  • necessarily includes two working blades of the same shape, but different sizes, galvanized fasteners, instructions (color brochure);
  • upon purchase is accompanied by a certificate of quality.

The blades included in the kit are coated with an anti-corrosion compound and have a logo indicating membership in the “Club organic farming».

Fakes:

  • covered with paint;
  • bend easily.

The box, instructions and certificate, made in black and white, have signs of counterfeiting, for example, if they were printed on a printer and not in a printing house.

The blades or fasteners are made of ferrous metal.

Video: how to use a Fokin flat cutter

Gardening is a kind of hobby for most people. Today you can buy any product in the store, but people stubbornly continue to grow potatoes, onions, carrots and other crops. To significantly facilitate this work, it is worth having a Fokin flat cutter on your farm. This tool will replace many of the existing ones and will significantly reduce the time of tillage.

How did the flat cutter appear?

In the mid-90s, Vladimir Fokin was discharged from the hospital after a heart attack. He loved to work on his plot, but big physical exercise were contraindicated for him. The summer resident thought for a long time about how to outwit nature and start cultivating the land. The result of his thoughts was a flat cutter.

With its help, it was possible to do most of the gardening work, and the plants produced a colossal harvest. Soon Fokin's flat cutters spread all over the world and became an integral part of organic farming. They are popular not only in the CIS countries. In America, Australia and Europe this tool is used even more often.

The principle of organic farming

The soil consists not only of a mineral part, but also of an organic part. Moreover, organic matter is mostly in living form. These are earthworms, bacteria, beetles and other organisms. All of them as a whole create a single system that promotes good growth representatives of the flora. Fokin's flat cutters practically do not disturb this idyll, since they do not touch the soil deeper than 5-7 cm. With the same shovel, the soil is turned over to a depth of about 20 cm, and with a plow - even deeper.

Untouched worms and beetles quickly enter into symbiosis with plants and help them bear fruit abundantly. At the same time, the soil always remains loose and airy. This is done by hundreds of worms, which not only dig channels, but also process organic matter into a form that is best absorbed by plants.

For this reason, more and more gardeners are choosing the Fokin flat cutter. Photos showing how to use it show that it is a very convenient and simple device. It copes with most tasks faster than its outdated counterparts.

Different sizes

Initially, V. Fokin made only one type of his instrument. It was ideal for large volumes of work. With its help, you can loosen the ground, remove weeds even on turf, form beds, and mow the grass. But he didn't do small jobs very well.

The large length of the cutting edge did not allow high-quality walking along narrow row spacings. And thinning the rows was quite difficult. Therefore, a little later a smaller Fokin flat cutter appeared. With its help, treating beds from weeds and large thickening has ceased to be a problem. The maneuverability of the flat cutter is perfectly combined with its efficiency.

Today there are several sizes of this gardening tool on sale. It is recommended to purchase at least two of them for your household, since different purposes require different capacities. But the operating principles remain the same. The main thing is to customize the tool exactly for yourself. The size itself no longer has of great importance, if you know how to work with at least one of them.

Loosening the soil

One of the first actions that gardeners perform in the spring is to loosen the soil for sowing and planting. The Fokina flat cutter is perfect for these purposes. It’s not entirely clear how they work the first time. But a few minutes of practice - and there are no longer any problems with this.

The bottom line is that a flat cutter does not turn over the soil like a shovel or plow does. In order to loosen the soil, it is enough to simply place it underground to a depth of 3-5 cm and draw it parallel to its surface, as if cutting off the top layer. This is quite enough for the fertile part of the soil to fluff up and become suitable for sowing plants.

The flat cutter is sharpened on both sides of the blade. Therefore any gardening work can be performed in two directions. If you learn this, loosening the soil will go much faster. Numerous reviews also speak about this. Fokina's flat cutter helps people easily process about 20 acres, which is almost impossible with a shovel.

Weed removal

The second, and probably the most important action that Fokin flat cutters perform is clearing areas of weeds. It doesn’t matter where they grow or how strong their root system. The flat cutter cuts any plants quickly and without effort on the part of the summer resident.

On loose soil, this action can be quickly performed in both directions, as if working with a hand cultivator. The principle of operation is the same as when loosening the soil. Only the depth of the work is different. It is enough to cut young weeds 1-2 cm from the surface. The tool works so effectively that even weeds that have not yet sprouted are cut.

In this case, there is no need to select the cut ones. Worms and beetles will quickly process dead plants into fertilizer, which will add nutrients the main crop in the garden.

The Fokina flat cutter can also be used on perennial turf. Photos of such actions are impressive. Perennial grass it is cut off as if it has just grown and has not had time to get stronger, and its stems have become woody. With a flat cutter, any virgin soil in a matter of minutes turns into a bed or flower bed.

Instead of a scythe, a rake and a pitchfork

But not only in the garden is the Fokin flat cutter effective. Let's look at how they can work in the garden below.

Many people know how to hold a braid correctly. In the same way, we take the handle of the flat cutter and begin to work with it just above the surface of the soil. You will be surprised how easily and quickly it cuts the grass. True, for this the tool must be well sharpened. And the steel from which it is made must be durable. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers use the right brand.

We turn the flat cutter 90 degrees and take it like a rake. With one wide tooth you can both stir up hay and rake it into a stack. Of course, you won’t achieve perfect cleanliness in the area, but in an emergency, the tool will help out.

Cleaning stalls is usually done with a pitchfork. If there are none or you need to scrape the floor perfectly, use the same flat cutter. Not only will it sweep all the manure into one pile, but it will also clean the stall perfectly. All that remains is to throw everything out into the street with the help of a shovel.

Series production problems

Many gardeners buy Fokin flat cutters from a garden tool manufacturer. Then it turns out that this tool does not live up to their expectations, and people begin to complain about the exaggerated benefits of the flat cutter. The real problem is that mass production involves stamping. Better suited for these purposes soft varieties steel, since harder ones require much more effort. Such a tool quickly becomes dull and shows low efficiency.

Therefore, it is worth carefully studying what you are going to purchase. Be sure to check if there is a company mark on the instrument. If it is not there or you have the slightest doubt, it is better not to take such a Fokin flat cutter. It’s not at all difficult to make it with your own hands if you have at least some skills in working with metal and a strip of suitable steel. Yes, it will take more time, but you will get the perfect tool.

How to do it yourself?

In order to make this tool yourself, you first need to know what parts the Fokin flat cutter consists of. Its drawing is quite simple and understandable. This is a long steel blade with several bends.

The picture above shows the dimensions for a large flat cutter. The bending angles are as follows: the first - 95-105 degrees, but slightly rounded, the second and third - approximately 110-130 degrees each.

For small flat cutter The angles remain the same, but the dimensions will have to be reduced slightly. The length of the blade is approximately 10-12 cm, the width of the workpiece is 2.5 cm. The narrowing must be calculated proportionally. And instead of three mounting holes, two are made. That is, we leave one hole in the upper part.

After everything is cut and curved, you need to sharpen the tool on both sides.

Handle for flat cutter

After you have made the Fokin flat cutter with your own hands, you need to build the correct handle for it. In its cross-section, it looks more like a rectangle than the circle we are used to.

For work we will need a rail 1.3-1.6 meters long. First, smooth out its corners using a plane. At the same time, we leave 20-25 cm from the bottom untouched, so that later it will be easier to mark the fasteners.

When all the edges are removed, we proceed to the bottom part. Parallel to the axis of the cutting we draw 2 lines exactly in the middle. The distance between them should be 5-8 mm. Then we apply the flat cutter to the workpiece and move it up and down until the handle rests against the upper bend and there is no gap between them. In this case, the bottom hole should be exactly in the middle of the drawn lines. Make a mark with a pencil and drill a hole. We tightly screw the flat cutter to the handle, carefully ensuring that the top hole is within the boundaries outlined by the lines. We drill the second mounting hole and use a bolt to press the flat cutter.

Harvest bed

Some skeptics will say that Fokin flat cutters are ineffective. Humanity has plowed the earth for thousands of years and received excellent harvests. But they will be wrong. The same Sumerians never loosened the soil deeper than 10 cm, although they already had tools capable of deep plowing. At the same time, there is evidence that the barley harvest among the Sumerians was 300-400%, which is considered an almost unrealistic figure for those times.

The effectiveness of shallow tillage lies in the fact that those who help the plants live in it. At the same time, the natural capillary system of the soil and its osmosis are preserved. This means that even in the worst drought, plants have a source of moisture, and in wet weather its excess goes deeper.

Therefore, before criticizing flat cutters, it is still worth conducting an experiment on at least one bed. Believe me, it will become the most productive on your site.


This is an original and very convenient tool for manual processing soil on personal plot. Author of this convenient device— Vladimir Vasilievich Fokin.

Instructions for using a Fokina flat cutter

When used skillfully, this tool can replace a hoe, shovel, hoe, or scythe. The main direction of work with this tool is removing weeds. Namely, cutting them at a depth of 2-3 cm underground.

What does the original flat cutter look like?

This is a metal plate bent in a certain way and having 3 sharpened cutting edges. There is a large and small Fokin flat cutter, differing from each other in their sizes and methods of attachment to the tool handle.

How to assemble a Fokina flat cutter

The large flat cutter is secured with three mounting bolts. The stalk must be rectangular section. The blade of this flat cutter always has three mounting holes, which makes it possible to change the angle of attachment to the handle. For a short person, the flat cutter is attached at an angle. For a man of average height (175–185 cm), the blade is attached almost perpendicular to the handle.

A small flat cutter does not need to be adjusted so carefully to your hand. It will be easy to work with it in any case, since the length of the blade is short. Some gardeners are mistaken in thinking that if the tool is small, then the cutting must be small. The main task is not to bend your back when working, so we take the handle for the small blade as long as for the large one. We attach the flat cutter perpendicular to the handle in the desired direction (for right-handed or left-handed people) and that’s it - the tool is ready for use.

How to use a Fokin flat cutter, watch the video

Application of Fokin flat cutter

Removing weeds and weeding beds is carried out with less physical effort, the process takes less time compared to in the usual ways soil treatment.

When starting to work with a flat cutter, keep in mind that great efforts are unacceptable here. All you need is light pressure and smooth movements. To get the desired effect from the work, you need to stand almost straight and only slightly lean forward. Hold the tool as you would a scythe.

Using light pressure and moving to the right, deepen the front edge of the flat cutter 2-3 cm (depending on the size of the weeds) into the soil. The tool must be held parallel to the ground plane. In this case, the handle is almost perpendicular to the surface being processed. At the same time, the plants are pruned, and you are without special effort With one movement you can process up to one meter of soil, clearing it of weeds. As we can see, working with such a tool is much easier than using a hoe.

If you need to loosen the soil, you can work in two ways. In the first case, the leading edge is immersed in the soil and moves towards itself (as when weeding), then the earth remains in the same place. In the second, raking the soil in your direction with the rear blade. The end side creates the effect of a plow with loosening, but without turning the layer over.

In addition, the miracle tool is used to remove strawberry tendrils, when working with hay, and is used instead of a fork, a shovel, or a rake. They even mow the grass with a flat cutter, although in some areas small area, where a regular braid does not go.

Sharpening the Fokina flat cutter

Often they sell tools with incorrect sharpening; these are not Fokin flat cutters, but fakes, falsifications. Real flat cutter Requires sharpening a maximum of once or twice per season.

A sharp tool is required when cultivating the soil to a depth of 5 cm or more, especially to the entire length of the knife, when forming ridges, mowing weeds when they have left the “childhood” stage, and excess raspberry growth, when hilling, cutting off the “whiskers” of strawberries. The sharpness of the blade is needed a little less when cutting grooves for sowing seeds, thinning densely sown carrots, parsley, and dill.

How to sharpen a flat cutter

Before sharpening, take a close look at the cutting surface - it is sharpened at a certain angle, and it was not taken from the ceiling. The inventor himself says that the harder the surface being processed, the less acute the angle should be. When you sharpen a Fokin flat cutter, do not make it sharper than it was originally (40–45 degrees is optimal).

Consider the main cutting edge, the longest one. It is formed by the intersection of the front surface of the blade (the earth “crawls” along it when the tool moves in the soil) with the chamfer-bevel of the rear surface of the blade (during operation it faces the stationary monolith of the earth). You only need to grind the chamfer-bevel, which sharpens the cutting edge. If, contrary common sense If you grind down the front surface, the angle of sharpness of the blade becomes larger, and therefore duller.

Will tell you where to sharpen the flat cutter appearance blades. Mostly, the tip of the tool wears out, especially if the soil is heavy and rocky. The block or rotating sanding wheel must be guided along the chamfers. The pressure of the flat cutter on the rotating emery wheel should be minimal so that sharpening occurs without heating the cutting edge. Otherwise, its hardness and wear resistance will decrease.

In winter, it is better to lubricate the tool blade with something to prevent rusting. Then in the spring work will go fast and easy.

The price for this device in 2019 is 410 rubles for a set of two pieces (large and small). This is the cost from the manufacturer.

Flat cutters sold, for example, in Leroy Merlin have nothing to do with Fokin - they are just garden tools from another manufacturer. A real Fokin flat cutter can be purchased on the official website blagodatmir.ru.

How to distinguish an original from a fake

  • A real Fokin flat cutter has a manufacturer's mark. On ordinary instrument no mark.
  • It only comes in black. Painted with simple paint. All other colors are blue, brown, green, etc. - a clear sign of a fake.
  • All curves and angles on this instrument are patented. The flat cutter is sharp when purchased. On a fake, the angles, shapes and method of sharpening are not adjusted and differ from the original flat cutters.
  • The quality of the metal is the most important thing in original instrument. The Fokina flat cutter is made of high-quality structural tool steel, which has undergone special processing - hardening to 40 Rockwell units and sharpening. This flat cutter is both rigid and elastic at the same time. Good tool springy both in the hands and in the garden. But the fake is that the metal is either too soft - the flat cutter bends, quickly becomes dull, or too hard - brittle, easily chipped, so it quickly breaks before the first sharpening. The flat cutter is made from stainless steel.
  • The blade of the tool is sharp. A new flat cutter must be milled and sharpened from all external (upper) sides to the handle.
  • Each flat cutter must be supplied with bolts and nuts (for attaching metal parts to the handle).
  • The distance between mounting holes is 7.5 cm
  • The cuttings supplied with the flat cutter are of a special shape, flat, birch or pine with two drilled holes with a diameter of 8 mm. Their length is from 120 to 130 cm.

Only from official representatives you can purchase all modifications of Fokin’s flat cutters: set (large + small), mighty, strong, large wedge, small wedge, disk “To the Earth with Science”, and also ask about the availability of permits (patents, certificates and etc. with a living seal of the manufacturer)

If someone is planning to make a Fokin flat cutter with their own hands, then they need to start with the small model, because it has a much simpler profile.

Gardening is a kind of hobby for most people. Today you can buy any product in the store, but people stubbornly continue to grow potatoes, onions, carrots and other crops. To significantly facilitate this work, it is worth having a Fokin flat cutter on your farm. This tool will replace many of the existing ones and will significantly reduce the time of tillage.

How did the flat cutter appear?

In the mid-90s, Vladimir Fokin was discharged from the hospital after a heart attack. He loved to work on his site, but great physical activity was contraindicated for him. The summer resident thought for a long time about how to outwit nature and start cultivating the land. The result of his thoughts was a flat cutter.

With its help, it was possible to do most of the gardening work, and the plants produced a colossal harvest. Soon Fokin's flat cutters spread all over the world and became an integral part of organic farming. They are popular not only in the CIS countries. In America, Australia and Europe this tool is used even more often.

The principle of organic farming

The soil consists not only of a mineral part, but also of an organic part. Moreover, organic matter is mostly in living form. These are earthworms, bacteria, beetles and other organisms. All of them as a whole create a single system that promotes good growth of flora representatives. Fokin's flat cutters practically do not disturb this idyll, since they do not touch the soil deeper than 5-7 cm. With the same shovel, the soil is turned over to a depth of about 20 cm, and with a plow - even deeper.

Untouched worms and beetles quickly enter into symbiosis with plants and help them bear fruit abundantly. At the same time, the soil always remains loose and airy. This is done by hundreds of worms, which not only dig channels, but also process organic matter into a form that is best absorbed by plants.

For this reason, more and more gardeners are choosing the Fokin flat cutter. Photos showing how to use it show that it is a very convenient and simple device. It copes with most tasks faster than its outdated counterparts.

Different sizes

Initially, V. Fokin made only one type of his instrument. It was ideal for large volumes of work. With its help, you can loosen the ground, remove weeds even on turf, form beds, and mow the grass. But he didn't do small jobs very well.

The large length of the cutting edge did not allow high-quality walking along narrow row spacings. And thinning the rows was quite difficult. Therefore, a little later a smaller Fokin flat cutter appeared. With its help, treating beds from weeds and large thickening has ceased to be a problem. The maneuverability of the flat cutter is perfectly combined with its efficiency.

Today there are several sizes of this gardening tool on sale. It is recommended to purchase at least two of them for your household, since different purposes require different capacities. But the operating principles remain the same. The main thing is to customize the tool exactly for yourself. The size itself no longer matters much if you know how to work with at least one of them.

Loosening the soil

One of the first actions that gardeners perform in the spring is to loosen the soil for sowing and planting. The Fokina flat cutter is perfect for these purposes. It’s not entirely clear how they work the first time. But a few minutes of practice - and there are no longer any problems with this.

The bottom line is that a flat cutter does not turn over the soil like a shovel or plow does. In order to loosen the soil, it is enough to simply place it underground to a depth of 3-5 cm and draw it parallel to its surface, as if cutting off the top layer. This is quite enough for the fertile part of the soil to fluff up and become suitable for sowing plants.

The flat cutter is sharpened on both sides of the blade. Therefore, any gardening work can be performed in two directions. If you learn this, loosening the soil will go much faster. Numerous reviews also speak about this. Fokina's flat cutter helps people easily process about 20 acres, which is almost impossible with a shovel.

Weed removal

The second, and probably the most important action that Fokin flat cutters perform is clearing areas of weeds. It doesn’t matter where they grow or how strong their root system is. The flat cutter cuts any plants quickly and without effort on the part of the summer resident.

On loose soil, this action can be quickly performed in both directions, as if working with a hand cultivator. The principle of operation is the same as when loosening the soil. Only the depth of the work is different. It is enough to cut young weeds 1-2 cm from the surface. The tool works so effectively that even weeds that have not yet sprouted are cut.

In this case, there is no need to select the cut ones. Worms and beetles will quickly process dead plants into fertilizer, which will add nutrients to the main crop in the garden.

The Fokina flat cutter can also be used on perennial turf. Photos of such actions are impressive. Perennial grass is cut as if it had just grown and did not have time to get stronger, and its stems were woody. With a flat cutter, any virgin soil in a matter of minutes turns into a bed or flower bed.

Instead of a scythe, a rake and a pitchfork

But not only in the garden is the Fokin flat cutter effective. Let's look at how they can work in the garden below.

Many people know how to hold a braid correctly. In the same way, we take the handle of the flat cutter and begin to work with it just above the surface of the soil. You will be surprised how easily and quickly it cuts the grass. True, for this the tool must be well sharpened. And the steel from which it is made must be durable. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers use the right brand.

We turn the flat cutter 90 degrees and take it like a rake. With one wide tooth you can both stir up hay and rake it into a stack. Of course, you won’t achieve perfect cleanliness in the area, but in an emergency, the tool will help out.

Cleaning stalls is usually done with a pitchfork. If there are none or you need to scrape the floor perfectly, use the same flat cutter. Not only will it sweep all the manure into one pile, but it will also clean the stall perfectly. All that remains is to throw everything out into the street with the help of a shovel.

Series production problems

Many gardeners buy Fokin flat cutters from a garden tool manufacturer. Then it turns out that this tool does not live up to their expectations, and people begin to complain about the exaggerated benefits of the flat cutter. The real problem is that mass production involves stamping. Soft grades of steel are better suited for these purposes, since harder ones require much more effort. Such a tool quickly becomes dull and shows low efficiency.

Therefore, it is worth carefully studying what you are going to purchase. Be sure to check if there is a company mark on the instrument. If it is not there or you have the slightest doubt, it is better not to take such a Fokin flat cutter. It’s not at all difficult to make it with your own hands if you have at least some skills in working with metal and a strip of suitable steel. Yes, it will take more time, but you will get the perfect tool.

How to do it yourself?

In order to make this tool yourself, you first need to know what parts the Fokin flat cutter consists of. Its drawing is quite simple and understandable. This is a long steel blade with several bends.

The picture above shows the dimensions for a large flat cutter. The bending angles are as follows: the first - 95-105 degrees, but slightly rounded, the second and third - approximately 110-130 degrees each.

For a small flat cutter, the angles remain the same, but the dimensions will have to be reduced slightly. The length of the blade is approximately 10-12 cm, the width of the workpiece is 2.5 cm. The narrowing must be calculated proportionally. And instead of three mounting holes, two are made. That is, we leave one hole in the upper part.

After everything is cut and curved, you need to sharpen the tool on both sides.

Handle for flat cutter

After you have made the Fokin flat cutter with your own hands, you need to build the correct handle for it. In its cross-section, it looks more like a rectangle than the circle we are used to.

For work we will need a rail 1.3-1.6 meters long. First, smooth out its corners using a plane. At the same time, we leave 20-25 cm from the bottom untouched, so that later it will be easier to mark the fasteners.

When all the edges are removed, we proceed to the bottom part. Parallel to the axis of the cutting we draw 2 lines exactly in the middle. The distance between them should be 5-8 mm. Then we apply the flat cutter to the workpiece and move it up and down until the handle rests against the upper bend and there is no gap between them. In this case, the bottom hole should be exactly in the middle of the drawn lines. Make a mark with a pencil and drill a hole. We tightly screw the flat cutter to the handle, carefully ensuring that the top hole is within the boundaries outlined by the lines. We drill the second mounting hole and use a bolt to press the flat cutter.

Harvest bed

Some skeptics will say that Fokin flat cutters are ineffective. Humanity has plowed the earth for thousands of years and received excellent harvests. But they will be wrong. The same Sumerians never loosened the soil deeper than 10 cm, although they already had tools capable of deep plowing. At the same time, there is evidence that the barley harvest among the Sumerians was 300-400%, which is considered an almost unrealistic figure for those times.

The effectiveness of shallow tillage lies in the fact that those who help the plants live in it. At the same time, the natural capillary system of the soil and its osmosis are preserved. This means that even in the worst drought, plants have a source of moisture, and in wet weather its excess goes deeper.

Therefore, before criticizing flat cutters, it is still worth conducting an experiment on at least one bed. Believe me, it will become the most productive on your site.

Flat-cut tillage, loosening it without wrapping it while preserving stubble on the surface is carried out in conditions of low moisture, in arid steppe regions, in regions with wind erosion. Currently, the use of flat cutters has been widely adopted by both large farms and private owners, summer residents and gardeners.

Depending on the requirements for the cultivator, one of the many types and modifications that exist today is used.

1 Fokin's invention

The most famous and used by summer residents and gardeners can probably be considered the cultivator invented by the inventor from the Vladimir region, Vladimir Vasilyevich Fokin. The invention received the name of the author.

Fokin’s invention successfully solves the following problems:

  • loosening the arable layer with penetration to different depths;
  • weed removal;
  • hilling of cultivated plants;
  • processing of inter-row spaces;
  • design of beds, etc.

1.1 What is it, what is it for and how does it work?

The design of the cultivator is very simple: it is a metal plate 3-4 mm thick, bent at the desired angle. The tool must be properly sharpened on both sides. The handle can be an ordinary wooden holder purchased at any hardware store.

Outwardly it looks like an ordinary hoe or hoe. Hand cultivator Fokina, according to its operating principle, is visually associated with the process of sweeping with an ordinary broom. The working plate is inserted into the ground parallel to the surface to a depth of 4 cm and “revenge” begins from side to side.

When the operating rules are followed, the double-sided sharpened working plate has the property of self-sharpening and does not become dull. Therefore, the question - how to sharpen a flat cutter - is usually not relevant. If such a need arises, it is better to use a grinder.

1.2 Types of Fokina cultivators

According to their characteristics, purpose and method of use, these tools are divided into five main types:

Flat cutter “Krepysh” without handle

  • cultivator “Krepysh”, used when cultivating heavy clay soils;
  • flat cutters “Moguschnik”, suitable for high hillings crops;
  • small flat cutter, indispensable for quickly working out the row spacing of onions, carrots, garlic, etc.
  • large cultivator, ideal for weeding, hilling, preparing an area for sowing seeds, mowing grass around trees, etc.
  • large pad, used for treating large areas

1.3 How to use a Fokin flat cutter correctly? (video)


2 Do-it-yourself Fokina flat cutter

It’s not at all difficult to make your own homemade flat cutter at home. To do this, you will need a metal strip 3-4 mm thick, up to 40 cm long. The metal is heated blowtorch and make 4 bends of the metal strip, giving shape to the tool and maintaining desired angle 30-40 degrees. Cool the metal. Sharpen the work surface. Drill 3 holes for the handle, insert and secure it. Drawings for assembling a flat cutter are easy to find on the Internet. Made to order hand tool ready.

In rural areas, it is often possible to build a flat cutter from a braid with your own hands. It is enough to take a scythe and cut the blade to 17 - 20 cm, cut off the stiffening collar of the blade so that it does not cling to the ground. We perform these operations with a grinder. We increase the angle of the blade to 40 degrees, bending it using a vice and a gas wrench.

The handle for the flat cutter will be the scythe holder. For a more rigid fastening of the blade to the handle, they are connected with a stainless steel clamp.

2.1 Types of hand cultivators

Not only Fokin flat cutters are used for cultivating the soil and eliminating weeds. The number of manual varieties of cultivators alone totals more than two dozen. Here are the most interesting options:

  • The Hydra flat cutter helps to cultivate various soils by hilling. When planting seeds, it is convenient to use a “Hydro” flat cutter;
  • The “Bee” flat cutter is an excellent assistant in the fight against grass growth and weeds in hard-to-reach places;
  • The “Pyshka” flat cutter perfectly loosens the soil, which saturates it with oxygen;
  • The “Stork” flat cutter with its special shape makes soil processing without turning over the layer;
  • The Strizh medium flat cutter works on soft and medium soils; the Strizh large flat cutter works on heavy soil;
  • Crab cultivators loosen soil of any hardness, unplowed and turf.

“Crab” is a flat cutter with loosening teeth that enter the ground when the handle is pressed, and when it is turned, they produce loosening. The work of this cultivator resembles the movements that a sea crab makes.

Cultivator "Crab"

"

The land, or rather its cultivation, takes important place In human life. Therefore, it is clear why this was invented a large number of devices to make this task easier. For the garden and vegetable garden, the presence of one or another cultivator has become a necessity. The requirements placed on them are very different, but all are resolved positively due to their multifunctionality.

2.2 Mechanization of a cultivator in a subsidiary farm

Types of flat cutters are not only manual, but also mechanized. Tilling the soil with a flat cutter mounted on a walk-behind tractor greatly simplifies the work. How to use such an assistant?

It is enough to attach the necessary attachments to the walk-behind tractor. The combination is done using an adapter. Requirements for assembling and preparing the cultivator for work are a rigid coupling between the walk-behind tractor and the attachments. The range of attachments for the walk-behind tractor is quite wide. This can be a flat-cutter plow, a combined flat-cutter with loosening elements, supplemented with subsoilers (makes a deep row), etc.

There are many types of walk-behind tractors equipped with different types engines (gasoline, diesel, electric). Here is a small list of them - “Salyut”, “Favorit”, “Neva”, “Avangard”, “Forte”, etc. The most popular in terms of price and reliability is, perhaps, “Neva”. Given such abundance, the question is “how to do it?” The walk-behind tractor is individual, not worth it. And more recently, engines from old mopeds and motorcycles were adapted for this.

A self-made flat cutter for a walk-behind tractor is often used in rural areas, because our people are not lacking in ingenuity and ingenuity. And there was an abundance of various spare parts and hardware left after the collective farms.

Do-it-yourself flat cutters are made mainly for reasons of economy, or to solve a specific task in land cultivation, taking into account the specifics of the soil.

2.3 Mechanization of a cultivator on a large farm

Large farms also cannot do without the use of flat cutters. This powerful attachment attaches to tractors and can perform a variety of tasks. Specific Models cultivators, flat-cutters, deep-rippers are aggregated with tractors of various traction classes. Popular models are given below.

The flat-cut cultivator KPSh 5 has five working parts. This wide-cut (up to 4.4 m) cultivator works in tandem with tractors of the 3-4 t class and has a productivity of 4.4 ha/h.

The KPSh 9 cultivator is used to mount tractors of the 5 – 6 t class. It has 9 working parts, a total working width of up to 10 m and a productivity of 10 ha/h.

The PG 3 5 subsoiler is used for tractors of the 5t class. Its working width is 3 - 5 m, productivity up to 5 ha/h. All sections of the flat cutter PG 3 5 have 5 working parts.

views