The hoe, also known as the "Buhu shovel" in the Henan area, is a traditional long handled agricultural tool in China. Its blade is flat, thin, and horizontally mounted, and can be used for harvesting, digging holes, ridging, cultivating, covering soil, weeding, breaking soil, intermediate tillage, and soil cultivation operations. It is a universal agricultural tool and one of the most commonly used tools by farmers. When using, grip the handle with both hands and perform a rotary impact motion. Its structure, shape, weight, etc. vary depending on the soil quality in different places.
The hoe is divided into two parts. The first part is the "hoe blade", which is the place used for loosening soil and weeding. The shape of the hoe blade is flat and long, just like a kitchen knife. There are also some quite special ones, such as rectangles, elongated shapes, trapezoids, and so on.
The "handle" is the second part, which is a circular wooden stick, commonly made of hardwood, used to fit in a hole at the back of the hoe blade to support it. The length ranges from 80 centimeters to 160 centimeters, but it is more convenient to grow it because farmers do not have to bend their waist too low. The structure of the hoe hoop (eye) is D-shaped. The angle can be adjusted.
The hoe utilizes the lever principle to save labor, but its working efficiency is relatively low.