SEQUIM — Battling rocks and weeds, Clint Jones broke the handle on his trowel. He grabbed a crowbar and a hammer, to see if bigger, stronger tools would conquer the scourges in his garden.
But the large implements turned out unwieldy, and Jones thought, “There’s got to be a better way.”
That was the moment, a decade ago, when the idea for the Dandy Digger was born.
Jones is the father of the invention, which is simply a long wooden handle with a metal crossbar and a pointed metal piece on the end.
Put your foot on the crossbar, dig the point in under a weed, maneuver the handle from side to side or in a circle, and the Dandy Digger “frees the root,” Jones explained.
“It actually creates an earthquake.”
As he marks the 10th anniversary of his invention, Jones is delightedly filling orders for it from gardeners around the region and beyond.
He sells Dandy Diggers out of his Evans Road home for $55 apiece; they’re also available at McComb Gardens, the nursery at 751 McComb Road off Old Olympic Highway.
“It’s a great tool,” said McComb co-owner Jane Stewart.
Digs out dandelions
She’s carried the Dandy Digger “since day one,” and calls it especially good for rooting out dandelions.
Demonstrating the tool on Friday afternoon, Jones lifted a big thistle out of his front yard, without having to hunker down or break a sweat.
“No other tool can do that,” he declared.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, however, disagrees.
“They won’t patent it,” Jones said, “because they say it’s not that unusual.”
Nevertheless, the Dandy Digger has many fans; Jones said he enjoys vigorous sales via his Web site.
Clover Gowing of Sequim, who discovered the thing many years ago, calls it “marvelous.”
“I am not a dedicated weeder. But the job is easier because of the Dandy Digger,” she said.
The device, it seems, depends on the user’s ability to maneuver it, and not on brute strength.
And “I have more women customers than men,” Jones said.
The other day when he was shopping at Costco Wholesale, a woman stopped him and shook his hand, expressing gratitude for the Dandy Digger he’d sold her a while back.
Then there was the time when he went to a movie in Port Angeles and another patron called across the theater, “I really enjoy that tool of yours.”
Jones assembled about 20 Dandy Diggers last week; from time to time he makes deliveries to Canada via the ferry to Victoria.
Most are 42 inches in length, though he can make one 45 inches if the customer specifies it.
The tools are all painted bright yellow, since, Jones said, “that makes it easier to find” in one’s shed or garage.
For information about the Dandy Digger, or to purchase one, see www.ClintsDandyDigger.com or phone 360-681-0101.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.