Sneeboer Tools – over 100 Years of History!
‘Tools for life and generations to come’
It was back in 1913 
that Arie Sneeboer established his forging workshop in the small town of Bovenkarspel, situated in the West Friesland area of the Netherlands. The forge amounted to little more than a garden shed but Arie had realised that the market gardeners of the surrounding area need high quality products, both guaranteed to last and able to cope with the peaty and clay soil
The modern day Sneeboer factory is under the ownership of one of Arie’s grandsons, Jaap Sneeboer. Jaap is the 3rd generation of the family and he oversees the 900sqm site with his wife Wilma. The factory produces in the region of 3000 perennial spades per year and 2200 potting trowels There are two forges operating, each measuring 1.6m by 1.6m and each containing two fires. Coal is still used to produce the heat as Jaap says this produces better results. The tools are made on four anvils, one for each fire, and the molten steel is shaped by sledge-hammers. Four different drop weights are used – 35, 85, 100 and 150kg. The oldest hammer – which dates from 1920 – is still used today.
Each Sneeboer tool is hand forged by master craftsmen from the highest quality materials. This means that every Sneeboer tool is unique and because the craftsmen holds and feels the tool throughout the manufacturing process, the resulting tool is perfectly balanced and just feels ‘right’. Training new staff takes up to three years, and is undertaken by Sneeboer, as there are no longer instruction courses in the old trade of blacksmithing.These facts have le
d to Sneeboer garden tools having a reputation around the world as being the best money can buy. This is summed up in two famous quotes about Sneeboer tools: “Anyone who has ever had a Sneeboer tool in their hand will never want to use anything else” and “ When you buy a Sneeboer tool, you don’t own it… you’re just taking care of it for the next generation’’.
In 2013 Sneeboer became part of an exclusive group of Dutch companies that trade ‘By Appointment to the King of the Netherlands’. This status is awarded to small and medium sized businesses that have existed for at least 100 years, and who have a good reputation regionally.