My family cottage has been in my life since I was knee-high, and the pond out back has always been the heart of it. We learned to swim there, fished for sunnies, and spent countless hours just watching the dragonflies. But over the last few years, something started to shift. First, it was just a few patches of lily pads, then some stringy green stuff along the edges. Before I knew it, by mid-summer, the pond was less of a swimming hole and more of a salad bowl. The kids didn’t want to go in because of the “gross stuff,” and even the ducks seemed to be walking on water instead of swimming.
It got so bad last year that I could barely cast a fishing line without it getting tangled in a mess of weeds. I tried everything—a long-handled rake that just pulled up slime, wading in with a scythe (which, looking back, was probably a terrible idea), and even researching expensive chemical treatments that would have cost a fortune and potentially harmed the local wildlife. Nothing worked. The pond was slowly, stubbornly, being choked out.
That’s when I stumbled upon the Jenlis The Original Weed Razer. It looked like something out of a medieval torture chamber: two long, sharp blades V-shaped on a pole, with a rope attached. My first thought was, “This is either brilliant or I’m going to lose a finger.” But with the cottage season fast approaching and the kids already complaining, I decided to take the plunge.
It arrived in a surprisingly compact box. Pulling it out, the blades really did look formidable – long, stainless steel, and very, very sharp. They fold in for safety and storage, which was a relief. The long handle felt sturdy, and the included 25-foot rope was a good quality, not some flimsy string. After a quick read of the instructions – which mostly stressed “be careful, these are sharp!” – I headed down to the pond.
The First Skirmish: My Pond’s Great Haircut
My plan was simple: start where the weeds were thickest, a dense mat of cattails and some kind of stringy, slimy algae near the shallow end. I took the Weed Razer by the handle, swung it out, and watched it slice cleanly into the water. The idea is to let it sink, then pull it back towards you with the rope. As I tugged, I felt resistance, then a satisfying snap, snap, snap as the blades did their work. When I pulled it back to shore, it was laden with a surprisingly clean sweep of cut weeds.
I was genuinely shocked. This wasn’t just pulling up muck; it was cutting through the thick stalks of cattails and submerged plants at their base. It felt efficient, almost surgical, compared to my previous brute-force attempts.
The Unexpected Advantages (and a Few Lessons Learned):
- Serious Cutting Power: Those blades are incredibly effective. It cuts through tough weeds like cattails, reeds, lily stems, and even that stubborn chara algae. It’s not just a rake; it truly shears the weeds.
- Wide Coverage & Reach: The 48-inch cut width meant I was clearing a significant path with each throw, and the 25-foot rope allowed me to reach far out from the shore or from our small rowboat. I could clear a whole section of the pond without moving much.
- Eco-Friendly Approach: No chemicals, no poisons. It’s purely mechanical removal, which was important to me for the local ecosystem and the kids who swim in it. I felt good knowing I wasn’t harming the fish or frogs.
- Surprisingly Satisfying: There’s something deeply gratifying about pulling in a huge swathe of cut weeds. It’s hard work, but you see immediate, tangible results.
Where It Wasn’t So Sharp (and What I Figured Out):
- Labor Intensive: This is not a passive tool. You are doing the work. Throwing, pulling, throwing, pulling. After an hour, my arms were definitely feeling it. It’s a workout, not a magic wand.
- Weed Retrieval is Key: The Razer cuts the weeds, it doesn’t remove them from the pond. If you leave the cut weeds floating, they’ll just sink and decompose, adding nutrients back to the pond, which can lead to more weed growth later. So, you absolutely need a rake (I used my old trusted garden rake) to clear out all the debris you’ve cut. This added a second step to every cutting session.
- Very Sharp Blades (Handle with Extreme Care): This isn’t a toy. The blades are incredibly sharp and demand respect. Putting it together, folding it, and storing it requires careful attention. I learned to keep the protective sleeves on the blades whenever it wasn’t actively in use.
- Not for All Algae: While it did well with stringy chara, it’s not designed for the very fine, surface-level “pea soup” type of algae bloom. For those, I still needed to skim or look for other solutions.
Reclaiming My Pond, One Slice at a Time
By the end of the first week, I had cleared a significant swimming area, a path to the dock, and even a little channel for fishing. It wasn’t effortless, and I had a giant pile of cut weeds to deal with on shore, but the difference was astounding. The water looked clearer, the sun hit the surface again, and the kids were back in the pond with their nets, squealing about tadpoles.
My summer photos from this year look completely different from last. Instead of a green carpet, there’s blue water. The ducks are swimming, not walking. And when my cousin came to visit, he joked that he could actually see his reflection in the water for the first time in years.
The Jenlis Weed Razer isn’t just a gadget; it’s a commitment. It demands effort, and it requires you to finish the job by raking out the cut weeds. But if you’re willing to put in the work, it’s an incredibly effective tool for reclaiming your aquatic space. It didn’t just cut weeds; it cut through my frustration and gave me back the pond I remembered. And that, for me, was worth every single pull of the rope.
