In contrast to the hand cultivator, which is continuously pulled, the claw is pulled with jerks and the soil is loosened superficially. It is narrower (approx. 5-10 cm) and therefore especially suitable for narrow spaces in the rows and vegetables in the vegetable garden and for dense flower beds.
The claw has 3 to 5 round and pointed teeth, of which the middle one protrudes in front of the other, and a wooden or plastic handle (approx. 20-140 cm). If the handle is long, the gardener stands upright; if the handle is short, then the work is bent or crouched.
Another model has thick (approx. 0.5 cm) flat teeth - lying in one row - and is connected to the handle by means of a tang. It is distinguishable from an all-metal model that is used in hardware stores to pull nails out of a pile (1).
There is also a model with 2 flat, wide (approx. 1 cm) teeth with a long (approx. 35 cm) tang that sticks into a wooden handle (approx. 15 cm).
See also the weeding hoe, weeding fork, garden pulverizer and dung hoe. [MOT]
(1) According to SELLENS: 307, that model is also recommended as a claw.