Stand-up weeder

A weeding device comprising:

• a center tube;
• a handle mounted to an upper end of the tube;
• and
• a weed grasping assembly mounted at a lower end of the tube, the assembly including
• a housing,
• a pair of blades mounted in the housing for opposed pivotal movement, and
• a plunger mounted for sliding movement between the blades,
• wherein the plunger and the blades are configured such that the blades are in an open position when the plunger is in an extended position at which a lower face of the plunger is adjacent tips of the blades, and
• wherein the blades are forced into a collapsed position with the tips of the blades adjacent one another when the plunger is moved to a retracted position at which a portion of the plunger is inside a hollow interior of the tube.

A weed removing apparatus comprising:

• an elongated shaft;
• a handle mounted to an upper end of the shaft;
• at least two blades mounted for opposed pivotal movement at a lower end of the shaft, each blade having an inwardly bent portion located above a pivot point of the blade and a weed grasping portion located below the pivot point;
• and
• a plunger mounted for sliding movement between an extended position intermediate the weed grasping portions of the blades and a retracted position intermediate the inwardly bent portions of the blades,
• wherein the plunger is configured such that movement of the plunger from the extended position to the retracted position forces the inwardly bent portions of the blades outwardly, whereby the weed grasping portions of the blades converge towards each other.