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FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Two Fresno men are ready to make their mark in the world of garden tools.

“If the sun hits your yard, you can use this tool,” said Marshall Day, holding a Rak-O (pronounced Rake Oh) in front of his father’s northwest Fresno home Tuesday afternoon.

Day works in media and marketing but says the invention was decades in the making, stemming out of frustration with garden hoes and rakes.

“I grew sick and tired of losing the two tools, and I had to do a lot of yard work as a kid,” said Day. “By the time you get from that point of the yard to that point of the yard, you’ve lost the rake, you’ve lost the hoe. Now, you’re walking around looking for both of them.”

The Rak-O combines a hula hoe, a retractable rake, and more.

Marshall has been working on the invention since 1999.

Over the years, Day has created several prototypes, 3D-printed parts and even consulted with professors at Fresno State.

That’s how he eventually connected with his business partner, Kevin Sagouspe, to fine-tune the garden tool.

And, after years of hard work, Sagouspe connected with factories to produce them.

The two men say the appeal is universal from those who work on their yards, to the farmers who feed their families.

“There’s one gentleman we talked to, he farms strawberries,” said Sagouspe. “He plants them 12 to 18 inches apart. A standard rake is 22-24 inches. He uses a hula hoe to go through, then he has to use the rake sideways. Here you can adjust it to exactly the space that you need.”

There are other surprise features you might not expect.

You can attach a “duckie” bag to the Rak-O to pick up animal waste.

And, after a long day of working, you can use a bottle opener on the tool to enjoy a cold beverage.

The creators hope to raise $25,000 over the next month through a Kickstarter campaign.

If they succeed, they hope to have the product to market by January.

The Rak-O will retail for about $50.

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Source: kmph.com