When I first used this tool, I raked a tiny space of my yard, approximately 3 feet by 5 feet. I ended up with a bucketful of thatch and general yard debris to remove and felt ashamed of of myself for not taking better care of my grass. Any tool that can shame me is probably a tool that does a good job. This rake is also very sturdy and solidly built. Yes, it'll take a while to de-thatch a large yard with nothing more than a handheld tool, but rest assured that the job will get done, and you will remove tons of debris with this rake.