The best garden equipment?

London_Town

I'm tentatively starting out in gardening after a break of about 20 years. All my tools are from my parents so they're at least as old as me (39!!) and looking pretty worn.

I've been looking to get some new equipment, just the basics like a trowel, a spade and fork. I'd like to find a range I can buy that is both good value and good quality. I've been looking today in ASDA and Wilko's and liked the look of a rubber handled Wilko range. I feel the varnish on wooden handles may splinter over time, so I prefer the idea of the rubber handles.

However, I haven't looked anywhere else yet and feel the choice will be bewildering! Like most of us on MSE, I'm on a tight budget, but I'm willing to spend a bit more if something is worth it.

Does anyone have any advice or comments on the ranges currently available?

Any constructive advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Lotus-eater

You may find that the tools you have from your parents are alot better quality than anything you can buy, unless it's very expensive. You might be better off using them first and seeing how you get on and what you really need to buy.
No point buying anything unless you really need it.

olbas_oil

Whatever you buy, keep the receipt. The tools from asda/wilkinsons/b&q etc. tend to be of fairly suspect quality, but many do have 'guaranteed 2/5/lifetime years on the label. With the guarantee and receipt you can take back your broken equipment and replace.

jimbo_the_jetset

Personally I like the look of the stuff in Wickes. Nice stainless steel tools and I quite like the wooden handles. Plus if you are using them alot you'll probably want to be wearing gloves anyway so don't worry about splinters (not that I think they'd be a problem anyway).

All personal choice really.

morg_monster

My brother bought me a set of wilkinson sword small gardening things for christmas - trowel, transplanting trowel and a small fork. They seemed very good quality but a burglar tried to use the trowel to smash our kitchen window and sadly the edge chipped off...

However the brand new, "Joseph Bentley" brand spade I had bought from wyevale stood up rather better, smashing the upvc window at apparently first blow with no damage to itself whatsoever. Hence I can highly recommend this brand... I believe the burglars used gloves so they probably had no problems with splinters either from the wooden handle ;-)

It is also good for digging, etc, and was more expensive but came with a 25 year guarantee!!

officeguru

I spent a lot of money on tools and I have been using the same ones for years... and I am a serious gardener.... I had bought a trowel set out of woolies (obviously before they closed) for half price and stuck it in the cupboard.... My nextdoor neighbour was trying to tidy up her garden so I gave her the set as a present... The trowel broke within an hour.... it was extremely embarrassing.... so, if you are likely to use the tools a lot... buy a decent set..

My husband bought himself a cheap garden fork to help me (that was a laugh!) and he threw it down in a huff, when I asked him not to stand on yet another plant, and one of the tines broke off.... he threw it down in the garden and not on concrete... so you get what you pay for....

Cheers

valentina

We have a Bulldog fork that we bought about 15 years ago, still as good as it was then. IMHO stainless spades/forks are best (altho' not cheap).
If you are of a small build you might want to consider the smaller spades/forks as large ones full of soil make digging extremely hard work!
Best of all (my opinion) are Sneeboer, but they are really serious money and probably best "suggested" as a christmas/birthday present!!!!!!!!

London_Town

Thank you all for your replies. Lotus-eater, you make the ultimate MSE point, always think twice before spending, my old tools may well be better than many modern ones. I'll not do anything hasty as my gardening work has only just begun.

Olbas-oil, good point about keeping the receipt for over a year if they provide a guarantee beyond the first 12 months. That wouldn't have occurred to me before you mentioned it.

Thanks Jimbo, I'm not sure where my nearest Wickes is, but I'll certainly have a look on line.

Morg-monster, how awful for you! Such an irony, thieves using your own equipment to break into your own house. Loved your comment about the splinters, that made me smile! I've got a Wyevale a few minutes from work, so will pop in during a lunch break.

Officeguru, Valentina, you both support the view on paying for quality. Thank you, I'll focus less on price now and take a greater look around.

conradmum

If you find the old tools don't hold out (and they probably will) I would advise making sure you get good quality in these tools in particular: trowel, fork and secateurs. I would say these are the most-used tools in the garden. Also, if you're small like me, you might find a long-handled Cornish spade easier to use than a traditional one. These have a pointed tip and a long handle with no handle at the end if you see what I mean. I find these go in easier and are easier to leverage.

London_Town

Thanks Conradmum. You make a very valid MSE point to focus any investment on the tools that probably matter more.

SailorSam

What i want is for someone else to push the lawnmower while i sit with a can of lager.