Gardening Fork - what's good?

laurel7172

Whatever you get, be sure it's stainless steel. I broke a fork (B&Q own brand, almost 20 years old) earlier this year, and replaced it with a fairly cheap SS one-garden centre's own brand. The difference it makes when you're sliding it into the ground is incredible. Wish I'd traded up years ago.

blossomhill_2

I agree about going for a smaller one, in SS, it reduces the temptation for me to try to lever to much heavy clay and I find it quicker in the end.
My gt grandfatehr sharpened the tines of a steel one years ago and that was brilliant at cutting into the clay but unfortunately it has now bitten the dust after several genrations of use - so why can't I bear to throw it away? I shall have to wallmount it and call it "heritage"

Lagopus

I received a CK stainless fork and spade with plastic handles 15 years ago and they are still going strong after a lot of abuse - they hardly ever get stored in the shed. The plastic has discoloured a bit but they are as strong and sharp as the day I got them.

A._Badger

I'm in the market for a new fork and have been looking around, as well as doing some reading.

The common wisdom (as from some of the pros above) is to buy a Bulldog and I would have done - not least because they are supposed to be made in the UK. But are they? B&Q had some last week - the spades wore the Union Flag and 'made in England' stickers. The forks just had a, smaller, Union Flag - but no sticker. I smell marketing!

Moreover, the finish on the Bulldogs was awful! The woodwork was rough and not consistently varnished and the tines looked extremely rough.

I'm afraid Bulldog went off my list. I can't see the attraction in having to sand down a new handle and start again with varnish.

The experts also tell you not to buy stainless steel as they say it breaks. They may be right, but my stainless steel spade has seen some work and has survived - though a fork gets different treatment, I admit.

I'm starting to think about one of the Joseph Bentley SS models, and I may take the risk of breakage (there have been some negatives posted elsewhere) - the finish on the one I saw was pretty fair and it seemed sturdy enough.

Any more thoughts, anyone?

cootambear

Don`t forget to order fork handles

A._Badger

I've solved the fork problem and with a solution that I hope might help others.

All the new forks I saw had problems. The supposedly best made (Bulldog) may (or may not) have been made in the UK but the finish was rough and the shaft too short. Bulldog is supposed to make longer versions but I couldn't find any to try and mail order didn't appeal, given the poor finish on the standard sized ones I'd seen in B&Q.

The stainless steel offerings in Wyevale (and all the usual suspects like Homebase etc) are allegedly fragile and though the wooden handles on Joseph Bentley forks in Wyevale looked far better than those on the Bulldogs, I couldn't help remembering what several people had warned me about Chinese stainless steel. Some of the the spades I saw even had nasty welded V inserts where the blades were joined to the shafts - such an obvious weakness that it gave me no confidence at all in them being much other than glossy nostalgia nastiness masquerading as working tools.

What's more, having recently had a Burgon and Ball (Chinese but pretending to be British) pair of snips turn red with rust, I wasn't about to argue with people who know about stainless steel quality and who had warned me about some of the products on the market.

Fiskars? I wasn't convinced. Nasty, plastic handles, rivets holding important components in place, a mere ten year warranty with the option of posting a solid metal fork to Wales if it breaks. I passed on those, too.

So, standing, scratching my head, in a posh hardware store, I fell to talking with one of the staff, who ended-up taking me to one side (out of the boss's earshot) to deliver a lecture. The short version? They are all total carp, except Bulldog - and even they aren't what they used to be.

Better, he said would be to go to an antique store which specialises in old tools and see for myself why experts (he was clearly a garden tools nut) disparage the modern breed.

Which I did today. And what I found was an array of beautifully made, properly forged tools with solid, polished hardwood shafts, comfortable, sturdy handles, some restored, some not - all probably over 30 years old (most over 50) all having seen out previous owners and, I suspect, strong enough to see me out too.

When you handle a traditionally made (all British, of course) fork, spade or hoe from an era when they were built by craftsmen, the difference is obvious. And if you can find one that has been restored to full working condition (as the selection I saw today had been) there is simply no decision to make, except which of the ones on offer to take home. Which I did - for £22. In other words less than the price of a modern fake.

So that's the answer. If you want a really high quality fork, you probably won't find one in a garden centre. Look in an antique shop that specialises in old gardening and farm tools.

I hope that saves someone the three weeks shopping and researching it took me.

forgotmyname

How do we find these shops? All the old 2nd hand shops i knew about closed down at least 10 years ago.

Car boots? I bought a bently brand from B&Q nearly £30 lifetime guarantee, Lasted about 6 weeks before the
handle split. Took it back i said its got a lifetime warranty, Girl on the counter said you need to contact
the manufacturer about that. But before i had a chance to say anything she must have clicked i only bought
it weeks before. And then asked what i wanted to do refund or replace. I chose a replacement.

Treat it more gently now, And i think i will use the cheap steel one in the winter in case the stainless gets
brittle with the cold.

Lotus-eater

I'm glad you've sorted out your problem Mr Badger.

I've been through loads of forks in the last few years. Including WS stainless, which by the way is just normal steel sheathed in stainless, broke 2 of these, one after the other. WS sent me a new one after the first broke and I broke that after 10 mins of digging, useless.

Bulldog are a bit rough around the edges. But I consider that a small price to pay as they are strong and well made, the basic sound engineering is there, but I suspect to keep down the price, they finish them quickly. I'd rather have a robust, but rough around the edges fork, than one that looks brilliant but won't dig without breaking.

My bulldog is the only one I haven't managed to break, works for me.

A._Badger

forgotmyname wrote: »

How do we find these shops? All the old 2nd hand shops i knew about closed down at least 10 years ago.

I suppose it depends where you live but several antique shops in my locality sell old garden equipment - not solely, they are sometimes tucked away at the back of the shop, so it's worth asking. Another source could be allotment groups or local gardening clubs.