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I keep killing forks , bending the tines.Can anyone recommend a good stainless one as I also use it for digging for bait for fishing in salty water.

Hello Burnie. If price isn't an issue I'd go for one made by Bulldog every time. There carbon steel forks and spades are very strong (I've had mine for years) and best of all they are made in England. Not sure if this would be any good in salt water though. How about investing in a really good one for the garden and a cheap stainless one for bait digging. Probably been no help at all but Bulldog tools are a pleasure to use. I don't work for them, honest.

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It is the doom of man, that they forget.

I haven't managed to work my way round to a stainless fork yet, but do have spade, hand trowel and rake from Wilkinsons, they didn't break the bank and are coping very well. I love the feel of the wooden handles on them too.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

We got some from Asda, stainless steel ones for about 8 quid each, and they seem excellent, neither of us has managed to bend any tines on them at all, wheras we both bent them with our past forks, so perhaps worth a look?

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Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

The Dobby's Pumpkin Patch - a blogspot work in progress!
Last updated 12th September 2008 - updated balance sheet!

Lidl's do stainless steel forks and spades for £7 apiece at least once each year, with extra long handles. The handles are nothing great, I tend to go easy on them, but the rest is great. If your local Lidl's don't have, try Aldi's - the mother corporation of Lidl, but without the irritating "for this week only" seasonality.

Sadly we don't have Wilko's stores up here in Scotland,one of the few things I really miss.The Bulldog sounds a good idea,will have a scout round as I'm on holiday next week. Thanks all for your thoughts

I use two forks, one is an old carbon steel spear & jackson. don't know which model; comfy, and does the job. the other is stainless steel with plastic shaft and D handle from ASDA, got the matching spade, too, for about 9 pounds each about 2 years ago Used them to clear and dig over a very neglected allotment, they show no sign of wear or damage at all

A few weeks ago ALDI were selling a German s/s fork with wooden shaft and T handle for about 8 pounds, it looked very good; they might have some left if you ask them nicely

I have seen in books a very strong 2 - pronged fork designed for heavy clay soils, but you,ll have to search catalogues or google to find one

Best of luck, Geoff

I've got a Spear & Jackson, the tines keep bending (on bramble/nettle roots). I took the first one back for a refund, but this time I can't be bothered.

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I nearly got thrown out of a garden centre when I was spotted "testing " the tines to see if I could bend them with my hands,sadly in this case I could!Surely we should have a standard for this type of thing i.e. "suitable for purpose".The blasted EU seem to have standards for everything we don't want!

How the heck do you manage to bend the tines of a Spear & Jackson stainless steel fork?? Maybe your technique is not quite right??? I've had my stainless steel fork and spade for about 3 years now and they're great. Nettle roots are no problem, they're quite shallow rooted - just don't try to dig the whole thing out at once. Brambles go deeper, again - don't try to do it all in one go. Use a combination of fork and spade. I find that once you've got the root exposed you can either pull it out or cut through it.

I guess I'm stronger than my fork

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I've spotted some flat tined potato forks on an auction site,anyone got one,are they any good?,they look strong.

So , I've gone for the spear and jackson,with a ten year guarantee,will see how long this one lives!Stainless for £15,sounds too good to be true(hope not).

Up date on the fork,decided to use the old bent one for bait digging and keep the new one for the garden,well it's doing fine so far.Lifted old shrubs , roots and all,moved rasps , demolished old flower bed ready for "tattie" experiment next year.Had to get used to the odd shape of the handle,it's curved forwards , which is great when levering out roots but feels odd when first putting in the ground as it's not really vertical,sure I'll get used to it,shifting a horse poo mountain at the weekend,see what it's like muck spreading!

We use Spear and Jacksons stainless steel ergonomic forks, I have a border one. We love them, infact my hubby is really attached to his. We previously had spear and Jackson budget forks but they were heavy. These are a joy to use.