I agree with many of the comments already expressed even some of the big names are not made to the same standard as they used to be so used can be a way to go. Take care though, some of them are ridiculous prices if you buy from these dealers that expect trendy people to mount them on a wall like pieces of art. I recently bought a Kent & Stowe transplanting spade (narrow blade for in between established border plants) it was less than £20 from a large GC which I consider very good value. It seems very well made & finished I may use it more as it good for hard or heavy ground too.
When I first got my allotment plot 7 years ago I had lots of digging to do so wanted a strong well made spade and fork, shopping around I found some Burgeon and Ball tools at 33% off and knowing that Burgeon and Ball advertise how strong the handles are I bought a fork and spade. The second time that I used the spade on the allotment the handle broke, I took it back to Wyevale and the exchanged it with no questions asked. Since then the Burgeon and Ball tools are used at home and I bought a spade and fork from screwfix for £20 which are heavier but have lasted and the bonus is that I can leave them in my unlocked shed on the allotment and if they get pinched it won't be the end of the world. I have a set of Wolf Garten quick change tools which I can transport to the allotment on my bike which have lasted well and get used regularly. I have some cheap lidl stainless steel hand tools which are strong and well made especially the combined three pronged tool with flat blade on the other end which comes in really useful for breaking small areas of soil up and scalping weeds which grow through the cardboard and chipped bark paths.
Over the years I have had many different spades and made by many different manufacturers. About 3 years ago I bought a fiskar xact digging spade with long handle to suit taller people it is the best spade I have ever had and it’s done plenty of work including digging out a pond and never flinched still in great condition.
Second @nollie and @perki on bulldog! Just bought it following snapping of a 2yo spear and Jackson! My bulldog spade and fork are the best I’ve seen so far. However some may be put off as they are not as pretty as the b&b or k&s stainless steel ones. However from their build, am confident will outlast them -many times over!
A great tool to have on hand is the Roughneck micro shovel with the rounded end. It's basically a half-sized spade but really handy for tasks that come between a spade and a trowel. I use mine for digging out the dalek composters and working in the borders, emptying compost bags and things like that. In the winter it lives in the boot of the car in case of snow. They're under a tenner but really good solid tools.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
As someone who comes from Sheffield I have seen the complete destruction of the Sheffield steel making and tool making industry over the last fifty years.
Spear and Jackson used to make all kinds of tools in Sheffield, using steel made in Sheffield. Then the company was bought out by a French company and the steel parts were made in India, shipped back over to UK for wooden handles to be attached, and sold. I heard (don’t know if it’s true) that quite a percentage of the steel parts, once received here, were dumped as being of too poor a quality before they even got their handles. Then the company was bought by the Chinese. The trained Sheffield toolmakers were obliged to teach the Chinese how to make the tools they once made and were then given redundancy.
I see that Bulldog tools are now forged in India and returned all the way to UK just to have their handles added.
Same sort of story with Taylor’s Eye Witness products. Once made in Sheffield, now made in China. The factory site in Sheffield is due to become yet more flats.
I have stainless steel tools, made in Sheffield sixty years ago, which are still sharp and in fine fettle. Wouldn’t like to think how long the same type of tools, made today, are going to last.
Burgon and Ball still have a factory in Sheffield (at least, they did last time I passed that way which was last summer) but I don't know whether they make all of their tools there.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I was going to recommend Spear and Jackson, then it dawned on me that they were a wedding present and therefore 40 years old this year ! Pansyface's post above explains why l would recommend them and more recent purchasers probably wouldn't,sadly. Basically you pays your money and takes your choice - OH was looking at spades this morning in Lidl which he said were stainless steel, they were £12.99.
@pansyface and @AnniD Yes this was my point exactly so many thing are just not made to the standard they were years ago. This explains why a while ago when I looked at a new Bulldog fork the tines looked as though they were (badly) welded on not forged or the forging was done by a blind man because there were lumps & bumps & blobs of metal barely covered by the green paint! Personally I still prefer carbon steel for a spade , fork or Hoe I think stainless is too brittle or too hard to sharpen. Wooden handles breaking is because they are not using seasoned ash like they used to, but then that took time and cost money. When we only pay £10 -20 for a fork or spade it's not surprising the quality suffers, but I object to paying premium prices for a brand when their standards have dropped so low.
For secateurs I like Felco No. 2, I have two of them. I also have a No. 4 but it doesn't cut so well and the spring pops out. For shears and loppers I like Fiskars.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Posts
I recently bought a Kent & Stowe transplanting spade (narrow blade for in between established border plants) it was less than £20 from a large GC which I consider very good value. It seems very well made & finished I may use it more as it good for hard or heavy ground too.
Secatuers Felco
Wolf are decent, the multi handle attachment are handy.
I am not so picky on towels I use spear jackson are the one I can find .
Basically you pays your money and takes your choice - OH was looking at spades this morning in Lidl which he said were stainless steel, they were £12.99.