[bravemurphy]

I have looked for a while for one of these but cant seem to find what I am looking for.
Has anyone got any links please?

[LotuSeed]

Like this one?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B002EX4KK2/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1416762958&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

[surbie100]

The De Wit one is long-handled. I saw it on Amazon, but is probably also elsewhere. There are cheaper versions (Draper) but those don't have the flattened potato fork tines. And this has a lifetime guarantee, which I am a sucker for.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeWit-Long-Handled-Fork-Prong/dp/B004AVTZQ0

[Kevin67]

Why would you have a potato fork with pointy tines? They go through the spuds!

[3759allen]

depends what you call a long handle. i've been looking for one with a handle at least a foot longer than standard for years. i'm 6ft 3 and use them for digging worms from sandy shoreline for fishing.

the only way i've found is to look round second hand shops, car boots, etc for an old style but light weight spud fork and just use the fork of it then. then buy a pitch fork handle and a top that suits you best. cut the handle down to suit you and put all 3 together.

it's not cheap and takes some work. but i've not found another way to get a long enough handle.

as for the sharp points, i would say when you're pushing a fork through the ground it will spear the spuds no matter how sharp the points are. bit like cutting with a sharp knife, the blunter the knife the more pressure you use and the worse and more damaging the cut is.

[LotuSeed]

Why would you have a potato fork with pointy tines? They go through the spuds!

If you're digging potatoes out of the ground you're bound to hit and damage some, no matter what tool you use. A fork will have less of an area than say, a spade or shovel, which would slice them in half. Using a fork lessens the chance, slightly, of hitting something, but if it does spear a tater, it's still just as useless for storage as one that's been sheared in half by the spade or shovel. I think some potato forks have flattened tines, but there's really no advantage (in respects to potential damage to spuds) to having blunt vs sharpened tines. (See shovel argument above lol).

Growing in containers and dumping them out to harvest is really the only way to avoid that.

[Mogman]

http://www.fredshed.co.uk/bulldogtools.htm

[Kristen]

I don't understand what is "different" about most Potato forks, perhaps someone can enlighten me pls?

For example the Spear & Jackson Neverbend Professional Potato Fork, their website says "Extra wide tines for lifting potatoes", I can't see that the tines are particularly wide, or that it makes much difference (unless the tines have very narrow gaps that you could "sift" the spuds out with)


http://www.spear-and-jackson.com/product/forks/neverbend%C2%AE-professional-potato-fork

for example the 9 Prong Potato Fork from Bulldog looks like it could sift/sieve:


http://bulldoghandtools.co.uk/premier-potato-fork-3646.html

I've got one of the Bulldog Potato forks which have "Flat tines help reduce the risk of damage to your potato crop" and unless I am missing something obvious I can't see how it makes any difference at all, but it does seem to me that (in my heavy clay) the tines are nothing like as strong as a conventional fork.


http://bulldoghandtools.co.uk/premier-potato-fork-3648.html

I stick my fork in a long way away from the plant and work towards it to reduce the risk of spearing one ... the smaller spuds are going to fall through the tines pretty much no matter now close together they are, and any volunteer spud next year is a risk, as far as I am concerned, and will be rogued-out - although the fewer of them that there are the better

[dorimower]

The potato lifting fork would have flat fronted, diamond back tines.  The flat fronted tine is fraction wider than the square tine of a digging fork. The tines have more of a curve than on a digging fork to allow you to get under and thus achieve a good lift of the crop.

  We find them good as general purpose digging forks too.   In fact this was often quite normal in this part of Lincolnshire due to the one time abundance of Potato forks.

Out of interest the the Fiskars Boron Steel Digging Fork  comes with such flat fronted diamond back tines.  So this is what we use these days.

"Dori"

[bravemurphy]

Thx all for the replies I will have a look at them.

[3759allen]

The potato lifting fork would have flat fronted, diamond back tines.  The flat fronted tine is fraction wider than the square tine of a digging fork. The tines have more of a curve than on a digging fork to allow you to get under and thus achieve a good lift of the crop.

  We find them good as general purpose digging forks too.   In fact this was often quite normal in this part of Lincolnshire due to the one time abundance of Potato forks.

Out of interest the the Fiskars Boron Steel Digging Fork  comes with such flat fronted diamond back tines.  So this is what we use these days.

"Dori"

how tall are these forks? and how strong are the tines and handle? how easy are they to use?

i highly rate a lot of fiskars product and may have to look into buying one these.

[dorimower]

I have just found the labels from our last two purchases of these forks.  They were in fact  badged Wilkinson Sword which then came under Fiskars Brands UK Ltd.    The model of ours is shown as 601572W and was known as the Power Fork.

I haven't got the forks to hand, they are at work, and having a look around this evening on the 'net it seems that models have changed somewhat.    I have seen some variation in lengths of these forks against different specific model codes so I think it would be best to find a current Fiskars retail supplier to visit so you can see and hold the fork to be sure to get one to suit rather than go for an online unseen buy. 
 Certainly the style and strength of tines of ours have well proved their worth in everyday work use.

"Dori"