[mandajon]

Recently my very nice looking wooden handled Joseph Bently stainless steel digging fork broke at the base of the handle where it joins the prong bit.  The metal looked absolute rubbish, thin and the joining bit weak. It just snapped & I wasn't even digging hard ground or stones.
I had bought this off an internet shop only 2 years ago after my old fork of 25 years eventually broke.  I thought I had researched a good quality item but I was wrong. Just as the supermarkets have now been caught out trying to tell us we are getting a bargain when we are not; it seems a minefield for the uninitiated when buying tools.   The problem is not price, but this can confuse the issue as you think more expensive = better made but not always so. The Joseph Bentley was about £30 and so was the Bulldog.
 It seems a lot of companies hide behind brand names.  A local garden centre manager said they have never had an issue with quality from this make ..... insinuating that it must be my fault and that I must have been doing something wrong or misusing the fork!!  No one was interested in taking this fork off my hands to show it to the manufacturer/supplier so I just put it in the scrap metal bin and bought a Bulldog fork instead. I find more and more now that things are not fit for purpose and garden centres are totlly apathetic about passing on feedback to suppliers so they keep promoting rubbish tools and people are fooled into buying them.
I came across an interesting website about tools and thought others might like to read it.
http://www.fredshed.co.uk/forksandspades.htm

[grendel]

I always trawl the boot fairs etc for good old fashioned blacksmith forged tools - quality every time, might just need a decent new wooden handle, which maybe a local forestry woodsman will be able to fashion for you.
Grendel

[mandajon]

Thank you , Grendel.  That is a sensible tip that I had not really thought of before.  Does anyone have advice about sharpening hoes?

[Kleftiwallah]

If you are using a grindstone, don't get it too hot (quench frequently) or you'll draw the temper.      Cheers,     Tony.

[JayG]

Thank you , Grendel.  That is a sensible tip that I had not really thought of before.  Does anyone have advice about sharpening hoes?

Even quality hoes seem to be sold with blunt business ends these days (probably elfin safety - can't have "Mad Gardener slashes 8 in Homebase Hoe Horror attack" headlines, can we?!)

Don't try and get it razor-sharp, it won't stay that way for long; an occasional gentle tickle with the file will keep it sharp once you've managed to create a bevelled shape to the edge.

[Trillium]

I agree there, Jay. The last hoe I bought was so dull it wouldn't cut butter. Had to sharpen it on the grinding wheel to get any sort of edge on it. Works fine now.

As for garden forks, even good ones can disappoint. A Canadian supplier of quality garden tools always attends two major garden shows here and they bring many tool samples. I make a point of checking out every piece they bring. I want to know the quality of every part there before I buy/order as I too have been disappointed on occasion by top brand manufacturers.

Buyer, Beware will always apply to everything it seems.

[gavinjconway]

I keep my hoe sharp with an angle grinder and whilst using it always have a piece of thin plate about an inch strip for cleaning off mud every now and then - it works so much better when clean.