Hi.

Can anybody advise me on the best brand / make of hand tools. It will be a gift for a very keen gardener whose current crop of cheapo tools keep breaking !

Are there any places online that anyone can recommend to buy from as well.


Many thanks.

"Lauriejo" wrote in message
...
:
: Hi.
:
: Can anybody advise me on the best brand / make of hand tools. It will
: be a gift for a very keen gardener whose current crop of cheapo tools
: keep breaking !
:
: Are there any places online that anyone can recommend to buy from as
: well.

Bulldog tools have always had a good name
http://www.bulldogtools.co.uk/docs/home.php

"Robert" wrote in message
...

"Lauriejo" wrote in message
...
:
: Hi.
:
: Can anybody advise me on the best brand / make of hand tools. It will
: be a gift for a very keen gardener whose current crop of cheapo tools
: keep breaking !
:
: Are there any places online that anyone can recommend to buy from as
: well.

Bulldog tools have always had a good name
http://www.bulldogtools.co.uk/docs/home.php



I have a Bulldog wooden-handled garden fork and it's great but I can't
comment on their hand tools. I know the factory in Wigan but upon visiting
the website am shocked to discover that Bulldog owners the Rollins Group
believe that Wigan is in Cheshire (see the Factory Tour page) and what the
hell is a 'Cicstene Monk' (About Us page)...

"Lauriejo" wrote in message
...

Hi.

Can anybody advise me on the best brand / make of hand tools. It will
be a gift for a very keen gardener whose current crop of cheapo tools
keep breaking !

Are there any places online that anyone can recommend to buy from as
well.

I have had my Spear and Jackson stainless spades and forks for more than 20
years I also use Wolf tools as I find the interchangeable heads allow me to
have a wide range of infrequently used tools without taking up too much
shed space. gardens4less.co.uk sell these online

Gill M

Gill Matthews writes

"Lauriejo" wrote in message
...

Hi.

Can anybody advise me on the best brand / make of hand tools. It will
be a gift for a very keen gardener whose current crop of cheapo tools
keep breaking !

Are there any places online that anyone can recommend to buy from as
well.

I have had my Spear and Jackson stainless spades and forks for more than 20
years

My Spear and Jackson stainless steel fork lost a tine after about 1
year.
--
Kay

"K" wrote in message
...
Gill Matthews writes

"Lauriejo" wrote in message
...

Hi.

Can anybody advise me on the best brand / make of hand tools. It will
be a gift for a very keen gardener whose current crop of cheapo tools
keep breaking !

Are there any places online that anyone can recommend to buy from as
well.

I have had my Spear and Jackson stainless spades and forks for more than
20
years

My Spear and Jackson stainless steel fork lost a tine after about 1 year.

Well I don't know whether its me that's lucky or you that's unlucky but
various other family members have tools of the same make with no probs

Gill M

You could try the Sneeboer range of hand tools available from Harrod
Horticultural. They are expensive, but the particular tools that we
have bought are not readiily available elsewhere, and the quality is
excellent. They even have two hand tool sets (priced at £54.50 each).
Check out the website at:
www.harrodhorticultural.com

Kristina
on the Black Isle
www.spanglefish.com/OldOrchard/


Lauriejo wrote:
Hi.

Can anybody advise me on the best brand / make of hand tools. It will
be a gift for a very keen gardener whose current crop of cheapo tools
keep breaking !

Are there any places online that anyone can recommend to buy from as
well.

In article , K
writes


My Spear and Jackson stainless steel fork lost a tine after about 1
year.


Mine also!
However I do have the Wolf interchangeable head range of tools and they
are wonderful. The current ranges are well built and sturdy, and you can
put a longer or shorter handle on each tool. Having a longer handle on
the hand fork makes weeding etc much easier somehow.
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

In article .com,
Kristina writes
You could try the Sneeboer range of hand tools available from Harrod
Horticultural. They are expensive,


What about a proper Sussex trug? That's always something that a gardener
would want but never actually get round to buy.

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

In message , Janet Tweedy
writes
In article .com,
Kristina writes
You could try the Sneeboer range of hand tools available from Harrod
Horticultural. They are expensive,


What about a proper Sussex trug? That's always something that a
gardener would want but never actually get round to buy.

There is a lovely man who frequents craft shows and makes really useful
trugs. All you need is a little linseed oil to coat them with and you
can leave them out all winter without a problem.
--
June Hughes

Hi , that's a good idea for the trug. Best to use *boiled* linseed oil (you can get It at B&Q) - it will soak well into the wood and won't remain sticky. I'm going to do mine today!

Jay Jay

Have to say that I used to use quality tools, but they kept breaking (don't talk to me about Spear & Jackson 25 yr guarantee fork: two weeks, two tines bent, huh.) so I now use the cheapest I can get.

I find that they last just as well as "posh" ones, and it doesn't break my heart if I lose them, or if they break.

Must admit that I am very hard on my tools: I often use the small one in my hand rather than go back to my car for a bigger one (I am paid by the minute, after all!) which can mean death for secateurs.

I actually use, on a daily basis:

Daisy grubber and trowel from B&Q. They last for months.

Secateurs from Robert Dyas £4.99. Current ones have been going for 8 months, I sharpen them with a harsh diamond stick every day or so, really roughly. I never oil them.

Loppers from Robert Dyas about £10, as per secateurs: I fretsaw off the handles until they are only about 15" long, as I find them much handier at that length.

There's a good range of really cheap, bright blue plastic-handled spades/forks, called something like "i-ball", several of my clients have them, and I use them a lot, even in preference to my own tools.

Final comment: right tool for the right job is the way to make them last (said she, holier than thou and chopping great thick branches with her secateurs, he he.), along with scraping the mud off them each day.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for all your replys.

It has been really helpful

KNIPEX is better.

Yeah, but bearing in mind the last post in this thread was 7 years ago, it may be a bit late for the OP!