It’s Spring! and Time for Spading is Just Around the Corner

Truper 4-Time Spading Fork 

First-time gardeners with spading forks

We gardeners tend to spend those long winter nights cleaning and repairing our tools, drooling all over gardener porn (I mean those pretty pictures in seed catalogs, you dog!), and dreaming about the day the soil will finally be warm enough for planting. One of the tools you'll find me sharpening over the winter is my trusty Truper 4-Tine Spading Fork. This isn't Satan's pitchfork or the kind of fork you use to pitch hay to your horse, it's the kind that has a short handle topped by a big D.  A spading fork is how a gardener turns the soil in a garden bed each spring, and they’re also used for digging out root vegetables come fall. They can also be pressed into service for minor lawn aeration if needed. A fork won’t replace a shovel for turning over soil in a new bed, nor is this short-handled model up to mucking out a horse stall. 

Truper’s version comes with a thirty-inch wooden handle that has a wood and steel D-shaped loop at the top to improve grip. The handle length is standard for tools such as spading forks, scoops, and spades. The tines measure 11” long and are spaced some 2” apart. Total width of the head is just over 7”, about the same as a shovel. The tines have a slight bend in the middle, and the entire head is forged from steel with an 8” ferrule to fasten it to the handle.  My old spading fork died awhile back when I hit a rock while digging: one tine bent backward, making the fork essentially useless. This one is tougher by far, probably because its tines are much thicker than those on my old one. They also seem to be made with higher-grade steel.

This one's is a classic-design tool, down to the curved tines and D-handle. Unlike the cheesy versions sold at BigBox stores, it's made with care from quality materials. Properly treated – regularly cleaned and sharpened and kept dry - my fork will last a lifetime. 

Summary

PLUS: A well-constructed, classic design
MINUS: Doesn't dig for you
What They’re Saying: A Truper 4-Tine Spading Fork is made so well it should last the lifetime of most gardeners.

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