Another right tool for the job

[Jagmandave]

Well, you may be right, cause it was only about 10" across, but all it had were 4 tines..........
But I've seen haying forks, and they're a lot larger, aren't they?

Mine looks like the one in the attachment..........

 

[Bird]

Instead of "spading fork", most folks in my area called that a "turning fork". If you didn't have a potato plow (middle buster), then you used that to dig the potatos. I don't remember just what the store called them, but I bought a new one about 8 years ago and I think every time I used it, I bent one or more of the tines.

 

[Dutch445]

I spent a year or 2 of my early working years at a
place that made tools for the Union Fork company, and
the process of making the forks was interesting. The
guys worked in a forge, and the fork was made by hand,
with these rolling tools that they stuck each tine in, and
the rolling machine would roll the tine out, and each time it would lengthen the tine.
they would do this to each tine until it was to spec,
then toss it into a basket for further processing, heat treating,
etc.
I never got to do this job, thank god.. looked very tedius and
boring.
/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[KentT]

I've seen those called spading forks, or potato forks...

They were used to dig with... the wide flat tines were easier to push into the ground, much like teeth on an FEL bucket.

Like Bird, I have a short D-handled one that I've bent the tines on...

 

[Robert_in_NY]

We use those types of forks for a lot of roof tear offs. They work a lot better then roofing shovels on some roofs and especially when you are removing wood shingles.

We were looking at 3 and 4 tine forks today at the feed mill and they were $30-$40. We don't use ours a lot but the one we have is older then I am.