Allotments 4 All

With apologies to the 2 Ronnies ;D

Actually it's a spade handle that I want -but a long one. I use a border spade for digging, as my back isn't good, but really it's a good 6" too short. The local hardware store only do standard sized handles -does anyone have any idea where I could get a longer sized one from? Or a more tailor-made spade?

Jeremy

hi
i remember very recently seeing new, extendable spades and forks advertised. can't for the life of me remember which brand-typical-but may be wilkinson sword? i recall wondering whether they would be durable but i think came out quite well in a 'road test' report.
anyone else seen this, with a better memory than mine!!???

just 'googled'-it is wilkinson sword-they are 'telescopic tools', on their website. click on the spade/fork icon on the homepage.

Jeremy I seem to remember that your parents are farmers.  Do they belong to a farmers co-operative???  That is where I usually get replacment handles.

Hi Jeremy,
How about emailing these they helped Tim out and explain how you need a longer handle one.
Might make the makers realise not everyone is the same size.
Might be worth a go? good luck
http://www.josephbentley.co.uk/Tools1.html

or get your self a strong broom handle and set it in the spade ? seen some long straight handles stuck on to spades but expensive.
good luck

I did find a place that did long handles -but they wanted £45 for the handle. Hopefully it won't come to that -although even then it's cheaper than a chiropractor!

Jeremy

Ouch £45
I was thinking of the yard broom handles or if you know of a carpenter strange I know but they would be able to turn a piece of wood on the layth?  into a handle.
Know you can get spindles for staircases from places DIY and stick a handle on top.
Chap down our lottie has a spade with like a broom handle he cannot bend and leavers it at shoulder height and lifts says its the best thing hes got.
Oh well full of bright ideas me is.

Good idea Teresa, although if you'd seen my wood working skills you might not think so -maybe a chinese cleaver isn't the best tool for making a dibber :)

Off to the hardware hop to see if they've got a thick broom handle.

Jeremy

I use one similar to the ones you see Clint Eastwood burying the baddies with.  It has a 5ft long straight handle (no D or T end) and the bottom end of the blade is pointed, but as a bad back sufferer for 27 years I can still use it all morning with no ill effects.  It`s made by Spear & Jackson and cost me £9.99 from Focus DIY, although I`ve seen similar models by other makers in garden shops.

Why the h... do ladies tools, like spades and forks, always seem to have short handles? Only for the little ladies out there? Puhhh. Talk about stereo typing! I just bet that most young ladies today are as tall as the men from two generations before. Did the tools change with the height of people? I don't think so.

Ina,

I had a look at the Joseph Bently spades mentioned earlier in our ironmongers, they do have longer handles compared to other makes in the shop. I'll measure it in comparison to my dad's old spade but I think it's it's several inches longer. It was ladies spades (border spades) that I was looking at -just didn't want to admit it ::)

Hugh -I had been wondering about an american-style one- I suppose you adapt. I'm so used to our D-handled variety the other seems clumsy, but probably isn't. After all 200+ million americans can't be wrong, oh, forgot G.W.B  ;D. The only other thing that worried me was that they all seem to have large blades in the pictures, which implied a weight of earth on the end of a lever.  But I'll keep an eye out for one and have a good look.

Thanks all,

Jeremy

I agree with Ina I'm 5'10 and definately not delicate but do they take this into consideration  :(

Yep, it's about time spade/fork manufacturers realised us ladies are a lot taller than we used to be!

Doc

(6 ft tall and owner of those telescopic Wilkinson Sword spade/forks!)

Also change the name for those sensitive guys that want smaller and lighter tools. "Small and tall not-just-for-ladies tools"?

I am the other way...me is only a shorty just in at 5 foot 3, my mum always told me smoking would stunt my growth, and I quit way after I had finished growing, so most tools are a little on the large side especially hoes!  My ladies border fork which I inherited is just perfect for my miniscule stature!  ;D

Lucky you. Oh I know, especially with hoes, they need to be just at the right angle or they just don't do their job.

Can you not "sharpen" the end of a tree stake which are about a fiver from garden centre near us? so it fits into spade? ???

we might need more than four candles if Amicus are to be believed (reckon on power cuts..)...

My spade handle is - well, slightly coming out of the spade bit... Hmm...

I finally found a spade with a long shaft - Notcutts 'World Heritage', stainless steel blade with 'pole' shaft (no handle).

From Notcutts in Camberley for the grand sum of 9 quid (in the sale). Looks wonderfull, but how will it work?

It's sad -I'm excited about a new spade. As a mate said when I told him 'you really know how to live don't you', it wasn't a compliment, but heck, the Aston can wait until next year.

Jeremy

Dig your plot backwards, you will then be stood in a hole.

I''ll get my coat.