Pitchforks?

300Six said:
Sign of the times (tines?) huh. Who in their right mind (namely those with $50-200 in disposable cash in their wallet) would have bought an unfashionable manual 'hay fork' in the 90s when gas-powered whipper-snippers/leaf blowers/electric-powered grass, brush and wood saws and all manner of continually-evolving cordless "junk" was at the forefront of outdoor living ads.
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I talked to a guy that owns a second hand/antique store that usually has a good selection of old tools...I mentioned that the consensus seemed to be that old forks were of a quality we will never see again and he told me he had one with multiple tines that was pretty old that sat in his shop forever till someone bought it so he passes them by now when he encounters them. Prices on ebay do seem respectable though...as visual objects that evoke a bygone era they are appealing.
 
Able_walker said:
I talked to a guy that owns a second hand/antique store that usually has a good selection of old tools...I mentioned that the consensus seemed to be that old forks were of a quality we will never see again and he told me he had one with multiple tines that was pretty old that sat in his shop forever till someone bought it so he passes them by now when he encounters them. Prices on ebay do seem respectable though...as visual objects that evoke a bygone era they are appealing.
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I guess! I found the head of an old hay fork in an abandoned barn 50 years ago and hung it on the wall in my parent's basement. It's still there (far as I know) and I will seek it out and take some pictures.
 
Found these old pages....interesting.
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300Six said:
The tines are oval in shape at the base and about 3/8" in dia (say 7/16 x 1/4). and taper to 1/4"- round just before the sharpened tips. Highly unlikely I'll ever use this again and if somebody out there really needed or wanted this they are certainly welcome to contact me. I suspect this implement (and the other ones that were in the bin with it) languished in the store for at very least a few years before the manager decided to clear them out.

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Good looking fork. And 5 tines is the sweet spot.
 
Having spent most Saturday mornings growing up with a manure fork in my hands loading one or two spreaders full this is a subject I can relate to.
The grain on fork handles is even more critical than most hand tools as much force is applied to the entire length of the handle.
The best handles I ever used were called flex-beam handles . They had a vertical steel reinforcement coming out of the ferrule
the most complex forging of a fork had to be the ball tip silage forks. They had 10 or twelve long tines in a shovel shape with 3/8 round balls formed on the ends to prevent spearing the silage. The ones I used had short D handles.
 
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