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Is the size of the head important?

Is the size of the head important?

Shop for Garden Forks

This will vary considerably between the different designs Yes, the size of the fork’s head is an important consideration, especially when digging amongst delicate plants or in a small garden. Choose the size of the head according to your frame and the task you are doing.

What are the general dimensions of a fork head?

It's not as easy to answer as you think This is almost the same as asking, ‘how long is a piece of string?’ Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer.

Measurements vary between the different designs and even between manufacturers of the same design!

  For example, a conventional digging fork with four tines will be smaller in width than a nine tine potato fork. Even the potato fork can vary considerably in size.

We can, however, give you approximate dimensions of a small, standard and large sized ordinary garden fork.

Height followed by width Measurements throughout this section will be given in metric first with imperial in brackets.

The height of the fork head will be the first measurement followed by the width.

For example, the image on the left will be written as 300 x 200 mm (12 x 8 inches) where 300 mm (12 inches) is the height of the head and 200 mm (8 inches) is its width.

Typically, there are three sizes that you can choose from:
1) 230 x 130mm (9 x 5 inches)   This is the narrowest head size and is usually found on the smaller ‘border fork’.

2) 280 x 180mm(11 x 7 inches) This is a standard size for conventional digging forks.

3) 300 x 200mm (12 x 8 inches) One of the larger sizes, this will be found on more heavy-duty digging forks, contractor’s forks or insulated forks

If you are tall, for instance, with large feet and you need to work in a small area, a border fork may be too narrow for a decent foothold. Size does matter because not only should it be the right dimensions for your frame for easier handling, but likewise, it should be the right size for your garden space.

For instance, if you are tall with large feet and you need to work in a small area, a border fork may be too narrow for a decent foothold. Likewise, a heavy-duty fork may be too cumbersome for the job you need to do.

A careful balance between the two is needed Try to find a balance between the two.
Different sized handles

Shaft length

Not only is the size of the head an important factor to consider, but so is the length of the fork’s shaft.

There are various different lengths of shaft and just like the size of the fork’s head, which you choose is determined by your frame and the task you are doing.

For more information, please read: Is the length of the shaft important?

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