What are the tines made from?
What are the tines made from? |
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Make no mistake…the tines toil hard! They need to be sharp enough to break new ground and penetrate heavy, compacted soils or to pierce through all manner of organic materials. | |||
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They also need to be strong yet light enough to transport material around. | |||
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The tines, therefore, need to be strong and sturdy while maintaining a sharp cutting edge.
Carbon steel or an alloy steel is particularly suited to this job. |
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Steel is an alloy (a combination) of iron and a small amount of carbon (usually between 0.002 and 2.2%).
Additional traces of metallic and non-metallic elements can also be alloyed with steel to further improve its strength and other characteristics. These are known as alloy steels. |
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The tines are generally made from either:
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Which material is best? |
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Which you choose depends entirely on what you want from your fork.
For some gardeners, stainless steel is ideal. It works well in wet weather as it does not rust, is extremely easy to clean and does not discolour to the same degree other steels will. It is also slightly lighter than other steels. |
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However, some users have expressed concern that the stainless steel tines do not hold up as well as other steel tines which are more durable.
So for those with more heavy duty work to contend with, choose either carbon steel or manganese steel. Furthermore, high quality tines and the socket will be forged (formed) from a single piece of steel. For more information, please read: How are the tines attached to the socket? |
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Also, If the tines are made from an inferior quality steel, they are susceptible to bending and snapping.
Don’t rely on the price of a fork to tell the difference between an inferior quality steel over a high quality steel. The price is no guarantee of quality workmanship. |
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