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Sneeboer vs anything else. Are they really worth it?

Gaughan.davidGaughan.david Posts: 80
in Tools and techniques
Such is one of my greatest character flaws, I've automatically gone straight to the top when seeking out a new garden fork and spade. My first set were fine, but now that I'm fully INTO gardening, things feel a bit different. 

Can anyone talk me down? Is the prestige of Sneeboer really worth  50-80% more than the closest rival burgeon and ball, spear and jackson, kent and stowe, bulldog etc etc?

I bought a burgeon and ball perennial spade which broke when I was using it to chop roots. I don't know if that's me or burgeon and ball, and I don't know if the double-priced Sneeboer would have held up any better. I'm definitely more careful with my tools now.

For clarity, I really appreciate their weird and wonderful lineup, but really all I need is a border fork and spade.


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  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,131
    I share your predicament entirely and think along the same lines. When I need to replace my fork and spade I will be sorely tempted by Sneeboer but, not yet having to have done so, can offer no first hand advice.

    In this Gardeners’ World review Sneeboer did not come out on top but, oddly, they chose a slightly esoteric spade from the Sneeboer range for the comparison
    https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/tools/planting/
    This page gives you the one-off reviews as well as the ‘10 best’ one.

    Are you aware of the Niwaki range of tools? A golden spade ... mmm!



    Rutland, England
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 33,749
    I've been gardening for about 50 years, professionally for 25 of those. I've never used on , nor have I come across anyone else using them. 
    This makes me think they're not that great, otherwise everyone would be using them?
    Devon.
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,131
    Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter was a big fan.
    Rutland, England
  • Gaughan.davidGaughan.david Posts: 80
    BenCotto said:
    I share your predicament entirely and think along the same lines. When I need to replace my fork and spade I will be sorely tempted by Sneeboer but, not yet having to have done so, can offer no first hand advice.

    In this Gardeners’ World review Sneeboer did not come out on top but, oddly, they chose a slightly esoteric spade from the Sneeboer range for the comparison
    https://www.gardenersworld.com/reviews/tools/planting/
    This page gives you the one-off reviews as well as the ‘10 best’ one.

    Are you aware of the Niwaki range of tools? A golden spade ... mmm!



    I have! I actually own one of their hori-horis, and got a pair of Tobisho secs through them. Wonderful company, but also quite expensive! 

    Thanks for the list, useful!

    D
  • Gaughan.davidGaughan.david Posts: 80
    BenCotto said:
    Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter was a big fan.
    He was also extremely wealthy ;)
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 28,841
    I have a Burgeon and Ball small hand fork with rounded, stainless steel prongs.  Love it.  Also have a Sneeboer vaguely heart shaped hand trowel and love that for some jobs as the blade is flat but I also have ordinary curved Wolf hand trowels which are better for some jobs like scooping a hole in which to drop a bulb or spooning out compost/feed/gravel.

    I bought myself a wooden handled stainless steel border fork in 1989 - Spear and Jackson.  Not cheap at the time but still going strong despite gardening on clay in Harrow then mixes of clay and loam and farmyard rubble in Belgium and now quarrying in some new beds here.   

    At the same time I bought a resin handled stainless steel spade but OH snapped that in two on aforementioned farmyard rubble hidden under soil.   I trotted out and bought a much cheaper, unbranded stainless steel spade with a wooden handle and so far so good tho not really stainless as it turns out but good enough if I keep it clean and sharpen it occasionally.  

    How you care for them is more important - keep them clean, sharpened, WD40 occasionally and oil wooden handles before putting away for winter.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,043
    Don't care who makes them, I have snapped spade and fork handles of almost every make. The only one I wish I could buy again was an all metal fork which is now over 40 years old and just beginning to wear out. The tines are needle sharp now and only  half their original length.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 33,749
    My garden fork is a Spear and Jackson Neverbend and it was given to me by a retiring 72 year old gardener who told me he'd owned it for 50 years. 
    Devon.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 7,950
    My best trowel was bought at a car boot fair, from a selection of tools owned and loved by the car booter's deceased father.  I'd go second hand, from a proper gardener, every time if possible - if the first owner has clearly loved a tool and not managed to break it, that's a good recommendation.  I treasure my dad's digging spade and only use it for special jobs as the blade is now very thin (and sharp).  It also has a "foot rest" which makes hard digging a lot more comfortable, and isn't too curved, a feature I also like.
    "The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life."  Rabindranath Tagore
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 33,749
    I'm also a fan of car boot tools
    Devon.
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