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Where can I source totally 100% British made gardening tools?

nikkigrjsnikkigrjs Posts: 3
in Tools and techniques
In this Covid time I am wanting to support 'British made' above all else (as long as they are reliably built!) I know they will be more expensive due to our wages and taxes etc but Im happy to buy less, if I can buy the best and prevent more poverty in coming years. Does anyone have a reliable list of companies,or small forges etc??? I'm not looking for piecemeal with handles made uk, steel made Asia etc just 100% suppport for our totally British products. Also a totally British made hanging herb dryer. The last forge I bought from sourced theirs from China.....seemed a bit weird when having all the tools in a forge to still buy from China!
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  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,895
    When I read your post, Bulldog tools sprang to mind, but I understand that since 2013 the metal parts are forged in India then shipped to the UK.
    I guess it's no longer economically viable to forge garden tools in the UK that can be sold at a competitive price, but I hope you can find somewhere that does.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,491
    edited October 2020
    I thought of Bulldog too but their forge is in India. However this company fulfils your brief, I think.

    https://www.westsofeastdean.co.uk/gardening-range/

    If you want a wheelbarrow or you want to eat outside, try here

    https://www.made-to-last.co.uk/outdoors

    This company’s products can be sourced on Amazon. Most of their range is for contractors but they make a few gardening tools.

    https://richardcarterltd.co.uk/275-year-anniversary/

    And another. They’re affiliated to Carters

    https://www.mygardenspade.com/
    Rutland, England
  • pansyfacepansyface Posts: 22,279
    As a Sheffielder, I am ashamed to say that I don’t think any garden tools are 100% British. You could contact Burgon and Ball, founded way back in 1730, to see if they still keep the Steel City tradition going, but I wouldn’t put money on the quality of the steel these days.

    Or you could contact these people, but again I couldn’t say anything about the quality.

    https://www.handtoolssheffield.co.uk/
    Apophthegm -  a big word for a small thought.
    If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,895
    edited October 2020
    There are some leads you may wish to follow on this page-
    http://www.fredshed.co.uk/forksandspades.htm
    which also gives some info about UK made tools

    PS Fred is a very helpful chap and has responded to emails I have sent in the past with very helpful info.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 8,454
    You may be able to find a company which manufactures in the UK but much of the steel used is probably imported.  I was watching a programme recently about the construction of the Queensferry crossing and was shocked to discover that all the bridge sections were manufactured in China and then shipped (literally) to Scotland.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,443
    With the amount of energy needed to make steel I don't think it's particularly shocking that they imported those steel sections from China. It's a volume business and we live in a global world. There's really no environmental advantage in making steel locally either... can't treat it like a heritage business. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • nikkigrjsnikkigrjs Posts: 3
    Yes we do live in a great big global world but I'm an Aussie and we've sold off so many of our trademarks like Bonds and Drizabone that its too late to claw them back. We are now at the mercy of overseas standards with little we can do to keep them high. Shopping locally is easier to stand up and make a difference when workmanship becomes shoddy....and much easier to face to face the shop owner and have a good old fashioned conversation about standards......Britain will lose so much if we trade away everything and then have to accept whatever workmanship we get.......sorry to be having a  bit of a gripe but I've wasted so much money on chinese rubbish while online shopping during Covid. !!!!!
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,491
    I think that it is quite a rose tinted view of global trade. Small scale local producers can only survive by operating in niche markets. I found a few of these companies for you. Do you have an opinion on what they’re offering? 

    If you want value for money products you’ll have to accept you’ll be shopping in the global marketplace. If you don’t want rubbish goods then practise due diligence with your research.
    Rutland, England
  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    @pansyface I think Burgon and Ball are still British-produced.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,350
    Check Etsy and filter for UK-based sellers. You won't probably find tool makers there but there are people doing personalisations of tools and of course tons of gardening accessories. Or maybe some Christmas shopping? This way, you can support the tiniest of tiny businesses.
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