Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Garden tools for children that are built to last and which are, basically, adult tools 'in miniature'.
Forged to the same exacting standards at Bulldog's forge in Wigan and in the same way as spades and forks for the grown-ups. Well-balanced and looked after will last a lifetime.
While intended for use by youngsters those tools are also great for any adult gardener who is doing his vegetable gardening, like myself, in tubs and containers and in tall walled raised beds where ordinary tools of this nature are too long to be used properly.
Those spade and fork will also be of great use in a shrub border, for instance, where one may not be able to stand upright to use a full-size fork or spade.
When we consider that those tools are intended for use by children in primary schools, for instance, it is such a shame that, by law, disclaimer stickers have to be affixed stating: “This tool is NOT intended as a toy and is therefore not suitable for children under 10 years old. As a functional tool appropriate care should be taken”.
The government wants to encourage children, so officials keep saying, to learn gardening and environmental tasks but then they say that real tools are not to be used by anyone under the age of ten. This is another sign that they do not live in the real world.
I wonder what British government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) would make of the forest kindergarten and -schools in Germany where five and six year olds use real saws. Axes and knives. They'd have a nervous breakdown I should think.
Now to some of the details of the tools:
Junior Digging Spade
Its key features are an extra small blade, a short handle with a plastic “D” grip. The blade is, like those of adult spades, forged from one piece and the handle is Ash, either from America or Germany from FSC certified sources. The head size 9" x 5.5" (230 x 140mm)
Price (ex VAT): £18.40
Product Code: 5673072510
Junior Digging Fork
It has a 25" Ash handle, plastic "D" grip, one piece head design as strong as dad's Bulldog fork! Forged in Britain, like the space, with a head size 9" x 6" (230 x 150mm)
Price (ex VAT): £26.00
Product Code: 5788042510
Those tools – and the full set actually also includes a rake and a hoe – are great ones for any school garden project and other of similar nature. While the tools are not directly cheap they are of the highest quality and are very strong. More than which can be said for many a cheaper child's spade or fork and which are, all too often, used by schools and projects and which frequently fail, often resulting in injuries.
© 2012
