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Digging fork vs pitchfork: two heads, and Amazon sells both

Updated: 21.10.2026

You searched for a pitchfork because the allotment needs turning over, or because the compost smells, and the results look like the same tool four times. A digging fork vs pitchfork comparison, in UK shops and on amazon.co.uk, is a digging fork against a manure fork. The word pitchfork is what the search box shares. The head decides whether you enter soil or carry straw. This page is only that contrast. The [pitchfork comparison](/hub/garden-tools/pitchfork) holds the seven listings. If you buy through our amazon.co.uk links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Stainless is not crowned the clay winner, and this is not a soil laboratory.

You searched for a pitchfork because the allotment needs turning over, or because the compost smells, and the results look like the same tool four times.

Our top picks

Bulldog Bulldog 4-prong manure fork

Best overall

Bulldog Bulldog 4-prong manure fork
8.1/10about £17.95
View offer
Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 4550DF digging fork

Rank 2

Spear & Jackson Spear & Jackson 4550DF digging fork
8.7/10about £26
View offer
Draper Draper 88789 carbon steel fork

Alternative

Draper Draper 88789 carbon steel fork
7.9/10about £18.53
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three names, two jobs
  2. 2.What the head is for
  3. 3.Oval tines and the printed widths
  4. 4.When to use which, including a border fork

Three names, two jobs

B&Q's guide uses three names. A standard fork is for compacted ground, and that page will say clay. A pitch fork has a larger head and wider gaps, for compost, manure, and hay. A border fork is smaller, for a narrow bed. Wonkee Donkee's definition of a pitchfork is tighter than Amazon's label: usually two or three widely spaced tines on a shaft around 1.2 m, for hay, and also used on compost. The manure forks in this folder are four-tine tools. Digging forks here are the Spear & Jackson 4550DF, the Draper 88789, and the FORCOLID SSCZ007. Manure forks are the Bulldog BMFT, the 1600HS, the 1636DE, and the 1636CU. A border fork is not in this list. Wonkee's size note puts a small border head around 230 mm by 130 mm. Burgon & Ball publishes a 14 cm width on its RHS border fork. None of these listings claims the border name.

What the head is for

A digging head goes into the ground and lifts a bite of soil. The Draper prints 280 mm by 180 mm, which matches the standard digging width Wonkee quotes. The 4550DF does not print a head width. It does print the limit: loose or sandy soil, and not trees, rocks, or heavy roots. The FORCOLID title says 41 inches and the table says 114.3 cm. Those lengths do not agree, and the word pitchfork does not make it a manure fork. A manure head slides under loose material and carries it. The Bulldog head is 325 mm by 230 mm. The 1600HS head is 330 mm by 240 mm, with oval tines. The 1636CU is the long tubular version of that idea, at 155 cm, with 30 reviews. The 1636DE has square tines on a listing that says raking manure into a pile. Square does not promote it into the 4550DF.
Bulldog Bulldog 4-prong manure fork

Testsieger

Bulldog Bulldog 4-prong manure fork
8.1/10about £17.95
View offer

Oval tines and the printed widths

Oval tines on the 1600HS and the 1636CU let straw sit in the curve. They are a poor spike. A digging fork picks up a handful of brambles. A 330 mm head picks up more in fewer lifts. The printed widths are about 280 mm on the Draper and about 325 mm to 330 mm on the Bulldog and the 1600HS. The other four listings do not print a head size, so do not invent one from a photo.

When to use which, including a border fork

Use a digging fork when you are opening soil. That is the 4550DF if the ground is loose or sandy, and you have read the line about roots and rocks. It is the Draper if you want a printed 280 mm by 180 mm head. It is not the Bulldog, even though £17.95 and 4.7 look like the bargain. Use a manure fork when you are lifting. The Bulldog is the light-heap fork. The 1600HS is the wide hardwood fork once you accept that the code is not 1,600 mm. The 1636CU is the long steel shaft. Turning technique is on the compost and manure page. The moment a tine hits a stone, stop levering. Use a border fork when the bed is narrow and the job is still digging. A head around 230 mm by 130 mm is that tool. A £26 digging fork plus a £17.95 manure fork covers two jobs a single head does not.

Common questions

Is a pitchfork a digging fork?
Sometimes in ordinary speech, and not as a rule on these listings. Wonkee Donkee's pitchfork is a hay tool, often with two or three tines. On amazon.co.uk the same word returns the 4550DF and the Bulldog side by side. Read the role. Digging fork means soil. Manure fork means loose material. The search box will not make that choice for you.
Can I dig clay with a manure fork?
You can force the tines in, and you should not plan on it. The Bulldog, the 1600HS, the 1636DE, and the 1636CU are listed for manure, compost, straw, or raking. A head at 325 mm or 330 mm is the wrong shape, and Bulldog tines have already bent on heavy muck. Use a digging fork, and still expect the 4550DF's own limit if the clay is full of stones.
Can I move hedge cuttings with a digging fork?
Yes, slowly. A digging fork picks up a small bite. A manure fork with a 330 mm head, such as the 1600HS, is what reviewers use when the pile is the point of the afternoon. If cuttings are a one-off, the digging fork you own is enough. If you clear a hedge line every month, the extra width is why you own the second tool.
What do oval tines do?
On the 1600HS and the 1636CU they are the manure pattern, so straw and compost sit on the head. They are not a lawn aerator. Square tines on the Draper are the digging pattern. Square tines on the 1636DE are still on a manure-fork listing, so the shape alone does not tell you to dig with it. The stated job on the page wins.
Is a border fork a pitchfork?
No. A border fork is a smaller digging fork. A pitchfork, in the trade sense, is for hay, and in this set the lookalikes are four-tine manure forks. Wonkee's border head is about 230 mm by 130 mm. The manure heads that print a size are about 325 mm to 330 mm wide. If the bed is the narrow one, you are shopping for a tool this list does not contain.

Related pages

Pitchfork buying guide

Pitchfork

Best pitchfork: the digging fork or a lifting fork

Manure fork for compost, straw, hay and the stable

How to use a garden fork without using it as a bar

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures for these seven ASINs.

  1. Wonkee Donkee Tools — What is a pitchfork? (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Spear & Jackson — Traditional stainless digging fork 4550DF (retrieved October 2026)
  3. Spear & Jackson — Select stainless digging fork (retrieved October 2026)
  4. BSI — BS 3388:2004 Forks, shovels and spades (retrieved October 2026)
  5. legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved October 2026)
  6. NHS — Tetanus (retrieved October 2026)
  7. HSE — Manual handling in agriculture (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Bulldog Tools — FAQ (retrieved October 2026)