Gulland Broadforks
What is a Broadfork?
The Gulland Broadfork is a person powered garden tillage tool used to loosen soil to prepare for seed planting or for adding compost and soil amendments. A Broadfork will open and loosen soil while minimizing disruption to the natural soil striation and keep the beneficial micro organisms where nature intended them to be. It's a wonderful tool to break up hardpan and clumps of packed soil. The Broadfork is useful for harvesting potatoes, beets, and carrots and also a perfect choice for raised bed gardens.
The Gulland Broadfork is a person powered garden tillage tool used to loosen soil to prepare for seed planting or for adding compost and soil amendments. A Broadfork will open and loosen soil while minimizing disruption to the natural soil striation and keep the beneficial micro organisms where nature intended them to be. It's a wonderful tool to break up hardpan and clumps of packed soil. The Broadfork is useful for harvesting potatoes, beets, and carrots and also a perfect choice for raised bed gardens.
How Does a Broadfork Work?
It's easy! By stepping on the crossbar, one side, then the other and using only body weight, the tines are set completely into the soil. Using the tremendous leverage of the handles, the soil is loosened by working the handles back and forth in a kind of rowing motion. As in the case of most old, well designed human powered tools, the Gulland Forge Broadfork requires minimal effort for the work it produces. It doesn't require brute force, rather it provides a rhythmic, almost aerobic workout when used properly. The Broadfork makes quick work of further improving the soil providing deep aeration.
It's easy! By stepping on the crossbar, one side, then the other and using only body weight, the tines are set completely into the soil. Using the tremendous leverage of the handles, the soil is loosened by working the handles back and forth in a kind of rowing motion. As in the case of most old, well designed human powered tools, the Gulland Forge Broadfork requires minimal effort for the work it produces. It doesn't require brute force, rather it provides a rhythmic, almost aerobic workout when used properly. The Broadfork makes quick work of further improving the soil providing deep aeration.
The Gulland Broadfork
Our 47" long handles are made from select White Ash from a multi-generational handle maker in Tennessee. Ash is an incredibly strong wood, and each handle pair is selected for density and grain quality with the grain set in the proper direction for maximum strength and durability. Wood is far superior to steel in this application as steel is cold in the winter and untouchable in summer sun. It's stiff and lacks the dynamic movement of our finely contoured wood handles and the balance is out of tune with so much weight up high in the handles. Wood handles provide a 'give' and feels nothing like handling a crowbar stuck in the ground. The Gulland Broadfork feels less like a tool and more like a good dance partner once you have had some time to become acquainted with it.
The business end of the Broadfork is made of 1.5" square tubing, very comfortable under foot. The bend of the tine is a constant radius curve which allows for easier penetration by allowing the "tail to follow the head" as the hand forged tapered tips are inserted into the soil. The tines are attached in a way that makes them easily repairable.
We are a small family business and our Broadforks are handmade in Brasstown, NC, USA
Our 47" long handles are made from select White Ash from a multi-generational handle maker in Tennessee. Ash is an incredibly strong wood, and each handle pair is selected for density and grain quality with the grain set in the proper direction for maximum strength and durability. Wood is far superior to steel in this application as steel is cold in the winter and untouchable in summer sun. It's stiff and lacks the dynamic movement of our finely contoured wood handles and the balance is out of tune with so much weight up high in the handles. Wood handles provide a 'give' and feels nothing like handling a crowbar stuck in the ground. The Gulland Broadfork feels less like a tool and more like a good dance partner once you have had some time to become acquainted with it.
The business end of the Broadfork is made of 1.5" square tubing, very comfortable under foot. The bend of the tine is a constant radius curve which allows for easier penetration by allowing the "tail to follow the head" as the hand forged tapered tips are inserted into the soil. The tines are attached in a way that makes them easily repairable.
We are a small family business and our Broadforks are handmade in Brasstown, NC, USA
Gulland Broadfork Models
BERTHA
The BERTHA- It's a real workhorse and is the fork I recommend most often, especially for those with more challenging soil conditions. The five tines feature 1/8" steel welded strengthening gussets and are placed to give the most strength and minimum resistance when being pressed into the soil. All forks come with a pair of matched contoured White Ash handles, pre drilled and equipped with stainless steel lag screws and washers to secure them into the handle sockets. Handles are rubbed with boiled linseed oil for protection.
Overall height: 57"
Overall width: 21.5"
Overall tine width: 17.5"
Tine length, measured from below frame crossbar: 9.5"
Total weight: 17 lbs.
Shipping will be added during checkout based on your location. For orders outside the USA, please contact us first to establish a shipping cost.
Overall height: 57"
Overall width: 21.5"
Overall tine width: 17.5"
Tine length, measured from below frame crossbar: 9.5"
Total weight: 17 lbs.
Shipping will be added during checkout based on your location. For orders outside the USA, please contact us first to establish a shipping cost.
BIG BERTHA
The BIG BERTHA- This fork is most suited for those who are working in more friable, well established or loamy soils. It has a different radius curve than the Bertha to fit the longer tine length. The five tines feature 1/8" steel welded strengthening gussets and are placed to give the most strength and minimum resistance when being pressed into the soil. All forks come with a pair of matched contoured White Ash handles, pre drilled and equipped with stainless steel lag screws and washers to secure them into the handle sockets. Handles are rubbed with boiled linseed oil for protection.
Overall height: 62"
Overall width: 23.5"
Overall Tine width: 19.25"
Tine length, measured from below crossbar: 11.25"
Total weight: 19 lbs
Shipping will be added during checkout based on your location. For orders outside the USA, please contact us first to establish a shipping cost.
Overall height: 62"
Overall width: 23.5"
Overall Tine width: 19.25"
Tine length, measured from below crossbar: 11.25"
Total weight: 19 lbs
Shipping will be added during checkout based on your location. For orders outside the USA, please contact us first to establish a shipping cost.
Have a question or need help deciding which broadfork model is best for your particular needs?
Call us at 502-682-8529 or send an email
Check out this helpful video interview with Larry Cooper of Gulland Forge Broadforks by Josh Sattin Farming on YouTube
Our Commitment to Quality
I have been a blacksmith since 1986, and in 2008 I decided to design and produce a broadfork. I have always appreciated good quality, efficient hand tools and I wanted my broadfork to be the best available. My blacksmith shop was just a few feet from our garden, so design experimentation was easy. Beautiful in its simplicity, there's not much to improve on a broadfork in concept. I attempted to weed out all the potential trouble spots that I found in some others. I discovered that some designs are very difficult to repair, for example. In this throw away world, I wanted my broadfork to be one that could be used for generations and be easily repaired if repair was ever needed. They are all handmade by me in my blacksmith shop located near Brasstown, North Carolina, not mass produced globally. Quality control is absolute.
We are a small, family owned business. Our goal, in every aspect of the Gulland Broadfork design and fabrication is that it be simple, maintainable, repairable, and of the highest quality available with no compromises. Whether you are a backyard gardener or a market grower, the Gulland Broadfork will be a helpful tool you'll enjoy using for many seasons to come.
Putting tools into the hands of people that want to raise their own food is the best job I have ever had.
Larry Cooper, Blacksmith
I have been a blacksmith since 1986, and in 2008 I decided to design and produce a broadfork. I have always appreciated good quality, efficient hand tools and I wanted my broadfork to be the best available. My blacksmith shop was just a few feet from our garden, so design experimentation was easy. Beautiful in its simplicity, there's not much to improve on a broadfork in concept. I attempted to weed out all the potential trouble spots that I found in some others. I discovered that some designs are very difficult to repair, for example. In this throw away world, I wanted my broadfork to be one that could be used for generations and be easily repaired if repair was ever needed. They are all handmade by me in my blacksmith shop located near Brasstown, North Carolina, not mass produced globally. Quality control is absolute.
We are a small, family owned business. Our goal, in every aspect of the Gulland Broadfork design and fabrication is that it be simple, maintainable, repairable, and of the highest quality available with no compromises. Whether you are a backyard gardener or a market grower, the Gulland Broadfork will be a helpful tool you'll enjoy using for many seasons to come.
Putting tools into the hands of people that want to raise their own food is the best job I have ever had.
Larry Cooper, Blacksmith