Bulldog, a very good company to deal with

I have used Bulldog equipment for quite a few years and have been pretty pleased with it to be honest,. I have a really big garden and so my tools get a lot of work. I have learnt over the years that buying cheap, especially garden forks is a complete waste of time (bought various in the past including a"pretty" stainless steel 1 from B and Q. lasted a week!) I have the fork pictured below. Very comfortable handle, good sharp prongs and ok not the lightest but I can use it being female over 60 and hellish arthritis in my hands and elbows so pretty much anybody should be able to cope with it.
Last week while digging up an enormous Hosta I managed to break my fork. I then remembered it has a lifetime guarantee so contacted their customer service yesterday saying it had broken. They replied within about an hour asking for me to send photos. Sent them this morning, reply comes back again very swiftly, yes sorry we will replace asap, fork will be with you at the beginning of next week. I immediately replied thanking them for excellent customer service.
So if you are looking for really good strong tools do consider Bulldog and they are British unlike Spear and Jackson (American I think) and so many other companies who import cheap rubbish from China. No I am not on commission with Bulldog by the way, just a genuine customer relaying to others that they sell excellent products AND have great customer service. A rarity in this day and age

 

Look at things this way....Bulldog tools have been made in the same place since 1780 or so. A company does not survive that long if they make rubbish.

Of course, as @HarryS will confirm, their tools have a secret ingredient...

 

At leased they stand by there lifetime guarantee Well done

 

Me too.

 

Bulldog tools have been made at Clarington forge Wigan since god knows when . As @Sandy Ground said the secret ingredient was me ! Well not actually never worked at Bulldog , but I started as an engineering apprentice next door in 1968. Bulldog are reputedly one of the best tools you can buy , they have a really good name but never used them myself.
In fact they tried to bomb them in WW1 with a Zepelin, I'll see if I can find the report

 

Well I never @HarryS. I've used various tools made by Bulldog over the years having been involved with horses and huge gardens. My late Dad had a Bulldog fork and think his spade was too. I remember them as a little girl (I'm now an OAP). He used them a fair bit over who knows how many years and my brother now has them. Yes they are not cheap but then having to keep buying replacements for broken cheap tat isn't cheap either! I just wish they were more readily available as I don't think ? many garden centres etc sell Bulldog. The last Spear and Jackson tool was complete and utter rubbish and nothing like how they used to be made...never again. As @Sandy Ground quite rightly said there has to be a good reason for the company to have been going for so long.There is it's GOOD! I just hope with Ash dieback (they make many of their tools with Ash handles) that this doesn't affect their production.

 

I have always had Bulldog tools for the heavy work and despite occasional abuse they are still going strong. They have repaid the extra cost many times over and if asked I always recommend them.
I did buy a new Bulldog spade, boarder fork and a Dutch hoe for £15.00, off a junk stall, a few years ago. It was too good to turn down.

 

One thing that many people dont realise is that Wigan and the surrounding area has quite a rich history for manufacturing iron and steel products that started around the beginning of the industrial revolution. Isambard Kingdom Brunel ordered steam locomotives from the area for the Great Western Railway, as did at least one company in California. Although disputed by historians, the Lady Isabella (Laxey Water Wheel) was made there. There were even reports in the local newspaper describing how a local man fell to his death from an upstairs window watching it go past his house.

 

Mustn't forget Fred Dibnah

 

He was from Bolton.

 

@HarryS a map of where the bombs fell during the Zeppelin raid. As you can see, they did come close to Clarington Forge. Which, incidentally, is now the oldest continuously operating forge in the world. Of course, as a carefully hidden wartime secret, the forge itself is not marked out.

 

Good recommendation for Bulldog tools....next time I need a new border fork, I will look. I know a wussy tool some will say but I downsized from a fullsize spade and fork 10 years ago and it makes sooo much difference to my back.

 

They do a Border Fork which I use quite a lot for slightly less tasking jobs. Had it for roughly 10 years and not managed to bust it...yet

 

I was going to post the zeppelin bombing map . Apparently it did little damage , although 7 people were killed. The Zeppelin captain actually thought he was bombing Sheffield 80 miles east ! No GPS in them days .