A spade, is a spade, is a spade

Not good enough. I would be looking for my money back. Where did you buy it ? That should be your first port of call.
Very disappointing for you.

 

Take the spade back to Wyevale, if it is under 4 years old. Under the Sale of Goods act, if anything you buy fails because of a fault with the product, the shop must repair or replace it free of charge. In Wales the time frame is 6 years. If the product is damaged by misuse then, obviously, this does not apply.

 

Don't forget that steel can be welded back together again. I break spades, forks etc. with amazing regularity (being incredibly strong you see........not) and my son in law has mended various steel things for me.

 

Unfortunately it can't be pure stainless steel as that would be too soft so it will be an alloy.

Now if it were phosphor bronze then you'd have a spade for life

 

Take it back to Wyvale, Armandii. Some firms are just excellent and you may have no problem.
The gardening tools my husband is using belonged to his late father and his grandfather. Quality or what ?

 

So Armandii takes his stainless steel spade back to Wyvale and they weld it back together for him?:D:D:D I want to be there when this little work experience lad comes out with the oxyacetlyene to do on the spot welding.

 

We still have Blacksmiths in England Dai :WINK1::D

 

Ziggy, it has to go back to the retailer. Do blacksmiths work with stainless?

 

Stainless can be welded yes.

Thing that gets me is the wooden shafts breaking all the blooming time.

Just had another American shovel go, cut the rivets off but need a sledgehammer to get the pin out:DOH:

 

:D There are different grades of stainless steel, some are alloyed with chrome & some with ferrous metal, the chrome one won't be magnetic but the ferrous one will, so a magnet will really mess up a sales geek

I bought some phosphor bronze bar when I was building a steam engine, intending to make nuts with it. Didn't get very far, couldn't cut it at all :DOH: Let alone put a thread in it.

Always worth looking after your old tools, they just don't make them like that anymore.

 

I can't match that but I know you're right.

About 30 years ago my uncle 'borrowed' a pickaxe from his work (British Steel). I'm told it was already old then. The wooden shaft had curved slightly due to constant use over the years. At some point my dad borrowed it off my uncle, and still has it. It is still going strong despite regular use.

A few years ago I bought my own pickaxe. It's rubbish. I still prefer to borrow my dad's ancient one that is, I believe, considerably older than me.

At my mam's, an steel shovel that belonged to my grandad is still there. Its about an inch shorter than it once was and is razor sharp, due to wear, but its still going strong.

Sometime I look around the car boot sales for ancient tools because it seems to me there were just indestructible. Not like the baco foil you buy nowadays.