Clarington

They have great tools that are rather expensive but I am certain my grandkids will be using when I am done here. While you may have a bit of sticker shock it is worth every penny.

Clarington Forge makes really kick-​ass garden tools. If you want a garden spade or garden fork that will last forever, this is the company to get it from. They have a ton of other garden tools as well.
The factory is in the UK, and you can find really cool youtube videos showing how they forge the tool heads all in one piece. Apparently the more common – and cheaper – way to do it is to weld. These guys are old school, and the pro’s swear by their tools. They say that only one other company does tools like this; everyone else is welding.
So you can order from their US website, but then you have to pay shipping – why bother when you can buy direct and buy local! I gave ‘em a call today, made sure that they were around, and asked them to check if what I wanted was in stock. The guy I talked to on the phone was polite and knowledgeable.
I found the group of buildings fairly easily, and got to building 3, but then after that wasn’t sure exactly where to go. There was no «Clarington Forge» signage on any of the buildings, so I called the 800 number. The lady came down and let me in.
The showroom isn’t fancy, as they say on their website – it’s just a small room with a selection of their tools hanging on the wall. I discussed what I wanted, and then the lady went and got my spade and fork. (yes I am a big tool nerd, and yes I was absolutely thrilled.) I wanted the ones with the longer handle, which are recommended if you’re ~5’10″ or taller, and of course they had them.
They were sold out of their «strapped» garden fork, which has a stronger handle, but I figured the regular one will do just fine. It has the same head on it, and also has an easier handle to change. Their strapped fork was written up in the WSJ and everyone wanted one, so they are still on back order. I imagine they will eventually catch up. More here on garden forks:
So no big fancy show room, but if you want to actually pick up tools before you buy them, and not pay shipping, this is your chance. They say that they sometimes have discontinued/​overstock products, but I didn’t see any.
A few tips for when you go:
* hours are currently 9 to 3, Monday to Friday, but they ask that you call before coming over to make sure they’re around. Basically this is their warehouse location, and they have a showroom off to the side. So there’s no dedicated showroom person – it’s someone from the warehouse who comes over to help you.
* have the phone number with you, so you can call when you arrive to get let in
* they take credit cards or cash
* parking was ok; the spots were labelled for various companies; I guess check with whomever you talk to on the phone about where to park
One last word: I wouldn’t typically spend this kind of money (~$ 100 a piece) on garden tools, but in looking for a cheaper alternative I discovered that the cheaper ones are fairly easy to break in one way or another. If they sold for $ 20 it’d be one thing, but why pay $ 50 for junk that’ll break when you can have the top of the line for $ 100? Am very excited to get these tools.
===
⁶⁄₁₀ update, 3 months later. The fork really is excellent. As a mentor says, it really does «feel good in your hands.» The combination of its strength, with how light it is, is very practical. I dug up a bed that hadn’t been dug in a long time, and with the help of water and patience, was just fine with this fork. No bent tines. I use the fork regularly to loosen soil before transplanting, and to fix my compost pile. A very nice tool, well worth the cost.