(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

In praise of a pitchfork

I

IA Leo

Member
There are few tools as nice to use as a good three tine pitch fork. With a fairly long handle and sharp, shiney tines, handling sweet smelling clover hay or laying a bundle perfectly into the feeder of a threshing machine, well it just felt good! One used it to catch your balance on a wiggling load of loose hay, or to lean on for a bit to let the sweat dry and retie the handkerchief around your neck. Manure forks, silage forks, garden forks, were just dumb tools compared to the elegant pitchfork. Thanks for reading......Leo
 
I kinda agree ,but the old rock fork still comes in handy around the creek bank beside my house to pick up the debris from the rains.

Some today would think that a roasting stick for a large family wiener roast , never see it as a tool. Work ??? What ya talkin bout ????
 
Best I can recall from the few times I saw you using it, you were forever trying to pick up the hay you were standing on.
 
And in praise of a good pitchfork user--my grandfather could sent 50-lb bales 10 feet over his head into the mow with a flick of his wrist, and do it all day long if necessary--lots faster than using the elevator for all but the highest mows. Watched plenty of people use pitchforks, but none were as good as Gramp. It's more than just brute force, there's a knack to it, and it's not a skill you gain overnight. I could never get the hang of it, but Gramp was a joy to watch.
 
Off topic a little, but a while back, I heard they used to tie the last bundle of oats to the floor of the bundle wagon. The new guy was always a target of this prank.
 
Good one Thur, actually I did stab myself in the kneecap one night in the hay mow, just swinging wildly working some hay over from the far corner to the chute. Was all I could do to get the lantern and safely get down the ladder. Yah, really good old days, huh? Leo
 
I came along at the tail-end of that era; we were still 'putting up' some loose hay in the early '50s......in barn lofts and in hay stacks built around poles.
 
I was too tight to buy a skidloader during my livestock days so I pitched a lot of it by hand. Pitched it in and I pitched it back out. Did it until I was 45 or so and it kept me in shape. But I don"t ever want to go back to those days. Using the rock fork for a couple of weeks in the spring is enough. (anyone want to help? I have about a week"s worth left to do)

A couple of years ago I was at a threshing show that had quite a few separators lined up in a row, all running at the same time. Most of the guys pitching the bundles were so awkward at handling a fork I felt like jumping up there and giving them a lesson. Bundles were falling out of the forks and dropping to the ground before they made it to the feeder and some of the guys pitching were old farmers to boot.

Oh well, I guess knowing how to handle a fork isn"t one of those skills we need to brag about much.
 
My grand dad educated me on the use. the technique is to insert at a high angle, handle out about 2' (almost straight up. Then pulling it down twists in a gob of stems that resist falling and can increase the load by a factor of 3 or 4. It is much less work when the hay/straw is at the working range of the strength of the operator (or handle). Three tines rule. (and T handled bale hooks with round hooks.) Jim
 
My experience with a pitchfork was a little different: my fork had 5 tines, and most of what I moved with it didn't smell so good!

I also have used pitchforks to pick rocks in fields. Picking rocks that way is a lot easier than bending down to get them. I found I could move some pretty large stones with a fork.

Last year I bought a 6 tined manure fork at a farm sale. I hadn't seen one with more than 5 tines for many years. It still needs a new handle and I have been having a tough time finding a really good looking, fine grained replacement handle. Most that I have seen are pretty junky looking and expensive at that.

I do appreciate a good pitchfork!
 
Good post.
We moved back onto the farm when I was 15 and put up loose hay for 6 Herefords till I left HS. Then Dad bought a small baler.
Go figure.
A 3 tined fork is a good one.
Another tool that I put my heart and back in to was a scythe. Cut everything from rasberry cane to willows to corn stalks for the pig to lake weeds to keep the beach clean.
 
True Temper was the good brand of pitchfork or spade that I couldn't remember. I think Union was another good brand. A lot of folks rave about a sweet well balanced hammer and they are right on, but an over looked tool like the pitchfork (always three tined when you call it a pitchfork) that can have balance, too. Leo
 
Haven't heard anyone mention a scythe on here in a long time. In the days before string trimmers Dad's idea was to take a scythe and trim around all of the buildings, then mow with a sickle mower. When you get on to it it's not all that hard to do.
Paul
 
There was an old Auctioneer in our area who would sell a fork as a nnalert or nnalert, depending on the number of tines. Anyone ever hear of that?
 
Tim, I worked for a man who was from Lithuania(sp), and I've seen him load bales of bean hay seven high on a hay wagon, from the ground, with a pitchfork. Those bales were heavy, and he made it look so easy. It was hard to find help to load bean hay - the stems would eat you up. I'd drive the tractor, and he'd load and stack from the ground. He had some junky equipment, but both of his hay wagons had new tires - out of necessity. He loaded them heavy. He was a good old guy - just couldn't understand his "english".

Paul
 
I'm a little confused. Our hay fork had 5 or 6 thin round tines. Our manure forks had 3 or 4 heavy round tines. We also had a beet fork. It had probably a dozen heavy flat tines, was cast iron, had a shorter "D" handle like a scoop shovel and weighed what seemed like a ton to me at about 12 years old. Never scooped beets, but it works fantastic for chaff and mulch.
 
That sounds like the manure forks we used...the only thing for that, and scraping up corn shucks. But for long stem, stringy stuff like straw from a threshing machine or bundles or loose hay, it was too hard to get those tines to penetrate the pile and harder to shake it off. Actually did more work with the 4-5 tine forks but they were always associated with non-fun stuff. Nothing could beat the silage fork for silage, not even a #16 scoop shovel although you had to use that too. The 5-tine worked pretty good up in the silo because you couldn't get a honkin big wad out through the little chute doors anyway. Thanks to everyone, this has been a neat trip down memory lane. Leo
 
Used many a 3 tine pitchfork on loose hay and threshed straw and shredded corn fodder to shove it outa the mow, across the barn floor and down the chute(s) to the basement stables. Never did load much loose hay with a 3 tine, was too young (Thank God) for that chore, drove the tractor pulling the wagon and loader instead. (Loaded more than a few loads of square bales though..with a hay hook) Loaded and unloaded a lot of flatrack loads of grain bundles threshing. Used a 5 tine or 6 tine manure fork to clean the stables...both manure forks and pitchforks had long handles. Used a big long 4 tined fork (barley fork) with a D handle to fetch in straw from the strawstack for bedding and a 12 tined ensilage fork with a D handle for ensilage handling to the mangers....used a 6 tine up in the silo to pitch it down the chute. Used a 6 tine to dig potatoes with. Guess that's about all the "forkin around" I ever did. Aw yeah, cleaned some calf, steer, and hog pens and chicken houses with the 5 ahd 6 tine manure forks.
 
> I've seen him load bales of bean hay seven high on a hay wagon, from the ground, with a pitchfork.

There was a guy in my valley who loaded all his hay bales on a wagon with a fork. He's been dead for 30 years now, but people still talk about how strong he was. Kind of like a local John Henry type thing, I guess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Straightening a pitchfork:
Replies
16
Views
11K
Billy NY
B
S
NC or Bust - Reminiscing - Long Post (Sorry)
2 3
Replies
40
Views
3K
KevinBfromIllinois
K
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top