Barn Forks, sometimes known as Manure Forks, are extremely handy around the yardscape. It can be used as a leaf rake and then used to scoop up the leaves and litter and put them into a cart or compost pile. There are many to choose from, but we found one that we think you’ll really like!
We use a lot of tools around our hobby farm. We have several stone-chip paths and lots of flower beds and trees. That means that we need to rake up trimmings and leaves ongoing. While we do use leaf rakes, we’ve found a good manure fork, also known as a barn or stall fork, can be used both to rake and to scoop. Having to not switch tools is really handy!
Most of these types of rakes are made of durable plastic, but plastic does have its limitations and can only carry so much weight before cracking. There are metal models available, but they tend to be more expensive. We think we’ve found a very good plastic model that bridges the gap (both price-wise and stoutness-wise) between cheaper plastic models and more expensive metal versions.
We’ve used the Little Giant DuraFork for several seasons before the unit cracked where the plastic head is attached to the wood handle. At under 20 dollars, we got our money’s worth. Even so, the fork had its limitations. It wasn’t especially strong, so you could do only moderate loads. Also, there are places in the fork that tapered together, regularly catching stringy materials and long stems that had to be manually removed as you went.
The STR22 Super Tuff Rake, offered by Tuff Stuff Products, promises to be a great addition around here. It is very strong, with more material and shaping in the head. It sports a nice capacity (22” - 56 cm wide) and is affixed to an aluminum handle with a D-handle that is about 46” (107 cm) long. There are very few places that will tend to catch material, allowing matter to slide off the fork cleanly when emptying the fork.
The head is attached to the handle securely as well, utilizing two (not one!) substantial bolts and nuts. This tool looks like it is ready to go to work!
Because it is of higher quality, it is more expensive. While you get an economy fork (such as the Little Giant unit we’ve had) for under $20, the Super Tuff Rake will cost you about $33 to $35.
We are going into the winter season around here, so we are giving your our initial impressions of the Super Tuff Rake. We’ll come back a year from now and let you know how it has held up after a season of hard work!
Super Tuff Rake ONE-YEAR REVIEW HERE: Coming after one year!)
If you’d like to check out the STR22 Super Tuff Rake, visit
We purchased our Super Tuff Rake, like it, and think you will too. We’re glad to pass on information that we feel will be helpful to our viewer family.
Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com.
Have we found the best darn barn rake
or manure fork on the market?
Hey, stay tuned and I'll tell you all about it.
Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com.
As you can imagine, in a hobby farm
like what we have around here, there is a lot of cleanup.
We've got gravel paths, we've got chickens,
we've got areas and flower beds and that sort of thing
that can really benefit with using this kind
of what's called a manure fork or a barn fork.
That is really good as a combo.
You can take it and pointing the tines down rake,
but you can turn over and pick up.
Now, this is a model that we've used for quite a while.
This is about three seasons old
and this is made by Little Giant Company.
And this is what's called their dura fork, okay?
And, but there's a couple inherent weaknesses
with this particular fork.
First of all, the price point on this is very reasonable.
You can get these for under $20.
And if you get three seasons of use,
then you probably got a pretty doggone good use out of it.
But here's a couple of limitations
and why you might wanna consider upgrading
to what I'm gonna show you in just a minute.
First of all, right here at the handle,
there is only one attachment point,
one single bolt that goes through trapped right here.
And you can see this rake has had a lot of love
over the last two or three seasons.
Well, this also, because the sleeve's not very deep
and there's only one attachment point,
this tends to be the weak point of the rake.
And as you can see, look at the cracks of the form.
So right now I can use this, but only for light duty.
And so I could get another head on this, put it on here,
but that's gonna be the inherent weakness.
There's something else here that is problematic
with this particular one.
And you have, it looks persnickety,
but it really does make a difference.
Do you see right here where on this casting,
these two tines, or at least the origination points,
join together into one tine?
Right here is a tight point, right?
At the joining point of both,
at the apex of this open space.
Well, you know what?
Lots of stuff gets caught in that.
We have some stringing weeds out here, binder weed,
these types of things, or straw,
or just growth that is sticks that are long,
that tend to just pack here.
And so you go to unload the rake and you're shaking it off,
and you have to hand unload that a surprising amount
of times, enough for it to be irritating.
Well, we found another brand that we think
has quite a bit more improvements
for only a moderate increase in cost.
Now you can buy the rake that I was just showing you
for under $20.
I bought this for about $35.
This is the STR-22 from Tough Stuff Products.
Now this rake is really well-built.
As you can see where the handle goes in together,
there's two bolts.
And when I assembled it, it went together flawlessly
with the trap nuts in behind.
These have thread locks on them,
and so this stays really tight,
but there's a lot of mass right in this area.
A few more great features on this
is that it has a 45-inch aluminum handle
with a movable hand grip here that really makes it nice,
and a D-handle.
So all that's included.
This is about $35, whereas the other one's about $20.
So moderate price increase, but much more utility,
and I think it's gonna last a lot longer.
This is 17 inches across,
where the other rake I just showed you is 14 inches across,
so it has increased capacity.
And notice the intersection of these two right here.
It's rounded out, so it's a lot less likely
to catch those stringy materials
that wanna go along for a ride
when you're trying to empty the fork.
Well, we think this is gonna work really well,
but let's take it outside and put it to work.
But you know, it's a little dark right now out there,
and a little cold.
So why don't we wait till tomorrow morning,
and why don't you come back,
and then we'll go ahead and put it for a test drive
and see how well it performs.
Hey, good morning!
Hey, did you get a good night's sleep?
I know I did.
Well, let's go ahead and put this to work.
Let's see how it turns out.
So one of the things I wanna point out really quickly,
if you pay more, there's another upgraded model
that has an adjustable handle.
This is the stationary, about 45 or 46,
but it works really well for me.
First thing we're gonna do is just see how this works
like in this kind of thing here.
These are some soil fill-ins, manure dirt.
As you can see, it's kinda hard,
but let's just go ahead and see if I can get,
well, boy, so I can get a nice load of dirt right there
and kinda jump in, and it feels good in the hand,
and does not feel like it's flexing at all.
So it does a nice, there we go,
I'm getting kind of a heavier load there.
That feels good.
Our arborist friend's been bringing us
lots of these wood chips,
and so they handle these in large amounts.
Boy, this really works nice.
I'm liking this.
I can tell the difference between the other one we have.
It actually digs in very nicely and scoops cleanly.
Notice that when I'm done,
there's very little sticking in it.
I do have a little bit of debris right there
that comes out.
Well, so far, our initial impressions are very good.
You can see it's worked well in these kinda chips.
It worked well in the soil manure mix, picking up leaves.
You can turn it around on its nose and use it for raking.
So we think we're gonna have a positive experience.
But to really test this,
we'll post again a year from now
after this has really been put through the paces
through the summer and spring months as well.
And we'll let you know if we still are as enthusiastic
about it as we are right now.
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Until the next time,
this is Dirt Farmer Jay from DirtFarmerJay.com.
