What digging fork have you found to be the sturdiest?

Thekla McDaniels wrote:  The pipe-sleeve allows you to exert the bending force on a very specific location… as opposed to the bending being spread generally over the whole piece of metal...

Yes - that was the effect my neighbor achieved when he stuck the fork between 2 parts of his skid steer. He was concentrating the pressure as close to where the "bend" appeared to have been made when the tool was damaged.

The best forks I have used are broadforks with full metal handles. Meadow Creature are very popular in the US, or in Australia, F D Ryan makes great ones.

That is a GREAT idea - the number of uses for a length of pipe is growing....  I will look in my stash of odds and ends to see what I can find - thank you for the suggestions!

I’ve snapped a few forks over the years, and the thing that saved my sanity was slowing down and letting the soil tell me what it’s ready for. If it feels like I’m wrestling a bear, I soak the spot or switch tools. A broadfork has become my quiet workhorse for big root jobs, and I only grab the smaller forks once things are loosened up.