My kingdom for a widger!

[Carlo]

Good lord, who'd have thought they'd be so difficult to find...

Years ago I ordered a half dozen or so two-ended stainless steel widgers (of the Gardman sort) from Kinsman here in the US. They are (were) my favorite tools in the growing area. Over the seasons, they've sprouted legs and walked away. They are fabulous little tools, particularly around seed sowing time. I'd like to acquire some again, and can't find them in the US. They abound in the UK, but none of your garden centers (centres) appear to ship out of the EU. If anyone is interested in acting as an intermediary, I'll happily reimburse cost, shipping, etc. for 6-10 of the little guys.

If someone has another suggestion, I'm all ears...

[Maggi Young]

Carlo,  I'll look into it for you....... Ian used to make all his own gadgets.... we have a selection still of pronged and bladed widgets...... lethal looking things which we treasure greatly... the more so because he no longer has the chance to make them.  I'm off to track down the suppliers of your preferred doffers now....

[Carlo]

I do use old stainless from the kitchen drawer...forks, spoons and knives...but they just aren't the same.

[cohan]

i have no idea what that is, i will have to look it up...lol
certainly i could use something small, rather pointy and really strong for separating dandelion seedlings et all from my hardish soil.....

[TC]

I have used a metal tent peg for years.  They are strong and easily obtainable.

[cohan]

carlo--
you may have already seen this; i havent followed all the links to explore it yet:
http://www.amazon.com/Rittenhouse-egtools-English-Garden-Tools/dp/B0002A6CEG
is the widger the one that (i think) looks like a really narrow trowel? second from left..or is is it solid rather than trowelly?

[Carlo]

Thanks Cohan, I have seen that product. The one I'm after is much cheaper and simpler...just a length of stainless with two usable ends, one smaller than the other. AND unlike a tent peg, you can carry one in a pocket without doing yourself grave bodily harm...

[Maggi Young]

I have six on order, Carlo, will contact you later!

[Carlo]

Excellent news Maggi...you are a dear (are they paying you yet?). Don't know why I didn't come to the forum earlier...(let that be a lesson to all of you...)

[Lesley Cox]

When they arrive Maggi, would you take a photo for us please? Never been quite sure EXACTLY what a widger is.

[Maggi Young]

Lesley, how are you on antique silverware?
Widgers look like marrow spoons..... marrowspoons were made to scoop out the marrowfat from bones, they were usually about a foot (30cms) long,  with a scoop, about 4 inches long  at each end, one end wider than the other .... the scoop being an elongated spoon shape. The widger is very similar, except the ends are not upturned at the end lip..... 
 

 This is a marrow spoon, rather than a widger 

[Lesley Cox]

My grandmother had a Georgian marrow spoon at one stage, don't know who eventually came by it. Not me as she probably knew it would end up in the potting shed. Rodger could easily make something similar for me.

[Anthony Darby]

I have a stainless steel spatula rather larger that the ones normally used in chemistry to add small quantities of powder. It is tapered from about 1.5 cm to 1 cm and scooped like the marrow spoon. The plastic ones, which I also have and are rounded at one end and forked at the other, came free with gardening mags.

[Rogan]

If you have access to a sheetmetal jenny you can roll up your own widger in the wink of an eye from strips of discarded galvanised and / or stainless steel - if your widger is lost, it costs you nothing to replace it (...and you have the opportunity to try out new shapes!).

[gote]

One of my favourite gadgets is this implement you use in a frying pan I do not know what it is called in English.
It is a flat piece of stainless steel with a handle at one end. It is knicked in two places so one can lay it flat to the pan but having the hand higher up.
I grind it sharp at the edges and use it to remove annual weeds.
Most are made of plastic these days and these are useless outside the kitchen.
Göte