My dad was a very keen gardener. He tried out some stainless steel forks around the time that he retired and broke the tines. He concluded that they were not worth the money.
His suggestion to me when I did gardening was that I buy women's forks and spades because you are lifting far lighter loads when you dig. It might take a bit longer but you end up aching less.
Smaller forks & spades have been sold as far back as I remember as 'border'.
