New 'National Trust made by Burgon Ball' garden tools: high-quality with heritage style

This year we are launching an exciting new licensed range of tools in a major collaboration with Europe’s largest conservation charity, the National Trust.

The new range offers gardeners superior quality and a heritage aesthetic, while also celebrating traditional manufacturing techniques.

The National Trust made by Burgon & Ball tools are practical, stylish and offer the feel-good factor too, since a percentage of revenue from sales of the tools will help to support the conservation activities of the charity.  

Founded in 1895 and now with 5.9 million members, the National Trust cares for almost 200 registered parks and gardens; the largest collection of historic parks and gardens in Europe. Many were created by the most notable designers, among them Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown.

The Trust is held in the highest regard by gardeners and with those who love visiting beautiful gardens or productive kitchen gardens, making it a natural fit for a collaboration with us, with our own toolmaking heritage dating back to 1730.

The new range consists of an invaluable core gardening tool set: digging spade; digging fork; trowel; hand fork; round-tined fork; claw cultivator; patio weeding knife; dibber; lopper; hedge shear; topiary shear; bypass secateur; and pocket knife.

The tools are crafted largely in high-carbon steel, a material which offers superior strength characteristics. Dark wood and touches of brass carrying the joint National Trust and Burgon & Ball maker’s mark echo the tools’ inherent quality and also give a nod to the garden tools of yesteryear. Put simply, they have a unique and very distinctive look.

The difference is not merely superficial. Across the National Trust range many traditional manufacturing processes, little seen today, are used to create tools which deliver exceptional performance. These techniques are combined with today’s environmental concerns in mind, with FSC^®-certifed hardwood handles, recyclable card packaging and vegetable-based inks.

The spade and fork both use solid socket forging, whereby the whole toolhead and socket are forged from a single piece of steel with no welds, for unparalleled strength, and the socket is then double riveted to the shaft. The two techniques combine to give the strongest structure; one not available in any stainless steel tool. High-carbon steel ‘D’ handles are also double riveted to the top of the shaft, ensuring they stay firmly in place through years of service. A textured powder coating in a distinctive antique bronze shade protects the exposed steel from corrosion.

The lopper and hedge shear are manufactured using a drop forging process, whereby the metal is heated and hammered into a die to shape it. This method removes any voids in the steel and aligns the internal grain structure, significantly improving the strength of the tool and allowing it to retain an edge for longer.

The hand tools feature brass ferrules with maker’s mark, unusual and highly effective sharpened tool edges to slice into the soil, real leather cords for hanging, and an antique bronze powder coating for protection.

The secateur and knife both feature stainless steel blades offering durability and improved rust resistance. The secateur has an all-steel drop forged body for maximum strength, and the dark wood handles of both these cutting tools feature solid brass rivets for a distinctive look.

With prices ranging from £8.99 to £34.99, the new National Trust made by Burgon & Ball range of garden tools is available to buy in garden centres, National Trust shops and nationaltrust.org.uk/shop, as well as here on our website. The range offers outstanding quality at affordable prices, with a percentage of the sales contributing to the vital conservation work of the National Trust.

All images thanks to National Trust, Kingston Lacy.