Pitchfork
Agricultural tool
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The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to the garden fork. While similar in appearance, the garden fork is shorter and stockier than the pitchfork, with three or four thicker tines intended for turning or loosening the soil of gardens.
Alternative terms
In some parts of England, a pitchfork is known as a prong. In parts of Ireland, the term sprong is used to refer specifically to a four-pronged pitchfork.
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Description
The typical pitchfork consists of a wooden shaft bearing two to five slightly curved metal tines fixed to one end of a handle. These are typically made of steel, wrought iron, or some other alloy, though historically wood or bamboo were used. Unlike a garden fork, a pitchfork lacks a grab at the end of its handle.
Pitchforks with few tines set far apart are typically used for bulky material such as hay or straw; those with more and more closely spaced are used for looser materials such as silage, manure, leaves, or compost.
History
In Europe, the pitchfork was first used in the Early Middle Ages, at about the same time as the harrow. These were made entirely of wood.
In the Middle Ages, pitchforks might on occasion be employed as an improvised weapon in battle by peasants unable to obtain a proper weapon. The visual idiom of a mob of peasants staging a revolt while armed with just torches and pitchforks is well-known, if not necessarily historical, and seen or parodied in several works.
In popular culture
Artwork
Paintings by various artists depict a wide variety of pitchforks in use and at rest. A notable American work is American Gothic (1930) by Grant Wood, which features a three-pronged tool.
Politics
The Gangster Disciples, a street gang in the Midwestern United States, use a three-pointed pitchfork as one of their symbols.