Apitchfork orhay fork is an agriculturaltool used to pitch loose material, such ashay,straw,manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thintines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to thegarden 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 thesoil ofgardens.
In some parts ofEngland, a pitchfork is known as aprong.[1] In parts ofIreland, the termsprong is used to refer specifically to a four-pronged pitchfork.[2]
A pitchfork with fivetines next to acompost bin. In this configuration, the pitchfork resembles agarden fork.
The typical pitchfork consists of a wooden shaft bearing two to five slightly curved metaltines fixed to one end of a handle. These are typically made ofsteel,wrought iron, or some otheralloy, though historicallywood orbamboo were used. Unlike agarden 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 ashay orstraw; those with more and more closely spaced are used for looser materials such assilage,manure, leaves, orcompost.[3]
Paintings by various artists depict a wide variety of pitchforks in use and at rest.[6] A notable American work isAmerican Gothic (1930) byGrant Wood, which features a three-pronged tool.
Propaganda work byJames Gillray (1803) showing British iconJohn Bull holding the head ofNapoleon Bonaparte on a pitchfork after a conjectured French invasion of Great Britain
The pitchfork is often used in lieu of the visually similar weapon, thetrident, in popular portrayals and satire ofChristian demonology. Many humorous cartoons, bothanimated and otherwise, feature acaricature of ademon ostensibly wielding a "pitchfork" (often actually a trident) sitting on one shoulder of a protagonist, opposite anangel on the other.[citation needed]
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