Garden Shovels
But before I do that, let me give you the single biggest tip about this tool that you’ll ever get.
Keep Shovels Sharp
Sharpen them with a coarse file and put a medium edge on them. You’ll find that digging is ever so much easier with a sharp shovel and our gardening ancestors would dig for about a half hour on a sharpening and then would take a break for more sharpening.
Sharpening only takes a few minutes of running the file over the working edge of the blade to put an edge on it. You want it pointed but not fully sharp. You don’t want to shave on it, you only want it to slide through the dirt easier. Not many gardeners do this with their shovels these days and it always amazes me how much easier it is to use a sharp tool rather than the old dull ones found in most tool sheds.
Enough sharpening tips.
Cast or Stamped
The second thing you need to know is that shovels come in either cast or stamped forms.
The stamped tools are made of thinner steel and a hydraulic press is used to form the shape. A cast tool is made from pouring molten steel into a form and then cooling the steel to give a shovel.
Naturally, stamped tools are far cheaper than their cast cousins.
The problem with stamped tools is that they are generally shaped so that the steel gets structural strength from bending the steel. The effect of this is that the shapes on the back of the shovel are considered almost ideal for holding extra dirt. So, the dirt slides off the front but sticks onto the back. This isn’t a problem with sandy soils but if you’ve ever swung one of these babies in a clay or heavy wet soil, you know you’re getting a workout with all the soil that sticks to the back.
To mimic this effect, try swinging a five pound weight at the end of a long handle for a half hour. :-)
If you have clay soils or intend to work in wet soils, spend the money on a cast shovel that has a smoother back surface and sheds extra soil.
Shovel Shape
The shape and the size of the blade have a lot to do with the purpose you’re intending it for.
I use a round point for the vast majority of my digging chores. Flat head shovels are for snow or sand shoveling and not for digging in the garden. I use smaller heads for close-in work in the perennial garden or for general planting of smaller perennials. For larger pots like shrubs or trees, I generally switch to the larger blade.
Handles
Handles similarly come in good and bad grades. Those cheaper models come with cheaper handles. I have a fiberglass handle on one of mine and while it isn’t supposed to break, it did develop a crack right down the length of itself. I just ignore the crack for the most part and keep on using it and digging away. The fiberglass is supposed to be tougher than wood. I don’t find it as easy on the hands as it is too smooth for my liking but I haven’t managed to break it yet in 5 years of digging.
If buying a replacement handle, look for a handle with a clear straight grain down the length of the wood. Try to avoid those where the grain rolls around the handle (twisted wood) or shows a tendency to be short grained (weaker wood is shorter or badly sawn).
The perfect handles have the longest wood grain showing from top to bottom with no curls or curves in the grain. These are expensive (and harder to find)but usually last longer. In a pinch, take the cheaper ones and get used to changing them.
Handle Length
Long handles are easier on the back. I have several short handled shovels and I regularly leave them in the shed in favour of the long handled models.
The tang (where the metal meets the handle) should be as long as possible. Short tangs (you’ll see different lengths between models on the rack) break handles faster than longer tangs. The attachment method is also important. Better models have an iron pin right through the handle and rolled over on the tang. The cheapest models have a hydraulic press stamp an impression in the tang to hold in the handle.
Note you can drill two small holes on opposite sides of a tang of a cheap shovel - and insert a screw into each hole to hold the handle more firmly in place.
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