Shovels & Spades

For the Trade

Start with the space you’ve got and how the tool will be used on the job. That usually fixes the shape before anything else. In tight beds or awkward access, a shorter border spade is easier to work with and less clumsy to carry through a finished area. If you’re shifting spoil, loose material or backfilling, a shovel with a bigger mouth saves time, but it’s less neat where you need a cleaner cut. On heavier ground, go up in build rather than chasing a lighter handle. The cheap one is often the first to bend or come back loose.

Popular Shovels & Spade Formats

Garden spades suit jobs that need a cleaner cut and a straighter edge. Garden shovels are better when you’re lifting, shifting or tipping loose material.

Digging spades give you more bite in harder ground. Digging shovels make more sense when you’re moving spoil rather than slicing into it. Match the tool to the task before you pick from Garden Hand Tools.

Key Differences When Choosing

For shovels and spades, start with the job. A sharper, stiffer blade suits harder ground. A broader mouth works better for spoil, sand, or loose material when you need to move it quickly.

Handle length matters too. Too long and it becomes awkward in tight access. Too short and you lose leverage. For edging or trenching, a more specialised shape usually makes more sense. For mixed groundwork, a general-purpose tool is less fussy.

Once you’re into roots or timber, move onto Axes or Bow Saws. Don’t force the wrong tool at it.

Next Decisions After Choosing

Once you’ve picked your shovels and spades, the next call is what goes back in around the work. If you’re finishing beds or screening off a rough edge, sort the surrounding finish first. That’s where the job looks tidy, or gets left patched.

Storage matters too if the tool’s staying on site. A bent blade or loose handle is usually down to how it’s been chucked about, not how it was used. Keep the rest of the kit in step with the job, and you won’t buy a good digging tool only to slow yourself down with the wrong finish around it.