Spade vs Shovel: What's the difference?

[Ruderunner]

To me, shovel is a class of tool with many variations. A spade is one, coal is another, hole, Dibble, and even roofing are all in this class but have different uses.

Ames used to be one of the premier manufacturers, might check their website to see how many different kinds of shovels there are.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Before rationalisation and economy closed it down I would stop fairly regularly at a picnic ground and toilets off the A21. It was looked after and maintained by an elderly Irishman who had worked on the council roads department all his working life. He was an expert with a shovel, of the type I described in my earlier post and had become a shovel gardener, I gave him various plants and bulbs from time to time as I came across them, he made a lovely place of it now it is locked off with huge galvanised gates and a spike topped fence and runs wild except when visited infrequently by a gang of men with power tools who cut everything down, then lock up and leave it again.

 

[mkmiraglia]

Question of the day: What's the difference between a spade and a shovel?

It will be interesting to see the responses, no cheating, just post what comes to mind. I was doing some research this morning for some frequently asked questions on garden tools, and I was surprised what I found and how it varies by locale.

Question of the day: What's the difference between a spade and a shovel?

It will be interesting to see the responses, no cheating, just post what comes to mind. I was doing some research this morning for some frequently asked questions on garden tools, and I was surprised what I found and how it varies by locale.

Shovel to me is a tool for general digging, especially digging where you have to lift and remove soil. They are also good for reversing the action and placing soil back into a planting hole, trench etc. A shovel normally has a rounded tip and a curved depression, like a spoon, for holding the dirt.
Of course, there are specialized shovels (such as gravel or sand) that have different shapes, but again they are for moving material.
A spade generally has a longer, flatter blade with a flat edge and very little curvature. There are gardening spades, basically a rectangular shape and used in beds or gardens that have already been dug or worked, and trenching or tree planting spades, that are longer and narrower. A good spade has a very rigid blade for serious digging. But it isn't "scooped" for picking up and moving soil.
If I'm planting trees or shrubs, for example, I use a trenching space to dig the hole but I use a shovel to take the dirt out of the hole. Spades aren't good for this. For double-digging to prepare a bed, definitely a long bladed spade.