If you're willing to pay about 100 bucks the best spade I've used is a King Of Spades with the longest blade they make (squarish) and a long handle for leverage. You can order it from AM Leonard but don't be tempted to buy their similar looking model that they sell under their own name. It doesn't seem as strong and the guarantee is pure BS.

I'll break any other kind of shovel while transplanting trees. This one is solid steel and I've only warn out one in 20 years. I tweeked the AM L. model after 14 months. They wouldn't replace it on their dime.

Quick spade 149.99 it be about 9 days before I can pick up at store.

Here is a link that might be useful: Shovel

I feel your pain. When I lived in Birmingham AL, it took a week to plant a single tree using a pickax as well. I still have my original thirty-five year old shovel. If I break it I don't know what I would do.

We moved to sandy South GA and I dig a giant hole in a couple of minutes. No rocks, no clay.

Quick Spade attachment for a Bobcat? Hmmm.... Not sure I really need a Bobcat with a 1/2 acre lot... but if someone gave me one - I might not turn it down... I bet I could spread Mulch in a fraction of the time!

Thanks

You can also buy forged heavy shovels with wooden and fiberglass handles on-line from amleonard but they are not as strong as a solid metal one. Run you close to 50 with shipping.

When you said transplant I was thinking of digging trees up where a solid steel spade is the ticket as far as hand tools go.

You can also check out Forestry Supply. They used to sell some amazing tools with hickory handles for digging into rough earth. I haven't checked on them lately but I think they're still in business- I believe in Georgia.

I use a post hole digger.

I use Spear & Jackson spades after busting several other brands. I don't know how they compare to the King of Spades, the price is similar. The joint where the shovel meets the handle is a big solid hunk of metal so it will never break there.

Scott

Harvestman, is this the shovel? We've in the market for a new shovel. Having a wooden handle snap in your hands is no fun (and scary for the wife who was watching as the wood shrapnel went flying.)

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Depot: King of Spades shovel

I like using a mattock/pick axe in combination with the spade. You get much more energy behind swinging the mattock as opposed to trying to kick down a spade.

The handle is almost always the weak point of any shovel. After breaking many handles, I adopted the philosophy of buying shovels with stronger handles.

Now I've come full circle and recanted that philosophy in favor or cheap wooden handled shovels mostly. Use a shovel for 6-8 hours and you'll notice even a little extra weight wears you down faster. Even shovels with fiberglass handles are heavier because the head is generally heavier.

The exception is when you need to pry, then you need a shovel with a strong handle. I've broken a fiberglass handle, so metal is probably tops if you need to pry a lot.

When I dig trees I actually take more than one shovel. I take a heavy shovel if I need to pry and I might grab a tile spade or a small 3' knee shovel. I have a large square point that looks like the King of Spades (except with a really heavy wooden handle). It's good for prying, but I don't like it for digging. The square point won't cut through sod as good as a spade point.

My favorite shovel, and the one I reach for first, is a shovel I bought at an auction. I've not seen anything like it in the stores. It has a fairly thick wooden handle but a little metal spade head. It doesn't take a very big bite, but because the head so small it knifes through sod really well. Also because of the small head the handle doesn't want to break when prying (the dirt will give way before the handle does). It doesn't shovel as much per shovelful, but it doesn't tire you out either.

http://www.amleo.com/product.aspx?p=KS15L

Hoosier, it is close but this one has a 15" blade. Home Depot is about $20 more, unless it includes free shipping.

As far as general digging tools I agree with Olpea to a degree but the lightest, cheapest shovels just don't work in rocky soil as the metal deflects and isn't rigid enough but I no longer use forged blades because of the weight. Unlike Olpea, I regularly wear out shovel blades and if you have a sense of the strength of the handle you won't break it. It's my help that breaks handles of my shovels these days.

In difficult soil a pick ax is essential, of course. Unless you own a back hoe.

"Unlike Olpea, I regularly wear out shovel blades and if you have a sense of the strength of the handle you won't break it."

Maybe I have less patience when it comes to digging. I've broken a couple handles pushing 8" sewer pipe together (i.e. stab the spade point in the ground backwards and shove it against the pipe like a lever until the pipe goes in the coupling). But it's the prying of hard dirt or rocks that generally breaks them.

Wooden handles get weak with time and some wooden handles are just stronger than others. I was using a shovel the other day to pry and the handle was creaking. That handle gave a warning but others just snap. I suppose the only sure fire way to avoid breaking wooden handles is to be extra careful when it comes to prying. It has been a while since I've broken a handle. Age slows a person down. I love my little spade head shovel.

I'll second h-man's recommendation for the King of Spades long-handled spade/shovel. Well worth the cost.
My second choice is the heavy, reinforced blade tile spade type from Forestry Suppliers - but I broke the brand-new hickory handle on it the first day out - then put on one of those sturdy fiberglass handles, and promptly snapped the plastic D-handle off the top. That won't happen with the KoS.

Here is a link that might be useful: King of Spades

I end up breaking the head before I break the handle unless the head is massively heavy or really soft.... I find I prefer wood handles to others... although something like the King of Spades would be the ticket when it comes time to pry rocks out of holes... which I do a LOT of around here...

One thing I did learn about shovels is something called "Lift" - which is the amount of crook that the shovel head has when you lay the shovel on the ground...

The higher the Lift - the better the shovel is for moving dirt around - but the worse it is for digging holes.. and vice versa...

Irrigation shovels and the King of Spades shovel have very little lift - maybe 2"... Many trenching and garden spades have either 0 lift - or like 1".... This makes it real easy to stick them in the ground and dig holes.... and the handle doesn't hit the other side of the hole when digging.... A little more weight on these seems to make them easier to cut into the dirt....

Shovels with lots of lift are made for transferring dirt from piles or out of wheelbarrows or moving dirt back into holes. My razorback has just over 6" of lift... It's great because the shovel point doesn't stick into the ground or wheelbarrow when you are scooping out of a big pile and moving dirt... but it's the devil when you dig - because the handle hits the opposite side of the hole when you get 1' down....

The irony is that the shovels with lots of lift probably don't need to be built like tanks - because they really aren't made for Digging as much as moving stuff around... so a nice, light, stiff stamped shovel with a wood handle would be the trick here...

So... I think it narrows down what I need... Something like either the King of Spades - or a high quality Irrigation shovel.

Thanks

Olpea, if you are breaking handles the Spear and Jackson handles are solid steel for the lower half which is where the breaks usually are, only the upper half is wood. They have a 25 year warranty; the King of Spades have a 10-year warranty.

Scott

"Olpea, if you are breaking handles the Spear and Jackson handles are solid steel for the lower half which is where the breaks usually are, only the upper half is wood."

Thanks Scott,

Those Spear and Jackson spades sound like excellent shovels for prying.

My wife wanted me to take some pics of the orchard this morning. While I was at it, I took a pic of some of the shovels I use. I apologize the photo is a little dark.

{{gwi:72735}}

The shovel on the left is my favorite. You'll notice the handle is as thick as any other but the head is very small. Because it's so light weight, I can dig faster and longer with this shovel than any other.

The next three shovels (from left to right) get progressively heavier. The shovel with the fiberglass handle (4th from left)has a crack in it. It's heavy and I hate to use it, even though I paid a lot for it.

I use the potato fork to dig up trees. You'll notice it's missing part of the top of the handle. It was plastic and broke (plastic doesn't belong on a shovel).

The tall square point spade (6th from left) is pretty heavy duty. You can get a lot of leverage with it and it's good for prying.

The tile spade next to it is good if you need to dig a deep narrow hole.

The knee shovel is a short thing, but if my back is hurting, it's a little easier on the back to get on my knees and dig with that little shovel.

The last two tools are pick axes. I rarely use these. If the ground is that hard and dry, I try to wait for better digging conditions.

My favorite is an all-steel shovel by Fiskars. Super-strong, closed back, lifetime warranty, and only $30 at amazon. I especially like the oversized step which is great when using with garden clogs or other light footwear.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fiskars Shovel at Amazon

The link did not say how much the Fiskar shovel weighs. That would be very important info. I would not buy from a source that doesn't adequately describe merchandise unless I could get that info elsewhere.

If you want leverage be sure to get a spade with a long handle.

I like your collection Olpea. Actually I do break handles but I leave my shovels out of doors and don't count the nearly rotten ones I break. That's why I stopped buying wood handles. Only hickory can take weather of wood handles I've had.

I just weighed mine - it's 6 lbs 1 oz. It's heavy, but appears to be indestructible. This shovel is by far the best of the many I've owned over the years. I'll bet you wouldn't break this one no matter how long you left it outdoors.

Great thread!
I don't think I could use the square shovel HM uses, I couldn't dig my soil as easily then I can with normal shovel,.. which has a pointed end.

I very seldom break handles.
My shovels brake mostly near the center, ...at the end of the handle, comes from prying too hard, I do the same on expensive heavy shovels, so now I came to the conclusion, I can buy 2 or 3 lighter shovels for the price of the heavy, which are a lot lighter and nicer to work with then the heavy ones.

I've had trouble digging through very rocky soil and have gradually added tools. The best tool I've found has been a 6' long steel digging bar (see link). I can loosen things up with it and pry out the rocks, some larger than a bowling ball. For the really large rocks I've used a sledge hammer, but that takes quite a bit of effort- sometimes it is easier to move the hole a couple feet. Of course, given that there is only so much yard, I usually try to put more effort into it...

Here is a link that might be useful: San Angelo Digging Bar

Last year I bought the Tribble Brook Farm tree digging system, and it works. First you use the long, sharp skinny spade to cut roots as deep as you can, then follow up with the root cutter that will go all the way to the middle of the tree. Our trees are small enough that I can stab the root ball with a digging bar and lever it out, but they have gizmos that will pull out a huge tree. I had to relocate 12 trees this year and can't imagine doing it any other way.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tribble Brook Farm Tree Digging System

I'd have to see a video to figure out how that Tribble Brook Farm system works, but its a bit of a moot point because I'd buy a tractor before I ever had that sort of money.

But this thread has inspired me to order the Fiskars shovel. I recently bought their splitting axe since seeing a video demonstration, and I was very, very impressed with their design and workmanship. Their warranties are also supposed to be top rate.

I've read that, at least for some products, their customer service just asks for a picture of the broken tool before sending a replacement using the lifetime warranty.

I never thought of Fiskars as a higher end brand, but they now have my respect.

I did some more catalog and internet looking... Turns out that Olpea's "Favorite" shovel from the pic is probably a "#00 Irrigation shovel"... Those have a fairly small head - like 7.5 x 9" or something along those lines...

Those make the "standard" #2 shovel with it's 9.5" x 12" head look like some sort of behemoth...

I can see where it would be an advantage when digging in rocks and hard/heavy soil - where a big, wide shovel is hard to push into the dirt (not to mention that much heavier).. And the shorter head means that you can lever that much harder on rocks before you break something...

Anyway - I was inspired and ordered one... It's a Jackson Pony #00 forged irrigation shovel...

I am feeling optimistic about it.

Thanks

I've had that Fiskars splitting ax for 15 years, at least. I split about 8 cords of wood with it every year and its still going strong. Much, much better than the standard splitting ax.

The King of Spades is lousy for removing soil from a hole but great for lifting roots and rocks. I don't even use it in heavy clays for regular digging of planting holes where a pick ax and standard shovel are usually my weapons of choice.

I would much rather break an occasional shovel than having to dig with a 6 pound one as a professional tool. Long days that attach to long weeks and I'm already tired enough when I get home. Therefore, although I respect the company, I'll not be purchasing the Fiskars all-steel shovel.

I too just use a mattock/pick axe. Faster and easier for me to just take a few swings with that than trying to kill my back with a shovel.

"Anyway - I was inspired and ordered one... It's a Jackson Pony #00 forged irrigation shovel..."

John,

I hope you like yours as much as I like mine.

Monday I planted 70 trees with it. These trees arrived a week late when I didn't have any help to plant. Here in the Midwest we were to get a deluge of rain starting Monday. The trees were budding when they arrived Monday at noon, so I had to get them in the ground (the weather wasn't supposed to get any better - for days). I donned my rain coat and started planting.

The whole thing was a muddy mess and I was covered head to toe. Mud was sticking to my boots and shovel like glue. I think my body would have given out using a regular sized shovel with the heavy mud. Even my small headed one was plenty heavy with the mud stuck to it.

Wow - 70 trees in 1 day....

My wife thought I was totally nuts and I only put in 10 so far this year.... I think the Pecan trees are the hardest because the root system goes straight down....

Of course - the part that really wore me out was cutting down another round of dead/dying trees left over from the construction of the house.... Most of them were smaller Sourwoods and a dead dogwood - they weren't too big, but plenty of clean up... There was a hickory that was in a place where it wanted to hit my house or the neighbor's house... Ended up having to hook it up to the winch to verify it would only go in 1 direction when it fell over.... and then there's always a whole lot of cleanup from this sort of thing...

I still have 3 more trees to cut down this year - and the shortest one is 40' tall... and then get a couple dump trucks full of mulch...

Thanks

I'm surprised there aren't more comments in favor of a potato fork. Hman, you inspired me to use one this week when I moved seven apple trees from garden to orchard. They were maybe 1.5" caliper and were budded two years ago. You convinced me to try to keep roots as long as possible, so I took extra time to try to follow the roots instead of cutting them off with a shovel. Not much you can do when the roots go straight down. Hard to know if the extra effort paid off. I just kept going around the tree, going deeper each time, then following the roots out when I could.

"Wow - 70 trees in 1 day...."

Yeah it was a lot for me. It helped that I had all the spots flagged/marked before hand. Also the soil was loose from being pushed up in terraces late last summer (but the loose soil/mud did stick to things more).

I admit I wasn't out for digging the best holes either. It was pretty much dig a hole, prune the roots to fit it and shove the tree in.

Potato fork, I don't think I called it that, but that is also a tool essential for me when bare root transplanting. I think the heavy tined ones are called something else but the name escapes me- maybe refuse fork. The fork allows you to pull away dirt without destroying the large roots if done carefully. The spade frees up the lower roots or is used to loosen the soil before the fork is used. You drive the blade parallel to the direction of the roots.

I broke a fork last year trying to get a tree out of a hole... After that, I gave up on the idea of "Digging"
with forks... Just too many rocks around here....

My usual practice is to slam the spade/shovel into the ground...
Watch for any fires that were started by the sparks...
Pry out the 1st rock..
See if the hole is big enough for the plant
Pry out a couple more rocks.. Check if the hole is big enough yet....
Lather, rinse, repeat

I was digging yesterday evening - and it was getting dark... Oooohhh.. Look at all those sparks, and the nice pile of baseball sized rocks.... (I got most of the big ones in the last 2 years...)

I did admire the dirt that came out, though... The 3 years of trying to improve soil health are paying off - the dirt was much darker and richer.. Actually quite a bit easier to dig than when I first moved in... which was like trying to stick a shovel into the middle of a cement driveway....

The soil was so bad that not even WEEDS would grow when I moved in... Literally - it was just bare dirt that stayed bare.... Now .... weeds will grow...

Thanks