OldTools Archive

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262411 Dan Indrigo <dindrigo@r...> 2017‑06‑05 Re: Shovel vs spade and internet plagiarism
On 2017-06-05 2:31 PM, Don Schwartz wrote:
> On 2017-06-05 11:10 AM, Michael Blair wrote:
>> http://www.sowanddipity.com/a-shovel-and-a-spade/
>>
>> The Oxford English Dictionary concurs.  For serious evidence though look
>> at the logo for Germany's Spaten brand beer. :-)
>>
>> Mike in Woodland
>
> My reading of the OED online is that shovels are for shoving or 
> shifting materials ( snow for example) , whereas spades are for 
> digging. In other words, the name is reflects the function rather than 
> the shape or the handle. This is generally the way ww tools are named 
> too - think rip saw, mortise chisel, tack hammer etc.
>
> IME, good shovels are rectangular in shape, though a round-ended or 
> pointy spoon-like spade can serve for shifting almost as well. When it 
> comes to digging, I want a pointy spade to dig a hole, but a 
> square-edged one to turn a garden bed.
>
That depends on what it is you are shovelling. If for example you're 
shovelling wet concrete with aggregate any bigger than pea gravel out of 
a wheelbarrow, then you want a rounded or pointy ended shovel. A square 
bladed shovel with high sides would in theory move more material, but it 
would be hard to get it deep into the concrete, and if you did you'd 
have trouble lifting it.

Recent Bios FAQ