Spear & JacksonSteel Tubular Shovel for Landscaping, Gardening, Contractor, DIY, Trenching, Outdoor Tasks

Great Spade this. Very tough and a decent weight although maybe a little heavy for some.

When the wife brings me out a cup of tea to the garden, she usually gives me earache if there are no visible signs of productivity. I've had this shovel for 2 months now and it's helped me out no end. I use it to lean on whilst listening to the wife moaning, but it has also reduced the amount of moaning because I've been able to quickly dig a lot of holes with it. As soon as she goes back indoors I lie back down in my hammock, set my alarm for another 20 minutes, have a snooze and then get busy for 10 minutes before my next cup of tea arrives. That way I usually have a sweat on when she comes down the garden and there'll be a new hole.I must admit that I got caught out last weekend. The wife enquired as to the purpose of the holes. Well, I had to lean on the shovel for a while after I explained they were practice holes. Then I got back to business and dug some holes to move some trees and shrubs in to and dug out the aforementioned plants.The construction is superb; it can really smash through some tough earth/rocks. The coating on the blade has withstood everything so far; but I expect it will deteriorate eventually. The metal shaft has already coped with the same punishment (and more) as the spade (from Wyevale's Vintage range - expensive and only for 'hobby' gardeners) this replaced. The wooden handle is comfortable and seems pretty tough and it is the right size for me (5'10"). I don't find it heavy.I would recommend this to anyone who needs to dig things. If you're shifting earth/sand you would probably benefit from a square shaped shovel (which will hold more); the round blade on this allows you to get into hard soil and shift in bigger quantities than you would with a spade.

This is heavy and durable and definitely will do what you need it to do, but I struggle to use it due to how heavy it is

I bought this because i found it difficult doing anything with a flat headed spade.It is surprisingly light, durable and easy to use, sliced straight through the ground and the shape made it easy to dig a straight border around my garden.Even my brother was impressed when he threw it and it stuck in the ground everytime, must be a guy test to see if it's a solid spade... Either way it passed with flying colours 😁Highly recommend, never been so excited about gardening.

UPDATE: I bought it for digging holes and it's not ideal for that as stated in my initial review BUT I have found it excellent for digging out rubble and aggregates. It won't break and it is a bit cumbersome to use.FOR HOLE DIGGING: The soil was wet and it stuck to the rather thick blade. The blade is also at quite a high angle to the shaft, making it not ideal for digging straight-edged holes. I won't be sending it back but I consider it as "not one of my better buys (for digging holes)".

I took my time looking for a decent hard wearing shovel that would last even when digging regularly into the hard compacted earth. I honestly do not think I could have chosen better for the price that I paid for this great steel round Spear and Jackson shovel that has already served me well and made digging so much easier on my back, feet, and legs. It's not a tool I will be lending to my gardening friends but will certainly recommend they by their own.

Works

It is a solid well made shovel and is very heavy. Does the job though. I am sure it is going to last many years of happy shovelling.