spade or shovel

[mickmck 716]

i got a cracking little spade from tool station ideal for when im out ferreting , only paid £4 for it ,was about 2 foot long had it a while then me mate bust it on sunday so gonna have to get another !!

[auld salmon 28]

anyone use a bullnose shovel

i use one cant fault it got it of here last year think it was around £25 but as the old saying goes you only get what you pay for

[Hob&Jill 258]

The bulldogs are great. I managed to snap the shaft off mine trying to bash concrete off (long story lol) Have put a new shaft on it thats got a D handle and is much longer than the original T handle. I like the spade even more now with the new shaft, much easier if you have to dig a little deeper.

[ellir0305 9]

senator classic border spade, light, strong great to dig with and has a life time guarantee all for £20, used one a few times and its what im getting for definate.

[longdog13 36]

senator classic border spade, light, strong great to dig with and has a life time guarantee all for £20, used one a few times and its what im getting for definate.

 

£15.95

http://www.theonlinegardener.co.uk/product.asp?prod=1003382&np=c

[lamperman 12]

never use any spade with a wooden shaft my self

 

iv always made my own with metal shafts cold in winter but if a wooden one breaks on the hills your nackerd

 

just my apinion all the best lads

[Brimmer 220]

Had one of the lads off here pm'd me lately about a spade and what to get. Must think i know something about digging!

 

I'll try to shorten things, it gets almost geeky and boring!

 

 

The one on the left is a bulldog rabbiting spade, good for the shallow stuff, useless for the deep stuff as the angle on the head is to shallow to lift out the loose, plus the T handle makes digging in cold weather hard. (A D handle you can hoop your frozen mitt in and lift.)

 

 

(I tweaked the angle of the head on mine, it lifts out loose now.)

 

In the middle now is my current chop S&J. The angle of the head needed tweaking on this to give it the right angle, and the stihl saw made it the right shape.

Yes the ash handle will break in time, but until then, i'll work with it.

 

 

On the right is my old Bulldog roundmouth. Been re-shafted 3 times i think in the last 15 years ending in me welding this steel shaft in place. To be honest, it has been the perfect blade after i cut it down, but with a lot of work, and digging out thousands of rabbits, (no joke on the thousands) the blade has now got super thin, and is too small. (more like a teaspoon!)

 

You can only really take one spade with you when seriously rabbiting. The middle one now fits the bill for most situations through experience for me, it will dig fast, and deep and is very light.

 

This is my opinion, you need a D handle, t handle's are good for shallow stuff, not the deep stuff.

The head needs to be rounded or shaped like a roundmouth or diamond. (It will bump past roots and stones on its way in, a flat blade will stop.)

A fiberglass or steel shaft makes the tool timeless or weatherproof one. In time mine will be!

 

If you have a decent spade digging is easy for anybody. To try and dig with some of the spades I see on here in the photo's looks like a nightmare. No wonder some shy away from it!

 

Happy new year guys, hope this helps one or two folks!

[longdog13 36]

Nice one Brimmer, Some good information there fella

[Gripper 1]

what i dont understand is.... what made people take pics of there spades

[longdog13 36]

what i dont understand is.... what made people take pics of there spades

 

I blame DS088

[dso88 15]

lol thanks longdog ive got a nice pointed shovel now from b&q

[chrisnick 1]

just bought one of these off out tomorrow hopefully i wont have to try it but if i do ill let you know

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Roughneck-spade-ideal-for-ferreting-lamping-Hunting_W0QQitemZ250553283602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET?hash=item3a5623b412

Edited January 2, 2010 by chrisnick

[snipercp 0]

just bought one of these off out tomorrow hopefully i wont have to try it but if i do ill let you know

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Roughneck-spade-ideal-for-ferreting-lamping-Hunting_W0QQitemZ250553283602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET?hash=item3a5623b412

 

 

i bought one of them for less than a tenner there good spades when your under hedgerows but not great when your digging deep holes

 

All the best connor

[masmiffy 82]

Shovels aint designed for 'digging'

Great for clearing out lose material but a bas##rd to get through hard ground!

I have a vintage draining tool which has done me proud for over 20 years!

I would get another of the same type but cut the blade down in length.

My ferreting partner has a short bulldog spade which is ok but sometimes you need a bit more!

[masmiffy 82]

just bought one of these off out tomorrow hopefully i wont have to try it but if i do ill let you know

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Roughneck-spade-ideal-for-ferreting-lamping-Hunting_W0QQitemZ250553283602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportingGoods_Hunting_ShootingSports_ET?hash=item3a5623b412

 

 

i bought one of them for less than a tenner there good spades when your under hedgerows but not great when your digging deep holes

 

All the best connor

 

Thats the one me mates got its ok but if you deep, and hope you aint, it can be a bit 'awkward'!

Nice and light tho and a good tool!