which is best materials for a spade

[happyhero]

Hi I want to buy a few garden spades tools for the garden etc, I am fairly big and garden is tough so don't really want no weak DIY stuff. First thing I want to buy is a drain spade to dig post holes etc. I know in the past I have found all sorts in the ground broken bricks etc. I have about 6inches of hard soil then clay and then chalk.

What I would like to know is what should the spade I buy be made of for best strength and quality, I have seen fibreglass which I thought was a cheap until I saw some expensive ones in fibreglass, so that confused me, then I have seen some with a sort of steel handle and some that are forged and although I have not seen a drain spade in it yet, I suspect you could probably get it with a wooden handle?

So which will be best please?

Any help appreciated.

 

[Terrywookfit]

I have a similar problem and have found a mini excavator with a post hole borer to be ideal

 

[JohnD]

I'm moving over to Stainless garden tools now. When I first bought a stainless digging fork it was very expensive, but they have been coming down in price and they are even sold in supermarkets now very cheaply.

Wooden handles used to rot and break, the only time I've broken a near-new expensive ash spade handle was when I was putting unreasonable load on it at at tree root.

The fibreglass handles are now used on professional digging tools so if they can stand up to a beefy navvy they should stand up to anything. But they seem rather heavy. I prefer lightweight metal tube handles for light tools like hoes and rakes.

 

[breezer]

not sure if you should, but i sharpen my spade, makes life easier, but do note a spade is not a shovel which you dont sharpen

 

[Thermo]

best drain spade ive used is the one from wickes. ive had others that have simply bent or cracked before. its over two years old and will whack through anything. Got one of the long handled fibreglass ones and they feel too light for me, although my labourer prefers it.

Stainless steel are nice for general gardening work. As for forks, whatever you buy will bend or break so dont spend a fortune!