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Guide · Digging and hauling · Shovels, scoops, spades, mattocks and axes

Spade or shovel, square or round, scoop or coal shovel: which one do you use? The three types of shovels, what each blade is for, shank and drainage shovels, handle lengths, steel vs poly scoops, sharpening, and shovels for mulch, gravel and debris

A shovel has a dished blade set at an angle to the handle for lifting and throwing loose material; a spade has a flatter, straighter blade in line with the handle for cutting into ground. The three types most lists name are the round-point shovel (digging and moving dirt), the square-point shovel (scraping, lifting loose material off a flat surface, squaring a trench) and the scoop (a deep, wide blade for snow, grain, gravel, mulch and debris). Coal shovels are square scoops with a short D-handle; Eastern scoops are a smaller square scoop; tear-off spades are a flat, serrated or smooth spade with a fulcrum for stripping shingles. Steel scoops take abuse and weigh more; aluminum scoops are lighter and are for light material; poly scoops are for snow and feed.

Bayshore Safety. Industrial safety, roofing tools and jobsite supplies since 2017. · Current as of November 2026 · the C&R shovel product data on this site (#10 steel scoops and #12 aluminum scoop with wood, steel and fiberglass D-handles; #2 Eastern scoop; square coal shovels in three handles and a long-handle version; square shovels with long and D-handles; long-handle smooth spade; #3 tear-off spades; 5 lb pick mattocks and cutter mattock head; 3-1/2 lb single and double bit axes); the shovel trade’s blade-size numbering (#2 the standard digging blade, #10 and #12 scoop sizes) as printed on the blades
Shovels, scoops, mattocks and axes we stockAll roofing tools
C&R 10SS-FiberScoop #10 Steel Scoop Shovel, 3 versionsC&R 10SS-FiberScoop #10 Steel Scoop Shovel, 3 versionsThe product data lists the #10 steel scoop with a PolyCore fiberglass D-handle, an all-steel D-handle or a wood D-handle
$48.18See the product

Reading a shovel. The blade is sized by a number (#2 is the standard digging blade, about 9-1/2 by 11-1/2 inches; #10 and #12 are scoop sizes, bigger as the number rises), shaped round-point, square-point or scoop, with a lift (the angle between blade and handle) that is high for throwing and low for digging; the handle is a 48 inch long handle for leverage and reach or a 27 to 30 inch D-handle for working close and in trucks and trailers; the material is wood (ash), fiberglass or steel. A roofing crew owns a square-point shovel for the ground, a scoop for the debris trailer, a tear-off spade for the roof and a mattock for the odd stump and trench. The cards below answer the shovel questions as they are asked.

Shovels, question by question

Blade sizes and handle options are from the product data on this site; the shovel-vs-spade distinction and the blade numbering are the trade’s.

What are the three types of shovels, and what is each used for?Round-point (the garden or digging shovel): a pointed, dished blade that enters soil, for digging, planting and moving dirt and gravel. Square-point (the flat shovel or transfer shovel): a straight-edged blade for scraping a slab, squaring the bottom of a trench, lifting loose material off concrete, spreading gravel and mixing. Scoop (snow, grain, aluminum or steel scoop): a wide, deep, high-sided blade that carries the most volume per lift of anything light or loose: snow, mulch, sawdust, tear-off debris, gravel. Beyond the three: spades (digging, edging, transplanting, tear-off), trenching and drain spades, coal shovels, post-hole and sharpshooter spades.
What is considered a spade shovel, what is the purpose of a spade, and is a spade or shovel better for digging?A spade is flat-bladed with the blade nearly in line with the handle, squared or slightly rounded at the edge, built for cutting straight down: edging, slicing sod, squaring a hole, transplanting with a root ball, and, in roofing, the tear-off spade that slides under shingles. A "spade shovel" is the trade’s name for a round-point digging shovel with a spade-like flat blade, and the terms are mixed freely. For breaking ground, a round-point shovel enters hard soil more easily; for a clean straight-sided hole, a spade; for moving the spoil, the shovel. Five uses for a spade: edging a bed, cutting sod, transplanting shrubs, squaring a trench and stripping a roof.
What is a coal shovel, a scoop shovel, and a square shovel for?A coal shovel is a square-point scoop with high sides and a short D-handle, built to shovel coal out of a bin and now used for gravel, sand, mulch, snow and debris out of a truck bed or trailer (our 7013 series and 713-LH long handle). A scoop shovel (#10, #12 and up) is the bigger, deeper aluminum or steel scoop for snow, grain, mulch and tear-off debris; the aluminum scoop is light and the steel one takes gravel and shingles. A square shovel (square-point transfer shovel) is flatter than either and is for scraping and lifting off a hard surface.
What is a shank shovel, a drainage shovel and a Cornish shovel?Shank refers to the socket where the blade meets the handle: a closed-back (solid shank) shovel has a steel shank welded or forged the full length of the socket for strength; an open-back has a rolled socket and is lighter. A drainage or trenching shovel is a narrow (4 to 6 inch), long, round-point blade on a long handle for cleaning a trench bottom and laying drain pipe. A Cornish shovel is the British long-handled, heart-shaped shovel used in mining and still sold in the UK; the US equivalent is a long-handle round point.
What type of shovel for mulch, gravel and digging, and what is a small plant shovel called?Mulch, bark and sawdust: an aluminum or steel scoop (#10 or #12), which moves the most per lift of light material; a pitchfork (our CR911F and CRSH911) moves stringy mulch and shingle debris faster than any shovel. Gravel and sand: a steel scoop or square-point shovel; aluminum scoops dent on rock. Digging: a round-point #2 shovel in soft ground, a spade or mattock in hard. Root cutting: a cutter mattock or a sharpened round point. The small hand shovel for planting is a trowel (the garden kind, not the mason’s trowel in the trowel guide).
Is it better to get a steel or poly scoop, and aluminum vs steel?Steel is the heaviest and the only one for rock, shingles, wet gravel and prying; it rusts if left wet. Aluminum is half the weight, does not rust and is for mulch, grain, snow and sawdust; a shingle edge or a rock dents and tears it. Poly (plastic) scoops are the lightest, for snow and feed only, and crack in cold against anything hard. For a roofing debris trailer: steel scoop or square shovel; for a snow lot, poly or aluminum.
What is the average length of a shovel handle, and D-handle or long handle?Long handles are 44 to 48 inches (our tear-off spade data lists about 44 inches overall for the long-handle version); D-handles are 27 to 30 inches. A long handle gives leverage for digging and reach for throwing; a D-handle works in a trailer, a truck bed, a trench or on a roof, where the long handle hits things. Wood (ash) handles absorb shock and break; fiberglass with a poly core is lighter and does not rot; all-steel handles are the heaviest and never break. On a tear-off spade the fulcrum (a bent steel bar on the back of the blade) is what lets the handle pry up a course of shingles with little effort.
How do I sharpen a shovel?Clamp the blade, and with a 10 inch mill file or a flap disc on a grinder put a 45 degree bevel on the top (dished) side of the leading edge, working from the center out to each corner, 1/8 to 3/16 inch wide; leave the underside flat. A sharp round point enters sod and roots; a sharp square point scrapes a slab clean. Knock the burr off the back with one pass of the file. Oil the blade before storing it.
How much is a good shovel, and where do you buy wheelbarrow and shovel parts?A contractor-grade steel shovel with a fiberglass or ash handle costs several times a light-duty homeowner shovel and lasts for years of daily use; the product band below has the current prices for each blade and handle. Replacement handles are sold by the socket size and are what we list for the mattocks and the tear-off spades; the wheelbarrow guide linked below covers trays, wheels and tires.
What is a cutter mattock used for, what is another name for a mattock, and how does it differ from a pickaxe?A mattock is a heavy head on a 36 inch handle with a broad adze blade on one side for grubbing roots, chopping hard ground and pulling a trench; a cutter mattock has an axe blade on the other side for cutting roots, a pick mattock has a point for breaking rock and hardpan. Other names: grub hoe, grubbing mattock, grub axe. A pickaxe (pick) has two points, or a point and a chisel, and no adze; it breaks, it does not dig. Our 5 lb heads come as pick mattock and cutter mattock, with wood or fiberglass handles sold separately. At what age should a person stop shoveling? That is a medical question; the lifting guide linked below covers what NIOSH says about load and posture.
Do farmers still use pitchforks, and what are the types?Yes: a pitch fork (three or four long tines) moves hay and straw, and on a roof the same fork lifts torn-off shingles and felt into a dumpster faster than a shovel because the debris does not slide off the tines. Manure and bedding forks have five or more closer tines; a spading fork has four flat tines for turning soil; a scoop fork has ten or more tines for mulch and silage. Our CR911F has a D-handle and the CRSH911 an all-steel T-handle.

Shovels in plain words

  • Shovel: dished blade at an angle, for lifting and throwing. Spade: flat blade in line with the handle, for cutting down.
  • Three types: round-point (dig), square-point (scrape and lift off a hard surface), scoop (volume of loose material).
  • Coal shovel = square scoop with a D-handle. #10 and #12 scoops are the big snow, mulch and debris shovels.
  • Steel for rock, shingles and gravel; aluminum for mulch and snow; poly for snow and feed only.
  • Long handle (48 in) for leverage and throwing; D-handle (27–30 in) for trailers, trenches and roofs.
  • A tear-off spade is a flat spade with a fulcrum for prying shingles; a pitchfork moves the debris.
  • Sharpen the top side of the edge at 45 degrees with a file; leave the back flat.
  • Mattock digs and grubs; pick breaks; cutter mattock adds an axe blade for roots.

Questions people ask

What is considered a spade shovel?

A digging shovel with a flat, spade-like blade; the trade mixes the terms. A true spade has its blade in line with the handle for cutting straight down.

What are the three types of shovels?

Round-point for digging, square-point for scraping and lifting off hard surfaces, and scoop for volume of loose material.

What type of shovel is used for digging?

A round-point #2 shovel in soft ground; a spade or mattock in hard ground or roots.

What type of shovel is for mulch?

An aluminum or steel scoop, or a pitchfork for stringy bark and shingle debris.

What is a coal shovel?

A square-point scoop with high sides and a short D-handle, now used for gravel, sand, mulch and debris out of trucks and trailers.

What is a shank shovel?

A shovel with a solid steel shank running the length of the socket (closed back) for strength.

What is a drainage shovel?

A narrow 4 to 6 inch long-bladed round-point on a long handle for cleaning trench bottoms and laying drain pipe.

What is a Cornish shovel?

The British long-handled heart-shaped mining shovel; the US equivalent is a long-handle round point.

Is a spade or shovel better for digging?

A round-point shovel enters hard ground more easily; a spade cuts a clean straight-sided hole; use the shovel to move the spoil.

What is a small plant shovel called?

A garden trowel.

How do I sharpen a shovel?

File a 45 degree bevel on the top side of the edge from the center out, leave the back flat and knock off the burr.

What is the average length of a shovel handle?

44 to 48 inches for a long handle; 27 to 30 inches for a D-handle.

Is it better to get a steel or poly scoop?

Steel for anything hard or sharp (gravel, shingles); poly only for snow and feed.

What are square shovels for?

Scraping slabs, squaring trenches, lifting loose material off a flat surface and spreading gravel.

What do you call a pointy shovel?

A round-point or digging shovel.

What is a cutter mattock used for?

Grubbing roots and hard ground with the adze side and cutting roots with the axe side.

What is another name for a mattock?

Grub hoe, grubbing mattock or grub axe.

What are the differences between a pickaxe and a mattock?

A pick has points for breaking rock; a mattock has an adze blade for digging and grubbing, plus a pick or axe on the other side.

Do farmers still use pitchforks?

Yes, for hay and bedding; roofers use the same fork to load tear-off debris.

Is it better to have a heavier or lighter axe?

A 3-1/2 lb head on a 36 inch handle is the standard felling and splitting weight; lighter heads for limbing, heavier mauls for splitting rounds.

Related guides

Roof tear-off toolsShingle shovels, spud bars and how long it takesWheelbarrows, tires and utility trailersSteel vs poly, tire sizes and the 60/40 rulePush brooms, handles and extension polesBristles, braces and telescoping polesBack supports and lifting beltsWhat NIOSH saysWork gloves for roofingGloves by job: roofing

The ratings, test results and standards shown here are the manufacturers' published values, reproduced as published. Nothing on this page is a recommendation by Bayshore Safety that any product is suitable for a particular task, hazard or workplace. Selecting safety products and protective equipment is the responsibility of the end user and the employer, based on their own hazard assessment and the regulations that apply to their work. Confirm every value on the manufacturer's own documentation before use.

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