Talk:Spade

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What do spades have to do with black people? Bastie 21:37, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

"Black as the Ace of Spades" 203.143.238.107 05:25, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Google hits

[1] Sam Spade 22:49, 12 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I should have been clearer in my summary yesterday. It's not that the link to trowel was bad as in broken, but that I believe it was inapropriate in context.

While a trowel is also an implement for breaking up soil, a spade is not the same as a trowel. A gardening trowel is always a small hand-held tool (single hand). A spade is a larger tool that is designed to be used with both hands and to be pushed into the soil with the aid of a foot. This article is about spades, not trowels.

I would be okay with putting the link in a =See also= section, but it is inappropriate in the opening sentence. The way it is currently written leads the reader to believe that "spade" and "trowel" are synonymous.

As a side note, the link to trowel should be another sub-bullet under shovel. Rossami 21:10, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)

can the description of the spade also be downloaded?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.62.121.67 (talk) 22:34, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

Spade is not a shovel

The request to merge: Funny, I just came across this as I had used the expression "calling a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel" and here's a proposal to make them the same page. One is for digging, the other for shovelling/carrying soil. No points for guessing which one. Guess the art of digging stuff is becoming a lost skill if people are considering them the same thing. :) NathanLee 18:02, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Totally agree. A spade has a flat blade whereas a shovel has curved sides they are totally different! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.105.53.109 (talk) 17:05, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

That's really the only true difference. People get caught up on the shape of the point (flat vs pointy), but the real difference is whether or not the entire blade is curved or straight. Skiendog (talk) 16:26, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Wrong: This article should be edited to read: "A spade is a pointed shovel". All spades are pointed, period; at least in the United States. Some have folded edges for stepping on and assisting in digging; some have crossed handles (hence "spade grips" for guns.)Like the Ace of Spades, Hmm?Tintinteslacoil (talk) 14:07, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

Your point is US-specific. In the UK, a spade is not necessarily pointed, the most common have a square bottom: "garden spades". The difference in the UK is that a shovel has a head angled to the shaft to enable a scooping action to collect material to be picked up (e.g. coal, soil) and folded sides to increase the volume that can be picked up. A spade has a head in line with the shaft to allow the direct transference of energy from pushing down on the shaft, including stepping on the sides of the head (sometimes folded) to increase pressure on the blade end of the head. --137.108.145.40 (talk) 13:49, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

No merge - calling a spade a shovel, eh? --sony-youth^pléigh 08:14, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

I agree with not merging, the two terms are not identical. However, a spade is a type of shovel.--RLent (talk) 20:06, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I'm still confused about the difference between spade and shovel. Spade is for breaking ground, while the shovel is for transport it, right? Kind of the difference between weathering and erosion. But the pictures in both articles show tools with a flat edge, and I thought a v-shaped pointed edge was used for breaking ground. AThousandYoung (talk) 20:53, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Think of shovels as big spoons (like pitchforks are big forks). The purpose is to keep the dirt on the shovel. Spades are different: they usually have a flat, sharp edge and a flat, thicker back you can step on to cut deeper into the ground. Spades are designed to cut rather than to carry stuff. You can use either for both, but the performance won't be the same (like eating spaghetti without a fork). --88.153.33.63 (talk) 13:42, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

This debate strikes me odd as the picture on this article contains two implements neither one of which has a point or treading. I claim no knowledge as to whether the current text is accurate as to the difference, but the article certainly contradicts or is contradicted by the attached picture.Czrisher (talk) 19:24, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

We seem to have a US/UK split on the shape of a spade. The standard UK gardening spade has a solid metal head with a flat or slightly curved bottom edge, whereas those in the US appear to be generally pointed. The UK spade also tapers from a thick top edge (suitable for pressing with the foot) to a thinner, fairly sharp, bottom edge. Cheaper versions are usually thinner metal and hence the top edge is bent over to avoid cutting into the sole of the gardener's boot or shoe. The top of the UK handle terminates with a T (see illustration) or D shaped handle to assist with rotating the spade to turn over the soil when digging. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.24.70.90 (talk) 18:13, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps the description section should recognize this regional difference. Understanding the difference is quite helpful for those of us in North America who have a grandmother from England and are assisting with garden work. Also, here in Canada, aside from product labels and British people, I've never seen anyone worry about the distinction - we call them all shovels. And while a shovel (with the curved shape for carrying material) is designed for carrying material, it's also perfect for making round holes. 24.69.217.125 (talk) 01:30, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

"spud"

Is the word "spud", as shown and labeled at the lower left corner in the image, another name for a spade? -- œ^™ 04:22, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

what happened to WP:SPADE?

Why have we called a spade a gardening tool in this article when we're told specifically to call a spade a spade? For shame, Wikipedia, for shame. ^[Humor] DudeTheNinja ( speak to me | spy on me ) 10:44, 17 October 2018 (UTC)