Types of Shovels and What Each One Is Used For

The main types of shovels include round-point digging shovels, square-point transfer shovels, scoop shovels, trenching shovels, drain spades, garden spades, border spades, edging spades, post-hole diggers, snow shovels, root shovels, folding shovels, and hand trowels. The right choice depends on whether you need to dig into soil, slice a clean edge, trench, transplant, scoop loose material, or move snow.

The easiest way to choose is to look at the blade. Pointed blades dig into soil. Square blades move loose material. Narrow blades work in trenches and tight holes. Flat spades slice edges and roots. Wide scoops carry light bulky materials like mulch, compost, grain, leaves, or snow.

If you are comparing shovels with spades, start with HerbVity’s shovel vs spade guide. This article goes deeper into the shovel types you are most likely to see in a shed, garden center, or tool aisle.

Quick Answer: Main Types of Shovels

Here are the most common shovel types and what each one is best for:

• Round-point digging shovel: general digging, planting holes, turning soil, and breaking into ordinary garden soil.
• Square-point transfer shovel: moving loose soil, compost, mulch, gravel, and debris from one place to another.
• Scoop shovel: moving lightweight bulky material such as mulch, compost, leaves, grain, or snow.
• Trenching shovel: digging and cleaning narrow trenches for irrigation, edging, drainage, or cable lines.
• Drain spade: deep narrow holes, transplanting, tight-space digging, and working around established plants.
• Garden spade: slicing sod, edging beds, cutting roots, transplanting, and clean-sided holes.
• Border spade: lighter, smaller spade for tight garden beds and smaller gardeners.
• Edging spade: crisp lawn and bed edges.
• Post-hole digger: narrow vertical holes for posts, supports, and some planting jobs.
• Snow shovel: pushing, lifting, or clearing snow.
• Root shovel: cutting roots, tough soil, and overgrown clumps.
• Folding shovel: camping, emergency use, and light-duty digging.
• Hand trowel: containers, seedlings, bulbs, and close-up planting work.

Types of Shovels at a Glance

Shovel vs Spade: Why the Names Get Confusing

People often use “shovel” for almost every long-handled digging tool, but shovel and spade are not exactly the same. A shovel is usually better for digging and moving loose material. A spade is usually better for straight-sided holes, slicing sod, edging beds, and controlled cuts.

The confusion is normal because tool names vary by region, manufacturer, and garden center. A square shovel can look like a spade. A drain spade can be sold as a transplanting shovel. A trenching shovel may be called a trenching spade. Instead of relying only on the label, look at blade shape, blade angle, handle length, and the job.

For a full comparison, see HerbVity’s shovel vs spade guide.

Round-Point Digging Shovel

A round-point digging shovel is the classic garden shovel. It has a curved blade with a pointed tip. The point helps the blade enter soil, while the curved scoop helps lift soil out of a hole.

Use a round-point shovel for general digging, planting shrubs, loosening ordinary soil, turning compost into a bed, and digging holes that do not need perfectly straight sides. It is one of the most useful first shovels for a general garden shed.

• Best for: general digging, planting holes, turning soil, small excavation jobs.
• Blade clue: pointed tip with a rounded, scooped body.
• Choose if: you want one basic shovel for ordinary garden digging.
• Avoid if: you mostly move mulch, gravel, compost, or snow.

Square-Point Transfer Shovel

A square-point shovel, also called a transfer shovel, has a flat front edge and a slightly scooped blade. It is designed to move loose material, not break into hard ground.

Use a square shovel for moving loose soil, compost, mulch, gravel, sand, manure, and garden debris. It is also useful for scraping flat surfaces, cleaning up piles, spreading materials, and leveling loose material in a wheelbarrow or bed.

• Best for: moving loose materials, scraping, spreading, leveling.
• Blade clue: flat square front edge.
• Choose if: you often move mulch, compost, gravel, or soil piles.
• Avoid if: you need to cut into compacted soil or roots.

Scoop Shovel

A scoop shovel has a wide, deep blade made to carry more volume. It may be plastic, aluminum, or metal, depending on whether it is designed for snow, grain, mulch, compost, or other lightweight material.

Use a scoop shovel when volume matters more than cutting power. It is good for mulch, leaves, compost, grain, dry potting mix, and light snow. The large blade can become too heavy if you fill it with wet soil, gravel, or soaked snow, so match the load to your strength.

• Best for: light bulky materials.
• Blade clue: wide, deep scoop.
• Choose if: you move mulch, compost, leaves, grain, or snow often.
• Avoid if: you need to dig holes or cut roots.

Trenching Shovel

A trenching shovel has a long, narrow blade made for digging and cleaning narrow trenches. Some have a pointed tip. Others have a V-shaped or squared shape for cleaning trench bottoms.

Use a trenching shovel for irrigation lines, low-voltage cable trenches, drainage lines, edging channels, and narrow planting trenches. It removes less soil than a wide shovel, which helps keep trenches neat.

• Best for: narrow trenches and clean trench bottoms.
• Blade clue: long narrow blade.
• Choose if: you install irrigation, drainage, edging, or small utility lines.
• Avoid if: you need a wide hole or high-volume scooping.

Drain Spade

A drain spade has a narrow blade, often rounded or slightly pointed. It is useful for tight spaces where a full-width shovel would disturb too much soil.

Use a drain spade for transplanting, digging deep narrow holes, working between established plants, planting small shrubs, and cleaning around utility trenches. It is also useful when you need a precise hole but not a full spade-width cut.

• Best for: transplanting, tight spaces, deep narrow holes.
• Blade clue: narrow rounded or slightly pointed blade.
• Choose if: you often work in crowded beds.
• Avoid if: you need to move large amounts of loose soil.

Garden Spade

A garden spade is technically a spade, not a shovel, but it belongs in this guide because many gardeners search for it under shovel types. It has a flat, sharp, usually rectangular blade that slices downward with control.

Use a garden spade for edging beds, cutting sod, slicing roots, transplanting perennials, dividing clumps, and making clean-sided planting holes. It is less useful for scooping loose mulch or gravel because the blade is usually flatter and holds less material.

• Best for: edging, slicing, transplanting, dividing, clean cuts.
• Blade clue: flat sharp rectangular blade.
• Choose if: you want precision in beds and borders.
• Avoid if: you mainly move loose material.

Border Spade

A border spade is a smaller, lighter version of a garden spade. It is useful in tighter beds, raised beds, small borders, and for gardeners who find a full-size spade too heavy or awkward.

Use a border spade for planting perennials, dividing smaller clumps, edging narrow beds, and working in tight spaces. It will not move as much soil as a full-size shovel or spade, but it gives better control.

• Best for: smaller beds, tight borders, lighter controlled digging.
• Blade clue: smaller flat spade blade.
• Choose if: a full-size spade feels too large.
• Avoid if: you need leverage for large holes or heavy clay.

Edging Spade

An edging spade is made for clean borders. It may have a half-moon blade or a straight flat blade designed to cut a crisp line between lawn and garden bed.

Use an edging spade for lawn edges, path edges, bed outlines, and redefining borders. It is not designed to carry soil. It is a cutting tool, not a scooping tool.

• Best for: crisp edges and clean borders.
• Blade clue: half-moon or flat edging blade.
• Choose if: you maintain beds, borders, or lawn edges.
• Avoid if: you need to dig holes or move material.

Post-Hole Digger

A post-hole digger is shovel-adjacent rather than a standard shovel. It usually has two long handles and two clamshell-style blades that remove soil from a narrow vertical hole. Some post-hole tools are auger-style instead.

Use a post-hole digger for fence posts, trellis posts, deck supports, signposts, and some narrow planting holes. It is not the best choice for wide planting holes where roots need room to spread.

• Best for: deep narrow vertical holes.
• Blade clue: two clamshell blades or auger shape.
• Choose if: you set posts or supports.
• Avoid if: you need a wide planting hole with loosened backfill.

Snow Shovel

A snow shovel is designed for snow, not soil. It usually has a wide lightweight blade and may be designed either for pushing snow or lifting smaller loads.

Use a snow shovel for sidewalks, driveways, steps, decks, and light snow cleanup. For wet heavy snow, use smaller loads and avoid twisting. Push snow where possible instead of lifting every load.

• Best for: clearing snow.
• Blade clue: wide lightweight blade, often plastic or aluminum.
• Choose if: you need to push or lift snow safely.
• Avoid if: you need to dig soil, gravel, clay, or roots.

Root Shovel or Serrated Shovel

A root shovel has a pointed or serrated blade designed to cut through small roots, tough clumps, and fibrous root masses. Some look like narrow pointed shovels. Others have saw-like edges.

Use a root shovel for dividing ornamental grasses, removing overgrown perennials, cutting through small roots, and digging in rooty soil. It is not a replacement for a pruning saw or loppers when roots are large.

• Best for: rooty soil, tough clumps, and plant division.
• Blade clue: serrated or sharpened pointed blade.
• Choose if: ordinary shovels bounce off roots.
• Avoid if: you need to move mulch or protect delicate roots.

Folding Shovel or Entrenching Shovel

A folding shovel is a compact tool that folds for storage. It is useful for camping, emergency kits, vehicle kits, and occasional light-duty digging.

Use a folding shovel for small holes, camp cleanup, minor drainage adjustments, or emergency use. Do not expect it to replace a full-size garden shovel for regular bed preparation, tree planting, or heavy clay.

• Best for: compact storage, camping, emergency use.
• Blade clue: folding blade and short handle.
• Choose if: portability matters more than power.
• Avoid if: you need daily garden digging performance.

Hand Trowel or Hand Shovel

A hand trowel is not a full-size shovel, but it is the small digging tool most gardeners use every week. It has a short handle and a small pointed or scooped blade.

Use a trowel for containers, seedlings, small transplants, bulbs, annuals, small weeds, and filling gaps in potting mix. It is not designed for large holes or tough roots, but it is one of the most useful tools for close-up work.

• Best for: containers, seedlings, bulbs, small planting jobs.
• Blade clue: small hand-held blade.
• Choose if: you work with pots or small plants.
• Avoid if: you need to dig large holes or move bulk soil.

How to Choose the Right Shovel

Choose the shovel by the job, not by the tool name alone. If the job is cutting, choose a sharper, flatter, narrower, or serrated tool. If the job is moving loose material, choose a wider scooped tool. If the job is digging into soil, choose a pointed digging shovel or spade.

For cleanup and leveling tasks after digging, a rake may be more useful than another shovel. See HerbVity’s types of rakes guide for choosing the right rake for leaves, gravel, soil, thatch, and leveling.

Shovel Handle, Blade, and Ergonomic Tips

The right shovel type is only half the decision. Handle length, handle shape, blade width, blade weight, and tool balance affect comfort and safety.

• Long handles: better leverage and less bending for many digging jobs.
• Short D-handles: better control in tight spaces, trenches, and transfer work.
• Wider blades: move more material but require more strength.
• Narrower blades: remove less soil and are easier to control in tight spaces.
• Lighter tools: reduce fatigue, especially for repetitive work.
• Sharp blades: enter soil more easily and require less force.
• Padded gloves: improve grip and reduce hand discomfort.
• Auxiliary handles: may help some users reduce bending or improve leverage.

For continuous work, match the load to the tool. A big scoop can be efficient for dry mulch but exhausting when filled with wet soil. A smaller blade may be slower per scoop but safer and easier to control.

Shovel Care and Safety Tips

A clean, sharp shovel is easier to use and safer than a dull, rusty one. Virginia Tech Extension notes that shovel and spade tips should be kept sharp because dull blades do not penetrate soil easily, especially in compacted soils and heavy clay.

• Clean after use. Brush off soil, clay, compost, and moisture before storage.
• Dry before storing. Store shovels in a dry location to reduce rust and handle damage.
• Sharpen digging edges. A sharp edge reduces effort in soil and roots.
• Inspect handles. Replace cracked wood, loose grips, or damaged fiberglass.
• Use gloves. Gloves improve grip and help prevent blisters.
• Push rather than lift when possible. Especially with snow or loose material.
• Keep loads small. Wet soil, gravel, and snow become heavy quickly.
• Turn your feet instead of twisting your back. This matters when throwing soil, compost, or snow.
• Do not leave blades facing upward. Store or lay tools so people do not step on sharp or raised edges.

If you maintain sharp tools regularly, see HerbVity’s best gardening tool sharpeners guide.

Related HerbVity Guides

• Shovel vs Spade
• Types of Rakes
• Best Gardening Tool Sharpeners

Sources and Further Reading

• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: Shovelling
• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: Shovelling Snow
• Virginia Tech Extension: Hand Tool Care and Safe Use
• Oregon State University Extension: Improving Garden Soils with Organic Matter
• Oregon State University Extension: Collecting Soil Samples for Farms and Gardens
• University of Missouri Extension: Consider Ergonomics When Buying Garden Tools
• South Dakota State University Extension: Ergonomic Tools in the Garden
• Oregon State University Extension: Educator’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening
• Penn State Extension: Healthy Tips to Garden with Fewer Aches and Pains

FAQs About Types of Shovels