Last Updated on April 4, 2024 by Real Men Sow

The 10 Best Garden Spades Reviewed 2022

The Best Garden Spades

Are there any other garden tools out there which are quite as iconic as the good old garden spade? Garden spades have many different purposes and will likely be one of the tools you’ll break out of the shed more often than any other. The best garden spade options have plenty of scope, are easy to use, and can really dig down deep.

However, depending on the type of gardening you want to do, you might have to start thinking carefully about what you actually need from a garden spade. Should you look for a carbon steel blade? What about a mirror polished stainless steel finish?

We’re not here to make things confusing! However, if you want a garden spade that’s going to make your life easier, and which is really going to stand the test of time, then you’re going to need to know what to look for and what to narrow down.

In this guide, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about shopping for garden spades. Not only that, but we’ve lined up the top perfoming Amazon picks for your garden shed.

In This Review

Fiskars Gardener’s Pointed Spade Best Spade for Hard & Stoney Soils

Getting down into those harder bits of ground means having to go for a digging spade that’s sharp enough and powerful enough to break through almost anything. Available on Amazon for a very reasonable price, this pointed spade with a dagger head will allow you to really pierce down into the tough stuff. It’s built in high quality steel and is extremely hard-wearing, making it a great all-around choice, too.

Features

Dimensions:117cm x 18cm x 13.5cm
Weight: 1.88kg
Fork Type: Digging / Garden

Spear & Jackson 4190NB Elements Digging Spade Best Value Digging Spade

As mentioned, Spear Jackson is one of our favorite brands, and this cheap digging spade is more than just a bargain bin essential. It’s fantastically reviewed and benefits from a solid forged carbon steel head, as well as epoxy coating. This means it’s going to stand tests of weather and rust where other stainless steel spade choices might fall down. It boasts a polypropylene handle, too, for added comfort.

Features

Dimensions:1025cm x 185cm x 90cm
Weight: 2kg
Fork Type: Digging / Gardening

Fiskars Xact Digging Spade Best Lightweight All-Round Digging Spade

A lightweight spade is always good if you’re unable to carry much, though you will also need a spade that’s perfect for digging with plenty of force. The fiberglass handle here is reinforced, and you benefit from a nice amount of length for maximum reach. The grip is nice and sturdy in the hand, and it’s got a seriously sharp blade and head, making it all the more useful for piercing down into tough stuff.

Features

Dimensions: 108cm x 19cm x 8.7cm
Weight: 1.87kg
Fork Type: Digging / Garden

Roamwild Multi-Digger Garden Spade Reinforced Fibreglass Light Weight Gardening Arrow Head Shovel

If you’re looking for spades which are a little more impressive for the money you pay, then you might do well looking into this fantastic multi-spade. It’s lightweight, it’s built with fiberglass for added durability and resistance, and it’s even got a root cutter in place to help you get down deep and to start pulling out nuisance bits and pieces. You’ll also benefit from a dual grip system and an arrow head that pierces down deep, too!

Features

Dimensions: 102cm x 19cm x 5cm
Weight: 850g
Fork Type: Digging / Multi-Tool

Spear and Jackson Select Stainless Digging Spade

Back to Spear and Jackson again, and this time around, we’ve lined up a great value stainless steel digging spade. A stainless steel digging blade means you benefit from a garden tool which is really easy to clean, as well as a tool that’s going to take plenty of what you have to throw at it. Boasting a polypropylene shaft as well as a rust resistant mirror polished stainless steel finish, the stainless steel head is ideal for turning soil. There’s little soil adhesion here, too.

Features

Dimensions: 102cm x 18cm x 7cm
Weight: 2.18kg
Fork Type: Digging / Garden

Wilkinson Sword Unknown Stainless Steel Digging Spade

Did you know Wilkinson Sword make spades as well as blades? Now you do. The blade we are considering here, however, goes into the ground, not across your face! This is a brilliant spade that’s great to have to hand if you need a no-nonsense gardener’s tool. Boasting a square blade and a no-frills design, this Wilkinson Sword spade offers a 10 year guarantee as well as an ash handle and ergonomic design. It pretty much covers all bases!

Features

Dimensions: 96cm x 74cm x 14 cm
Weight: 1kg
Fork Type: Digging Spade

Spear & Jackson Traditional Stainless Steel Border Spade

If you thought we were giving up on Spear Jackson, you would be wrong! This is a brilliant border spade with a stainless steel blade and plenty of resistance to soil adhesion. It’s rust resistant, and the blade head is mirror polished. You’ll also benefit from a wide handle – easy to use for simple digging and border maintenance.

Features

Dimensions: 97cm x 14cm x 7cm
Weight: 1.52kg
Fork Type: Digging Fork
Head Type: Border

Kent and Stowe VBPHUKA1248 Carbon Steel Digging Spade

This simple, straightforward stainless steel garden fork is perfect for gardeners who need to start digging deep into smaller or tightened spaces. The fact is, even smaller beds and borders need their ground aerating sometimes! This is a great quality fork at a reasonable price, stronger than most to the core, too.

Features

Dimensions:111cm x 18cm x 11cm
Weight: 1.21kg
Fork Type: Border Fork
Head Type: Digging / Garden

GARDENA ErgoLine Spade Stainless Steel Garden Spade for Turning & Removing Soil

The fact that this superb spade blade has a footrest is an immediate selling point – and it likely will be for most people! This spade boasts a blade that’s extremely sharp, and it actually works well for multiple purposes, meaning you can dig down and loosen up soil as you wish. Short of a lifetime guarantee, you’ll also receive a 25 year guarantee to ensure you get plenty of use. Possibly one of the longest lasting spade options on Amazon at the moment. And trust us – Amazon stocks plenty of spades!

Features

Dimensions: 116.84cm x 22.86cm x 7.62cm
Weight: 2.08kg
Fork Type: Digging / Garden

STANLEY FATMAX Fiberglass D-Handle Spade

The average customer may not think they should be looking for a D shaped handle, but the average customer may well be surprised! This straight-edged fibreglass spade has tons of strength as well as a solid forged steel head that’s heat treated. Its handle also boasts fibregless and steel composite, making it one of the strongest you’ll find on Amazon right now. Look beyond the oversized D shaped handle and you’ll find a good all-around spade.

Features

Dimensions:116.2cm x 23.5cm x 14.1cm
Weight: 2.34kg
Fork Type: Digging / Garden

Why Buy a Garden Spade?

Why not? No matter what your garden spade is made of, it’s likely to be one of your most reliable and most versatile gardening solutions you have available. Most seasoned gardeners will tell you that a spade is a gardening tool that comes in handy for more garden tasks and jobs than most.

For example, one of the most common uses for any kind of garden spade is digging. You could be getting rid of top soil, digging holes or plots for planting, or you could simply be getting rid of compost.

You can also use this type of garden equipment to help plant seeds and flowers, as well as to help edge out your garden lawn. For many people, a great pointed spade – with a steel head or otherwise – is going to be a superb all-in-one garden tool that really stands the test of time. However, not all garden spade options are built equal, meaning you’re going to need to look carefully at build quality and more besides. Which spade types are likely to work well for you, for example?

How Do I Choose a Garden Spade?

As you can imagine, there were plenty of things we looked into when building our full list of the best spade tools online. Some individuals may need specific spades for specific purposes – which is why, though our focus has been on looking for high quality tool picks, we’ve kept open minds throughout the process!

That said, there are always going to be a few things you should consider and shop around for when looking for the best garden spades online. Shopping for garden spades is much like shopping for garden forks in a lot of ways – especially in the sense that they both do a lot of the same work!

Therefore, let’s dig deep – pun intended – and consider what you’re going to need to compare between when looking for the best steel spade to really do the business. After all, your needs are going to differ to other people’s – beyond the fact that you’re going to need a spade that’s easy to use!

Types of Spade

Which type of spade is going to work well for you? Which ones will give you the best blade ideal for digging, for dealing with borders, or otherwise?

As you can imagine, a digging spade is built for, well, digging. The handle type and handle length on these may vary, but they will offer you more than enough power to really strike down and unearth soil. You’ll also see these referred to as generic garden spades, too. Therefore, don’t worry – they do the same thing!

A border spade is going to offer you the same blade digging action, but these spades tend to be much shorter, meaning that a long handle is out of the question. That’s because these are – naturally – designed for border digging. There’s little need for an extra long handle in this case, though high quality tool construction is always a plus.

These are the main two blade and spade types we’ve considered in this guide, though you will always find other spade types built for specialist needs. Be ready to compare and contrast between these ones – we think a good all-around garden spade will be the best value investment.

What to Look for When Buying a Spade

Which type of spade is going to work well for you? Which ones will give you the best blade ideal for digging, for dealing with borders, or otherwise?

As you can imagine, a digging spade is built for, well, digging. The handle type and handle length on these may vary, but they will offer you more than enough power to really strike down and unearth soil. You’ll also see these referred to as generic garden spades, too. Therefore, don’t worry – they do the same thing!

A border spade is going to offer you the same blade digging action, but these spades tend to be much shorter, meaning that a long handle is out of the question. That’s because these are – naturally – designed for border digging. There’s little need for an extra long handle in this case, though high quality tool construction is always a plus.

These are the main two blade and spade types we’ve considered in this guide, though you will always find other spade types built for specialist needs. Be ready to compare and contrast between these ones – we think a good all-around garden spade will be the best value investment.

Spade Handle Length
This might be a fairly obvious point, but do think carefully about the handle length which is going to work best for you! if you’re going to invest in a generic garden spade, then you’re going to need something which will match up to your height. The best tool for you is going to be one which you’re not going to struggle to reach or handle over time.
Spade Build
You’ll also find that different spade options offer different materials in their build. A good high quality spade, of course, is one which has a steel head and plenty of rust resistance. Stainless steel is a great choice as it’s very resistant against weather, it’s easy to clean, and when built into the top of the blade, it’s perfect for digging.
However, as with forks, you’ll also find that there’s more than just a stainless steel blade or two out there to pick from. Some of the top head choices as well as top handle and shaft options are built in carbon steel or boron steel. On the whole, steel is the way forward!
Comfortable to Use?

This is another no-brainer, but we definitely considered it when picking the best garden spades online. The fact is, you’ll need a spade that’s comfortable to use if you’re going to be digging down hard. You’ll find some with a shaped handle which helps to make things less wearing on your hands, while there are others with grip handles to help give you more power and control on the dig, too.

Brand Options

Generally, branding is something we consider, but it’s not always something we feel dictates a perfect garden tool. However, as you can see from our picks above, you’ll see that there are some tools and spade choices which arrive from top makes and manufacturers – such as Spear Jackson, who develop brilliant digging spade choices which, while not always on the budget side of things, give you lots of power and flexibility.

Conclusion

These are the best garden spades available for you to buy on Amazon right now – and Amazon does stock more than a handful of ash wood Spear Jackson models, trust us! However, as always, it’s worth looking beyond Amazon if you can, and even beyond Spear Jackson.

We hope you’ve found our guide informative. Take a look at the various steel and ash wood options available to you, and, as always, read up on the odd Amazon reviews – that is, if you’re going to stick around looking for top solid forged steel spades on Amazon!

Consider an ash wood shaft for durability, a boron steel blade or better for general performance, and something akin to a forward tilting handle if ergonomics are important to you. If you value your hand strength and hand comfort – it should!

Whether you pick a T Grip or a long socket spade – or even a fibreglass handle – be sure to compare and contrast on Amazon and beyond. Consider your digging demands as well as your ongoing comfort – trust us, you’ll thank us later!