What's The Difference Between A Trowel, A Spade, And A Shovel?

Trowels, spades, and shovels are similar-looking tools that most gardeners should have in their gardening toolbox. Although they look similar, they aren’t used for the same thing. Of course, they all move dirt in some way or another, but always for different purposes. If you try to use a trowel or a spade for the same reason you would a shovel, you’ll be in for a bad time and possibly a lot of back pain.

WHAT ARE TROWELS USED FOR?

Trowels are the smallest of the three gardening tools. They’re used for digging small holes and removing weeds in dirt and soil that you’ve already laid down. When you’re gardening, or even just maintaining your lawn, sometimes you find something you need to dig out. If you use a shovel, you’ll dig out more than you need to, possibly damaging other plants.

A trowel, being small, is a precise tool. You can quickly size out and cut out a small hole, such as one around infected grass. Being a sharp tool, you can easily dig out and around weeds to remove them while minimizing the damage to other plants around them. If you don’t cut out weeds or infected grass, the rest of your lawn or garden may slowly die out, requiring all new seeds and plants, along with all the soil being redone.

WHY WOULDN’T YOU USE A SPADE OR A SHOVEL?

When you need a trowel, there are reasons why you wouldn’t use a spade or a shovel. The first reason is how long the staffs of spades and shovels are. When you're trying to dig a small hole, it's much easier when you can lean in close with a short-staffed trowel. Spades and shovels are meant to be used while standing up, making it harder to aim.

In the case of the spade, the head of the tool itself is also not well-shaped for digging holes. Spades have a flat metal head with a straight edge. While you can get one with a smaller staff and head to be closer to a trowel, the shape of its head makes it poor for digging.

WHAT ARE SPADES USED FOR?

Spades are tools typically used for slicing and lifting materials, edging flower beds or lawns, and digging straight-edged holes. They have a flat edge and a square shape, which makes them perfect for digging into piles of material and moving them. That same flat edge and square shape that makes it perfect for lifting and moving materials make it terrible for digging into the ground.

The flat edge makes it difficult to break the ground and get the traction to lift. It more so stabs straight into the ground, without breaking up the soil too much. While this makes it terrible for digging, it's perfect for breaking up dead roots and slicing up the soil. It can be stabbed down to kill the roots of weeds, dead plants, and species, making them easier to pull up. A spade also does this without breaking up soil, but while loosening it up a bit.

WHY WOULDN’T YOU USE A TROWEL OR A SHOVEL?

When it comes to moving material, you could technically use a trowel or a shovel. You can sink both into piles of material and move them, but neither can pick up or carry as much material as a spade without dropping any. With a trowel, in particular, you would be carrying out so little material that it would take you hours more to finish depending on the amount of material. Not to forget, unless you’re moving a small amount, a trowel will put a lot of strain on your one hand from lifting material with it.

A shovel can pick up and lift material pretty well, so it could serve as a digging and lifting replacement for a spade. When it comes to breaking up weeds, shovels are poor substitutes for spades. Because of how they are shaped–concave with a point–a shovel will do more than stab deep down. They will also scoop up dirt and soil, displacing it, where more often than not, a spade shouldn’t.

WHAT IS A SHOVEL USED FOR?

A shovel is the most common tool of the three. These are used to move loose, granular materials. Where a spade can stab into hard ground and move free material, shovels meet that perfect middle. They’re good for breaking up hard material that you don’t want in mass and for moving that material immediately afterward. They can both technically do the job of the spade or trowel, but not as good.

WHY WOULDN’T YOU USE A TROWEL OR A SPADE?

If you tried to stab a spade into the snow, hard dirt, or gravel, the flat edge won’t pick anything up. It may stab through, but without the scooping mechanism of a shovel’s shape, it can’t lift any portion of the material as well as it should.

A trowel, being a hand tool, would lead to you not being able to scoop up most materials that a shovel is made to handle. A shovel not only has its own weight but the force of two arms instead of one, which makes a bigger difference than someone may realize.

GET ALL THREE AT PIONEER LANDSCAPING CENTERS

You’re going to need the right landscaping tools for your next project to be safe and to work effectively. We have top-of-the-line shovels, spades, and trowels that you can get from most local Pioneer Landscaping Centers. If you’re unsure which tools you need to complete your project, contact a representation at your local Pioneer Landscaping Center.