Comparison Fiskars 1066708 vs Fiskars 131400

— Bayonet. The traditional, familiar to many shape is quite wide, rounded and slightly pointed downwards. Bayonet-type canvases are intended primarily for digging — they easily penetrate fairly dense soil and can even cut the roots; but bayonet shovels are poorly suited for pouring bulk materials.

— Owl. Rectangular canvas, bent up along the edges and set at a certain angle relative to the axis of the handle. Due to this angle, as well as the same width along the entire length (and in some models the blade also expands downwards), shovels are not well suited for digging — sticking such a blade into the ground, even loose, is noticeably more difficult than bayonet. But such tools are indispensable if you need to reload a large volume of loose or viscous materials from one place to another — you can collect a lot of such material at a time, and the bent "sides" of the canvas will to some extent prevent spillage. And snow shovels and scrapers are generally made only with scoops.

— Rectangular. Outwardly, such canvases are similar to the soviet ones described above, however, they do not have “sides” along the edges. Their main purpose is digging loose soils: a rectangular shape allows you to grab more earth than a bayonet, and sticking the blade with great force is not required in such soils. And if necessary, such a tool can serve as an impromptu replacement...for a shovel, although due to the lack of sides, this may require some skill.

— Bayonet rounded. Although such shovels are formally classified as bayonet shovels, they are closest in shape to rectangular ones; the main difference is that in this case the blade is not made even, but somewhat rounded. This makes it easier to work on tight ground, otherwise rounded models do not differ much from rectangular ones.

— Pedigree (chirva). Such canvases got the name "chirva" for their characteristic shape — in the form of a heart, used as a designation of the card suit. Their formal name — "rock" — is due to the fact that such shovels are popular primarily in mining — when loading / unloading rock, coal, crushed stone, etc. At the same time, the pointed shape allows you to easily plunge the shovel into dense heavy materials.

— Drainage. A specific type of canvas, characterized by an elongated shape — the length of such a canvas is 2.5 – 3 times the width; the blade is usually slightly pointed, like a bayonet, and the sides are bent upwards. The name "drainage" comes from one of the most popular uses for such tools — digging narrow and long trenches to drain water. Of course, nothing prevents digging trenches for other purposes — for example, when laying electrical cables for ground lamps or pipes for an irrigation system. In addition, a drainage shovel can be useful when digging up and transplanting individual plants — a long and narrow canvas allows you to dig under the very roots without turning out excess earth and without hitting neighboring plants.

The total length of the shovel blade. In the case of "digging" shovels (for example, bayonet, see "Form"), this size actually determines the depth to which you can dig at once; in the case of "loading" models (for example, scoops), the total area and, accordingly, the capacity of the canvas depends on the length.

It is worth noting that for each type of shovels there are certain standards for the size of the canvas. However, different models of the same type and shape can vary markedly in length. At the same time, if the length is too short, more movements will have to be done, and if the canvas is too large, it will be heavy and bulky and will require increased effort when working. Therefore, when choosing, it is worth considering the features of the intended application: for example, a relatively short blade will be enough for a small country flower bed, and a larger shovel will come in handy for working in a large garden. Recommendations for more specific tasks can be found in special sources.

The total width of the shovel blade.

The value of this parameter will be different depending on what the shovel is used for — digging, loading / unloading bulk materials or snow removal. In the first case (for example, in bayonet shovels), the width of the pit being dug depends on the size of the canvas. It doesn't always have to be large, and a wide blade experiences more resistance, meaning a large shovel isn't always the best choice. For example, drainage cloths (see "Form") are initially made narrow.

In the second case (shovel shovels), a large width allows you to scoop up more cargo, however, this cargo will weigh accordingly. Therefore, here the difference between different models is most often not very large — most of the canvases have a width in the range of 220 – 260 mm.

In the third case (snow shovels and scrapers), the large width allows you to capture more snow at a time, which is convenient in large open spaces. But for difficult conditions with an abundance of narrow passages and tight nooks and crannies, it is better to choose a narrower tool that can go where a wide canvas does not fit.

The total weight of the shovel; for models with a removable handle (wooden) it is specified taking into account the complete handle.

The lightweight tool reduces effort and therefore fatigue, allowing you to work faster and longer. At the same time, in some situations, just a lot of weight is more desirable: for example, a heavy bayonet shovel easily pierces even into dense earth and cuts the roots without any problems. In addition, weight loss often comes at a cost. Therefore, it makes sense to specifically look for a light shovel only when working with loose soil or materials where the blade does not have to be “driven” with force.