Hand Tools
The right hand tool makes clay, rocks, weeds and branches a lot less work. This page explains which shovels, forks, hoes, rakes and pruners do what, how to pick tools that last and fit your body, how to sharpen and care for them, and what a new homeowner really needs to start.
On this page
Shovels, spades, forks and bars
People use “shovel” and “spade” for the same thing, but they’re built for different jobs. Kansas State University’s extension guide puts it simply: shovels are for digging and moving loose material and usually have a long straight handle of about 120 cm; spades are shorter (about 70 to 80 cm) with a D-shaped grip, a flatter blade, and are better for edging and cutting clean lines.
| Tool | Best for | Notes for Lethbridge yards |
|---|---|---|
| Round-point shovel | General digging, planting holes, moving soil and gravel | The pointed tip bites into hard clay better than a flat blade. A step (foot tread) on top saves your boots and your back. |
| Square-point (flat) shovel | Scooping loose material off a flat surface: gravel, compost, mulch, sand | Not a digging tool. Great for cleaning up a pile off the driveway. |
| Garden spade | Edging beds, cutting sod, dividing perennials, digging straight-sided holes | A sharp spade slices through turf roots cleanly. |
| Trenching (drain) spade | Narrow trenches for drip lines, transplanting shrubs with tight root balls, fence-line work | Long, narrow blade that goes deep without moving much soil. |
| Garden (digging) fork | Loosening compacted clay, turning compost, lifting potatoes, dividing perennials | Slides into heavy clay more easily than a spade. Look for thick, square tines; thin ones bend. |
| Digging bar (pry bar) | Breaking hard clay, prying out rocks and old roots, starting post holes | A heavy steel bar about 1.5 to 1.8 m long. Let its weight do the work: lift and drop, don’t swing. |
Before you dig, including planting a tree or shrub or setting fence posts, submit a free locate request through Utility Safety Partners’ Click Before You Dig, at least three full working days ahead. Their guidance covers fences and garden planting too, because some lines are only centimetres down. Within 1 m of a marked line, expose it carefully by hand. Private lines like sprinkler pipes and lines to a garage aren’t marked; you have to find those yourself.
Hoes and rakes
A sharp hoe is the fastest way to keep beds and gravel paths clear of weeds without chemicals. The trick is to catch weeds small, when one shallow slice under the soil surface finishes them. Each type has its moment:
Draw hoe
The classic: a wide blade at right angles to the handle, used with a chopping and pulling motion. Best for bigger weeds, breaking up crusted soil, making furrows and hilling potatoes. Heavy work on clay.
Stirrup (hula) hoe
A loop-shaped blade that cuts on both the push and the pull, just under the surface. Fast and easy on the back for small weeds over open soil and gravel. Shines from May to July when seedlings appear in waves.
Collinear hoe
A thin, narrow, very sharp blade held almost flat to the soil, used standing upright with a light sweeping motion, like a broom. Ideal for slicing tiny weeds between rows and close to plants.
Dutch hoe
A flat blade pushed forward just under the surface while you walk backwards, so you don’t trample the soil you just weeded. Good for long rows and open beds.
What it means for you: hoe on a dry, sunny, breezy day, and the cut weeds shrivel where they lie. Lethbridge gives us plenty of those. Sharpen your hoe before every season; a dull hoe pushes weeds around instead of cutting them. More on hoeing and mulching on our Natural weed control page.
Rakes
- Leaf rake (fan rake): springy tines in a fan, for leaves, grass and light debris. Also good for a light spring rake of the lawn. Tines may be steel, plastic or bamboo; steel is the most durable.
- Bow rake (garden or level-head rake): short, rigid steel tines on a straight head. For levelling soil, spreading gravel and compost, breaking clods and working seedbeds. Flip it over and use the flat back for final smoothing.
- Thatch rake: sharp, curved blades for pulling dead grass from small lawn patches before overseeding. See Lawn care before deciding your lawn needs dethatching.
Pruners, loppers, saws and shears
| Tool | Cuts | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Bypass pruners (hand pruners, secateurs) | Two curved blades pass like scissors. Up to roughly finger thickness, about 2 cm. | Living stems and branches: shrubs, roses, fruit trees, perennials. The clean cut heals best. This is the one to buy first. |
| Anvil pruners | One straight blade presses down onto a flat anvil. | Dead, dry wood. They crush living stems, so avoid them for live pruning. |
| Loppers | Long-handled pruners, bypass or anvil, for branches up to about 4 to 5 cm. | Thicker shrub stems and small tree branches. Geared or ratchet models need less force. |
| Pruning saw | Curved or straight blade with teeth that usually cut on the pull stroke. | Branches thicker than loppers can handle. A folding saw fits in a pocket; a pole saw lets you stay off ladders. |
| Hedge shears | Long, straight scissor blades. | Shaping hedges and cutting back perennials and ornamental grasses. Not for branches thicker than a pencil. |
If a pruner or lopper struggles, the branch is too thick for it: move up to the next tool rather than twisting. Twisting springs the blades and leaves a ragged wound on the plant. When and where to cut is covered on our Pruning trees and shrubs page.
Trowels, weeders, barrows and carts
Small hand tools
- Trowel: for planting bedding plants and bulbs. In clay, a narrow, one-piece forged trowel outlasts a wide stamped one that bends at the neck.
- Dandelion digger (fishtail weeder): a long, narrow, forked blade that slides down beside a taproot. The best lawn weeding tool there is, and cheap.
- Hand cultivator (claw): three or four bent tines for loosening the top few centimetres of soil between plants.
- Soil knife (digging knife): a heavy, slightly dished blade, often with a serrated edge, for digging, weeding, cutting roots and dividing plants. Many gardeners use it more than a trowel.
- Half-moon edger: a flat crescent blade on a long handle for cutting clean lawn edges along beds.
Wheelbarrows and carts
| Type | Good at | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Single-wheel wheelbarrow | Narrow paths, tight turns, tipping loads exactly where you want them | Takes balance, and heavy loads can tip sideways |
| Two-wheel barrow | Stability with heavy loads like soil, gravel and rocks | Wider; harder on side slopes and narrow gates |
| Garden cart | Bulky, light loads: leaves, branches, bags, pots | Doesn’t dump as neatly |
A flat-free (solid) tire saves a lot of frustration. Fill a barrow so the weight sits over the wheel, not near the handles, and push rather than pull on slopes.
Hand tools for snow
Our snow often comes, melts in a chinook, and refreezes as ice. A small set of tools handles it all:
- Snow pusher: a wide, curved blade for pushing light, fresh snow off sidewalks and driveways without lifting. The easiest on your back.
- Snow shovel: a deeper scoop for lifting and throwing heavier snow. Bent or “ergonomic” handles reduce bending but can make throwing more awkward.
- Ice chopper (scraper): a flat steel blade on a long handle for breaking packed snow and ice after a thaw and refreeze. Chop at a low angle to avoid chipping concrete.
- Grit bucket and scoop: sand or grit for traction on ice.
Choose a snow shovel roughly chest high, push rather than lift when you can, and keep loads small. Ice melt types, the City’s sidewalk-clearing rules and more are on Sidewalks, driveways and snow.
Choosing tools that last
A good digging tool can last decades. A poor one bends on its first rock. Kansas State University’s guide to selecting quality garden tools lists what to look for:
- Forged beats stamped. A forged head is hammered from thick steel and is strongest where it joins the handle. Look for words like “forged”, “tempered” or “heat-treated”. A stamped head is cut from thin sheet steel and bent into shape; it’s lighter and cheaper but bends more easily in clay and rocks.
- Avoid welds on forks and rakes; the weld is where they break.
- Steel: high-carbon steel holds an edge and can be resharpened. Stainless resists rust but isn’t necessarily stronger, so it may not be worth the price.
- Handle wood: ash is strong and flexes without snapping, and is the traditional choice. Look for straight grain running the length of the handle.
- Fibreglass handles are strong, weatherproof and won’t rot, but transmit more vibration to your hands. Steel handles are tough but heavy and cold to hold in winter.
- The joint matters. A solid, closed socket or long steel straps riveted to the handle are strongest. An open-backed socket on a stamped shovel traps soil and moisture and can rot the handle.
Fit to your body
Penn State Extension’s advice: a full-sized digging or hoeing tool should be as long as you are tall, or close to it, so you can work upright. A tool that’s too short makes you hunch. Longer is easier to fix than shorter, since a long wooden handle can be cut down. Pick up pruners before you buy: they should close fully without your hand stretching wide open. Smaller hands do better with smaller pruners.
Sharpening edges
Most garden tools need an edge that’s clean and even, not razor sharp. A flat mill file (about 25 cm long), a vise or clamp, gloves and safety glasses handle almost everything. Our sharpening page goes deeper on files, stones and angles.
- Clean and clamp. Scrub off soil and rust first. Clamp the tool firmly so both hands are free for the file.
- Find the original bevel and keep to it. Shovels and spades are sharpened on the top (inside) face only; Kansas State suggests about 20 degrees for light-duty tools and a steeper, blunter angle for heavy digging tools. Hoes are sharpened on the bevelled side, at their original angle; University of Wisconsin Extension suggests about 30 degrees for inexpensive stamped hoes that have no clear bevel left.
- File on the push stroke only. A mill file cuts going forward. Lift it on the return stroke.
- Remove the burr. Turn the tool over and give the flat back one or two light passes to knock off the rough curl of metal.
- Pruners and loppers: sharpen only the bevelled side of the cutting blade, at its original angle (usually about 10 to 20 degrees). Never file the flat inside face of a bypass blade, or it won’t close cleanly. On anvil pruners, sharpen only the blade, not the anvil.
- Finish with oil on bare metal to stop rust.
Pruning saws are best replaced or professionally sharpened. Many have hardened teeth that a file won’t cut, and replacement blades are made for most folding and bow saws.
Cleaning, disinfecting and storage
- After every use: knock or brush off soil, wipe blades, and let wet tools dry before storing.
- Sap on pruners: warm soapy water and a scrub pad, then dry and oil.
- Rust: wire brush or coarse steel wool, then fine steel wool, then a light coat of oil.
- Wood handles: once or twice a year, sand lightly and rub in boiled linseed oil. It keeps handles from drying, cracking and splintering in our dry air.
Linseed oil rags can catch fire on their own as they dry. Spread used rags flat outdoors to dry, or soak them in water in a sealed metal can, before throwing them out. Never leave them bunched up in a garage.
Disinfecting pruners between diseased plants
Fire blight is a bacterial disease of apples, crabapples, mountain ash, hawthorn, cotoneaster, saskatoons and other plants in the rose family, common on the prairies. Branch tips wilt and turn brown or black, like they’ve been scorched. The City of Edmonton advises pruning out infected wood well below the visible damage, about 46 cm, and sterilizing pruning tools between every cut. Bag diseased wood; don’t compost it or use it for firewood.
- Rubbing alcohol (70 percent): wipe or dip the blades between cuts. University of Wisconsin Extension prefers it because it’s less corrosive.
- Household bleach, 1 part to 9 parts water: some extension services, including Iowa State University, suggest it for fire blight work, since alcohol may not kill every plant pathogen. Mix it fresh, rinse tools afterward, and dry and oil them, because bleach corrodes steel.
Disinfecting is about the tool, not the tree; it’s the same idea as washing your hands. See Pests, hail and other problems and Pruning for more on fire blight.
Storage
- Hang long-handled tools on a wall rack, heads up or off the floor. They stay dry, sharp and out of the way, and nobody steps on a rake.
- Keep small tools in a bucket or caddy so they don’t vanish into the lawn. Bright paint or tape on handles helps you spot them.
- Before winter, clean, sharpen and oil everything, so the tools are ready on the first warm day in spring.
A starter kit for a new homeowner
You don’t need a garage full of tools. For a typical Lethbridge city lot, this covers nearly everything, and you can add as you go:
Dig and move
Round-point shovel, garden fork, square-point shovel (optional), wheelbarrow or cart.
Rake and weed
Leaf rake, bow rake, stirrup or collinear hoe, dandelion digger, trowel.
Cut
Bypass pruners, loppers, a folding pruning saw.
Winter
Snow pusher, snow shovel, ice chopper, a bucket of grit.
Care
Flat mill file, wire brush, rubbing alcohol, oil, rags, and a wall rack.
Protection
Leather work gloves, safety glasses, knee pad.
What it means for you: buy the best digging tools and pruners you can afford, because those take the hardest use. Rakes, trowels and carts can be modest. A digging bar is worth borrowing or buying the first time you hit a rock or old concrete in clay.
Saving your back
- Let the tool do the work. Step on the shovel’s tread rather than forcing the blade in with your arms. Let a digging bar fall under its own weight.
- Stay upright. Long handles, sharp edges and a hoe that cuts with a light stroke all keep you from bending.
- Small loads. Half a shovelful of wet clay or snow is plenty. Bend at the knees and hips, keep the load close, and turn your feet instead of twisting your back.
- Dig when the soil is right. Clay that’s soggy is heavy and sticky; clay that’s baked dry is like concrete. Dig a day or two after a good rain or watering.
- Switch jobs every half hour or so, and switch hands on rakes and hoes.
- Kneel instead of stooping for weeding and planting, on a pad or low stool.
- Warm up in spring with an easy walk around the yard before the first big digging day. Muscles that haven’t dug since October need easing in.
Kid-sized tools are real tools. A short-handled rake, a small shovel and a sturdy metal trowel sized for small hands let kids help properly, not just play. Plastic toy tools tend to snap on clay.
Safe jobs for helpers: raking leaves, picking up sticks before mowing (with the mower off and put away), digging dandelions with a dandelion digger, filling the bird bath, pushing a small load in a cart, and sprinkling grass seed on bare spots. Grown-ups handle anything with a sharp blade or an engine.
Wonder: why is it easier to push a shovel into soil when you step on it than when you push with your arms? Try this: push a trowel into the soil with one hand, then lean your body weight on it. Your legs and body weight are much stronger than your arms, which is why grown-ups step on shovels.
Sources
- Kansas State University Research and Extension, How to Select Quality Landscape and Garden Tools (MF3390).
- Kansas State University Research and Extension, How to Clean and Sharpen Garden Tools (MF3288).
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension, Maintaining lawn and garden tools.
- Penn State Extension, Using the right tool is self-care.
- Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, How do I sanitize my pruning shears?
- City of Edmonton, Fire blight (pests and diseases page).
- City of Red Deer, Fireblight (tree insects and diseases page).
- Utility Safety Partners, Click Before You Dig: homeowner overview.
- NAIT, How to shovel snow without hurting yourself.