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meaningless drivel

Shovel Handles: Straight or D-Grip?

Douglas Alpenstock

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Location: Canadian Prairies - Zone 3b

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Do you prefer a shovel with a straight handle or a D-grip?

For me, it's complicated. Most of my shovels, long and short, have a straight handle. It's more versatile because I can change my grips and angles, which is easier on my tendons (which are showing a bit of wear and tear). D-handles force me into specific positions and I notice it.

That said, D-handles can be used in a two-handed grip when doing a deep dig in the garden in fall, for example. This works for garden forks as well. Stomp it in and use both hands to pull the handle toward you.

Short shovels are a mix. If it's a full size shovel head I like a straight shorty handle. If it's a small shovel head I like the versatility of different grips and angles that come with a D-grip.

How about you? What do you prefer, and why?

Pearl Sutton

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Location: SW Missouri

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D handles. I'm small, a long handle just tangles me up and the leverage is wrong. I can't balance a load at the end of a long handled shovel. I have to have my hands closer to the scooping part, and the D puts my hands in the right place.

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thomas rubino

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I like a D-handle with a square head and a long handle with a pointed shovel.

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Carla Burke

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Location: Missouri Ozarks

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Like Pearl, I'm short, and *most* of the time, I get better leverage with a D. If I need to choke up, it kinda doesn't matter which, except that... with my hypermobility,I can get wobbly, and have occasionally been attacked by a long handle. Ahem...

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May Gardner

Posts: 32

Location: Semi-arid USDA hardiness zone 7b, AHS heat zone 11

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I'm short too, or three? Laughing. I'm also hypermobile, but I find a long handle good for when shoveling loose things with a pointy shovel. I've worked hard on stabilizing my joints (it's an ongoing thing), so I need to be mindful of my shoulders when I shovel however I do it. I can kind of hold the shovel steady in relation to my body and lunge into the loose stuff with my bodyweight and momentum. This is a sort of horizontalish/diagonal movement. If I'm shoveling clay or hard to get through things so need to hop on it to dig vertically-ish then D handle works best for me. Either way I am pretty ambidextrous so switch sides, hands, grips, etc. If I try to jump on a long handled one it attacks me, lol.

Anne Miller

steward

Posts: 19133

Location: USDA Zone 8a

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We have both so it just depends on which one I decide to pick up.

Probably the straight because that one is handy ...

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C. Letellier

pollinator

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Location: Greybull WY north central WY zone 4 bordering on 3

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Depends on the job. Some things like shoveling grain or snow, D handle. Digging post holes or furrows straight handle.

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Catie George

gardener

Posts: 992

Location: Ontario - Zone 6a or 4b, depending on the day

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I strongly prefer the Radius Ergonomic brand grips over a traditional D style. Never thought I'd fangirl a tool brand, but here I am. Only downside is that their tools are very strong - and quite heavy.

I like short handles for digging, long handles for prying and for shovelling. For shovelling, a long handle is more ergonomic for me, plus, lifting my heavy Radius tools gets tiring.

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R Scott

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Location: Tennessee 7b

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I am more concerned about the quality of the handle than the style, but generally D is for digging.

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Steve Mendez

pollinator

Posts: 186

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Being one legged means I have trouble standing and using a long handled shovel, spud fork, hoe, or rake. I find it much easier to sit on a tall 6 gallon fermenting bucket with a bucket seat to work in the garden or yard. This necessitates the use of short mostly D handled tools since I'm less than 5 feet tall on the bucket seat. Sitting makes it much easier to use my foot to help push a shovel or spud fork into the soil.

Tanya White

pollinator

Posts: 122

Location: Western NC, zone 6B/7A

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D-handle just seems more natural. Like some other folks on this thread, also struggle with joint hypermobility. It just seems easier to carry the shovel around, too, as well as hang it. I don't really see any downsides to the D-grip. Husband (who is much taller and has normal joints) prefers it also.

Alder Burns

pollinator

Posts: 1826

Location: southern Illinois, USA

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40 years plus gardening and my conclusion is that unless I'm in a tight spot....say in a crawlspace, the long straight handle usually wins. It really puzzled me traveling in Asia that nobody there (and in a lot of places in the world, actually) seems to think to put a long handle on a tool....the commonest farm tool there is a kind of broad-bladed grub hoe with a short handle, that you must bend over to use. Ugh, the back! And wood isn't that scarce! Maybe the heavy clay common in so many areas breaks a long handle easier?
My very favorite shovel now is one I made the handle for myself, from hop-hornbeam....and I made it a good foot longer than an ordinary "store-bought" shovel handle. The extra leverage really pays off whether for turning sod over, trenching, or digging holes.

Joao Winckler

pollinator

Posts: 264

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Straight handle for most things, D-grip when I need to lever or scoop in a tight spot. The straight just gives more options for how you hold it depending on what the soil is doing.

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