AMES 2535700 Tempered Steel Transfer Shovel with Hardwood Handle, 61-Inch, Gray

I was going to go to Menards to purchase a wooden handle to repair and old raggedy shovel (I'm a cheapskate) . The shovel handle was $10.00 (questionable quality to boot). This QUALITY shovel on Amazon by a heritage manufacturer was $15.00!! Got the whole shebang for 5 bux more than I woulda spent at Menards! (and saved a 25 mile trip as well).The working end appears to be steel and the handle appears to be a high quality hickory wood job. Should not break any time soon.

This shovel is meant for soft work in a garden bed or soft dirt areas. If you are looking for a tough, work-horse shovel, this is NOT it. I'll keep it for the light work in my garden beds but I almost broke it when digging in and around my yard outside of the garden bed. Do Not dig into tough, clay-type soil with this shovel. You will break it.

Finally had a chance to use it after the weather finally let up and staying at home for over a month. It looks awfully sturdy and feels good, HOWEVER, after my first use the shovel head came loose! I used my right foot to plant the shovel into soft soil and the shovel head tilted to the right?! I thought I might have been just that side so I tried the left which resulted in the same tilting of the head. I looked at the screws and they were tight. No visible cracks in the pole either. Just overall loose and weak assembly.

UPDATE: 5/7/21 After the first use, I have lowered this rating to 3 stars from 5. I used it digging yesterday for the first time and performance did not meet visual appearance. Each time that I dug, the shovel made a grinding noise that appeared to be from inside the handle's attachment to the blade. It sounded like the wood was broken inside. Also, I noticed that the steel blade and tube at this junction appears to flex a lot. The handle is attached with a single pin that appears insufficient to make a sturdy and lasting connection. BTW, my gardener friend has decide not to buy this shovel. Original Post: I still cannot believe that I got this shovel for $15.88!!!! It is strong with heavy duty steel spade and a husky handle that comes with a comfort grip. My old shovel’s metal spade cracked on both sides below handle attachment. This won’t! Plus this has a reasonably sized foot pad. Showed it to my gardener friend and he is ordering even though he has shovels. Terrific value!

I used this product for digging ( it's a shovel) but on the second time digging I could hear it cracking. Still,it hasn't broken completely bso I'm using it till it's in 2 peices.

Not even chest high. Good for 5'6" folks, not for anyone over 6'.All I want is a shovel I dont have to bend over while I'm stepping on it.This is not the one. Guess I'll have to start a Tall Man Tools company since everything's made for little people.

I have used this shovel intermittently just a couple of times around the yard since I purchased about 5 months ago and the grip fell off and the wood to steel connection became loose and is now hanging by a thread. I use the tool but I don't feel that i have abused it. I remember my granpas shovel that was beat up and had to be 20-30 yrs old and still working great. This isn't that shovel.

This shovel is a solid product. It's exactly what you would expect for a Ames product. Here in Georgia our dirt is made of red clay and when dry it's almost impossible to dig in however I was pretty impressed by the durability of the shovel and I've done many trenches and have prepared landscaping around my house over the past months and surprisingly through all the stress I put this thing through it's just as strong as it was the day I bought it. I think you'll be happy with this particular product.

I was a little worried about the quality given the price point, but it is much better than a more expensive product I already had.