Proper edging back of the lawn, requires cutting the roots and removing the excess lawn to guarantee the grass will not extend over the sidewalk.
The edging shovel is the answer for grass overgrowth, designing and maintaining your garden, and flower beds in your yard.
A high-quality, all-rounder shovel can help you get lots of different tasks done around your garden.
Still, some jobs would be much easier to do with a specialized shovel instead.
A perfect example of that is the edging shovel.
As the name suggests, edging shovels are great for edging parts of your lawn.
Edging is what produces crisp and beautiful lines between different sections of your yard, such as between your lawn and, say, a flower bed or around a tree.
Edging defines the different sections of your yard, making it look neat, clean, and well-organized. There is no better tool to get that done than an edging shovel.
This article will look at edging shovels to understand how edging shovels are different from other shovels.
Besides that, you’ll also know what they’re good for as well as a few of the tasks where you won’t find edging shovels very useful.
Table of Contents
The Edging Shovel
As with any other shovel, you can look at the edging shovel in terms of its constituent parts.
That means you can look at an edging shovel by evaluating its grip, shaft, collar, kickplate, and blade.
This type of shovel is easy to identify thanks to its unique half-moon-shaped blade.
Some bloggers or sellers may also describe it as having a flat, pizza-cutter-shaped edge if you look around online.
Besides the half-moon shape, a common feature in most edging shovels is its T-shaped grip which is somewhat different from the usual D-handle that you’d find on most other shovels.
Why are edging shovels moon-shaped and have a T grip?
Having a moon shape and T grip allows you to drive the edging shovel, at a 90-degree angle to the land, straight into the ground with a high degree of accuracy.
You won’t be using too much force on the handle to push down the shovel, which is why the D-handle is absent from its design.
The T shape allows you to have balanced control while you push the shovel into the ground.
You can find many different variations of edging shovels online.
Some may have different types of handles to suit your preferences, with round or even D-shaped handles on them.
However, having your hands balanced on a T-shaped handle will help you to balance and control the shovel.
What Are Edging Shovels Good For?
When you consider the name of this type of shovel, it becomes pretty apparent where an edging shovel excels.
The primary purpose of the shovel is to help you make exact cuts into the ground to edge your garden beds or grass.
However, there are also a few other landscaping situations where the edger will be helpful.
An edger is a helpful tool when you are dividing perennials.
Instead of bending over and getting on your hands and knees with a knife and cutting the perennial into parts, you can utilize an edging shovel.
Standing up and placing the edger where you wish to cut to divide the perennial allows you to make a clean cut and makes it very easy for you to split a clump that’s growing far too close together.
With just a gentle push of the edging shovel, you’ll be able to separate leaves and the root sections with great ease, making transplanting easier and less time-consuming.
If necessary, you can also use an edging shovel to perform all of these tasks at a slight angle when required.
That’ll come in very useful when working around small trees or even shrubs when you need to cut through the roots closer to the surface.
What Are Edging Shovels Not Good For?
Edging shovels are most useful for a specific set of tasks, such as edging your lawn or cutting shallow roots, as discussed.
Still, there are some tasks which you’ll find edging shovels very unhelpful.
The first task would be when it comes to digging holes.
Yes, the edging shovel’s half-moon-shaped blade makes it very easy for it to cut through the soil.
Still, it won’t be able to cut in deep enough to make it a practical choice for digging a hole.
Plus, the relatively small size of the edging shovel blade will not help dig out any soil that you’ve loosened up.
Besides that, the shape, size, and angel of edging shovels are also not very useful for moving material around your lawn.
How To Choose The Right Edging Shovel
Edging shovels come in all shapes and sizes, so finding the perfect one comes down to your personal preferences.
Suppose you prefer not to do a lot of bending or reaching.
In that case, you’ll want to buy an edging shovel with a longer handle.
That way, you can edge your lawn much more quickly from a standing position.
If your tall, look for a shovel with a long handle.
Be sure to select an edging shovel that has a good kickplate.
To remind you, the kick plate is the metal bent-over piece on the blade in which you place your foot to push the edger into the ground.
You see, using a shovel of any kind shouldn’t just be about relying on your arm strength.
Edging utilizes your lower body to push the blade into the ground to slice.
With a good kickplate, you can use your feet to push the edging shovel into the ground with less power.
Lastly, always remember that a sturdy garden tool will last you much longer.
An edging shovel made from more robust materials may cost you more, but it comes with the knowledge and peace of mind that you won’t have to replace it anytime soon.
To learn about what materials make a great shovel and what to look for when purchasing any shovel, read our information guide: Choosing The Best Shovel For You
Using a Shovel for Edging
You can use a basic shovel to edge your lawn.
The pros of utilizing a shovel rather than an edging tool is that the odds are you have one, so you do not need to buy anything else.
The cons of utilizing a basic shovel rather than an edger are that you will have to spend more time being precise with your cutting as the edge of a basic shovel is thicker and has a curved back.
Using a basic shovel will not give you crisp, clean cuts without further effort and time from you to clean and refine the cut area to get your desired result.
If you choose to use a basic shovel, ensure the blade is sharp.
You will need to plunge the shovel into the ground at an angle to get a crisp edge and ensuring the roots have been entirely cut.
Edging Shovel Vs. Regular Shovel – Which is Better
A regular shovel and an edging shovel will both work to get the task completed.
Which is better is a personal choice.
My choice would be to use an edging shovel as it was designed to edge.
A basic shovel can do the job, but I prefer to keep my basic shovel to move dirt.
The price of an edging shovel is not steep, and the sharpness of the landscaping, when completed in respect to looks, is much more rewarding.
An edging shovel is easier on my back and gets the job done quicker than a basic shovel.
My leisure time is valuable to me, so when I do a job, I am not a fan of spending hours on getting the look I want, so I opt for using the tool that makes the task more efficient.
