The Spear Head garden spade for hard ground and roots.

The double patented blade starts the cut like a spear and finishes it like a spade, so digging takes up to 80% less effort than a standard shovel. A family business for 15 years, based in New Jersey.

Shop the spades
4.9 from more than 500 reviews Over 600,000 sold Double patented

Pick your tool

Every spade shares the same spearhead blade. Pick the handle that fits how you dig.

On Amazon

The Spear Head Hoe.

60" Garden Hoe

Weeds, digs, mixes, rakes

A hoe and rake in one head, so bed prep and cleanup take a single tool.

$64Sold on Amazon

See the Garden Hoe

Three spades, one spearhead blade. Plus the hoe, all shown to scale.

Not sure which size is right for you?

Find your spade in 30 seconds

The easy add-on: the Garden Kneeler

Kind on knees and elbows. It slips right into the box with your spade.

Add to cart for $10.00 See details

One family, 15 years. If you are not satisfied, contact us and we will do whatever we can to make you happy.

See every tool with full details and prices

Gift season

The gift gardeners give each other

Owners tell us they buy a second one for a friend. Every spade ships from our family business in New Jersey.

  • A customer's photo: the blade of a Spear Head Spade with a teal handle pushed into dark soil under a lifted clump of roots and green leaves

    ★★★★★

    Very satisfied with this shovel. It’s well made and performs exactly the way the company advertised.

    Verified buyer

    40 inch D-handle
  • A customer's photo: the blade of a Spear Head Spade with a teal handle set in dark mulch between green and variegated plants, in front of a white fence

    ★★★★★

    Don’t hesitate to get it. Trust me you won’t regret it.

    Annette W.Verified buyer

  • ★★★★★

    I’m getting ready to plant a 2k square foot pollinator garden in NC clay. This will definitely help make the job easier.

    V M.Verified buyer

    40 inch D-handle

  • ★★★★★

    Bought for a gardening neighbor for her 78th birthday. She loved it!

    Carolyn L.

    40 inch D-handle

  • ★★★★★

    Loved them so much they have become my go-to gift for gardening friends!

    Susan M.

    40 inch D-handle

  • ★★★★★

    I received one of these as a gift and loved it so much that I have sent others to gardening friends as well.

    Susan S.

    58 inch Long Handle

Reviews provided via Judge.me Read all reviews

Giving both? See the Spade and Kneeler gift sets

Front view of the Spear Head Spade blade showing the spearhead and the two wing barbs
Close-up of the sharpened, beveled edge of the Spear Head Spade blade
The sharpened, beveled edge

The blade

Why the spearhead works

Up to 80% less effort than a standard shovel.

A regular spade meets the soil with its full width at once. The spearhead concentrates that same effort into one place.

  • Penetrates first, then slices. The point goes in first, and the sharpened shoulders cut outward as the blade sinks, slicing roots instead of bouncing off them.
  • Sharpened tip to tail. The edge is beveled at a 35 degree angle along the whole blade, so every inch cuts.
  • Tougher steel. Tempered carbon-manganese steel, 33% thicker and 25% harder than standard shovel steel, so it shrugs off rocks and flexes instead of bending or snapping.
  • Stays sharp with use. The coating is designed to wear at the edges first, so ordinary digging keeps exposing fresh, sharpened steel.
Shop the 40 inch D-Handle $60 See all four tools →

In their words

Loved by gardeners

Watch real gardeners put the spearhead to work, then read hundreds more reviews.

Ten coworkers bought one after seeing hers A customer at the show

4.9 out of 5

average from more than 500 reviews

Over 600,000 sold

As featured in

The strength of the Spear Head Spade Jean and Jane Seykora on the farm

  • ★★★★★

    Hands down the best purchase I've made for yard work in years.

    Constance W.

  • ★★★★★

    I'm 65 years old and this spade lets me do the work of a 25 year old. I love it!

    Julie S.

  • I needed a tool that would dig thru our clay soil deep enough to loosen the daffodil bulbs without puncturing them… So happy I purchased it since it is exactly what I needed with little effort.

    Charlene, a friend of the Mathieu family

  • ★★★★★

    It digs through Arizona's caliche!! Much more user-friendly than an axe!!!

    Barbara M.

  • ★★★★★

    I call it my miracle shovel! Absolutely the best purchase I've made in a very long time.

    Michele E.

  • ★★★★★

    My new favorite tool. Much easier to dig with than standard shovels.

    Alice G.

  • ★★★★★

    A shovel like no other that goes through clay better than any other!

    Victoria F.

  • ★★★★★

    The only thing that this shovel can't do is make the coffee. Love, love it.

    Deb K.

  • ★★★★★

    We loved it so much we bought 5 more as Christmas gifts!!!

    Janet S.

  • ★★★★★

    A friend is a master gardener and said this is the shovel that you'll love. She was right!

    Sandra E.

  • ★★★★★

    Had a spear head spade for a few years now - it's my absolute go-to shovel.

    Rachel C.

  • ★★★★★

    My gardens are clay and rocks. This shovel makes me excited to garden! No more jumping on the shovel!

    Sally C.

  • ★★★★★

    Best shovel ever! I see that everyone is copying your design.

    Anne K.

  • ★★★★★

    Small but mighty! Surpassed my expectations.

    Terri H.

Star-rated reviews provided via Judge.me

Hundreds more stories from real gardens.

Read customer reviews See them at work →

Our story

The gardener who wouldn't stop digging

One stubborn gardener, a sharper idea, and the family that stands behind every order.

Daniel Mathieu, inventor of the Spear Head Spade, digging in his garden Double patented
Daniel Mathieu, who invented the spearhead blade in his own Connecticut garden.

Spear Head Spade began with Daniel Mathieu, a gardener in Windsor, Connecticut, who was not ready to put the spade down.

  1. The setback

    Two artificial knees and two artificial hips had made digging painful enough to end his favorite hobby. Daniel decided the tool should change, not the gardener.

  2. The blade

    With his son Julien, an engineer, he designed the spearhead blade and earned two patents on it.

  3. The family

    Today Spear Head Spade is Glorious Outdoors LLC, a family business for 15 years, owned and run by two brothers who stand behind every order.

  4. The award

    In 2025, Better Homes and Gardens named it Best Shovel and Spade.

Read the full story

A blade that slips into hard ground instead of fighting it.

Daniel's design, and the reason gardeners still reach for it.
Hugh, co-owner of Glorious Outdoors
Hugh
Harry, co-owner of Glorious Outdoors
Harry

Our guarantee

Backed by our family

“If you are not satisfied, contact us and we will do whatever we can to make you happy.”

The family behind Glorious Outdoors LLC and the Spear Head Spade

Shop the 40 inch D-Handle $60 See all four tools

Over 600,000 sold.

Garden Guides

Learn before you dig

Short, practical reads on digging, tool choice, and protecting your joints, from a family business for 15 years.

View all 193 guides