Our story

The gardener who wouldn't stop digging

One stubborn gardener, a sharper idea, and the family in New Jersey that stands behind every order. Fifteen years later, it is still the shovel gardeners reach for when a regular shovel gives up.

  • Over 600,000 sold
  • 15 years, one family
  • Double patented
  • Best Shovel/Spade, Better Homes & Gardens 2025
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 shaped a blade that starts the cut like a spear and finishes it like a spade, and the two of them earned two patents on the design.

  3. The family

    Today Spear Head Spade is Glorious Outdoors LLC, a family business for 15 years, and every order is still hand-packed in New Jersey.

  4. The recognition

    In 2025, Better Homes and Gardens named it Best Shovel and Spade, and it now carries a 4.9 star average across 472 reviews.

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

Daniel's design, and the reason gardeners still reach for it.
The Spear Head Spade cutting into rocky, root-bound soil

What makes it different

The shape does the work

A standard shovel meets the ground with a wide, flat edge and asks you to force it down. The spearhead blade leads with a point, so it parts rocky, clay, and root-bound soil the way a spear would, then opens into a full spade to lift the load. The result is up to 80% less effort than a standard shovel.

Gardeners reach for it to:

  • Transplant deeply rooted perennials like ornamental grass, irises, and hostas
  • Dig in rocky, clay, dense, or compacted soil
  • Plant close to trees and shrubs without a pickaxe
  • Do fine, detailed digging that leaves the rest of the bed alone

Recognition

Named Best Shovel and Spade

In 2025, Better Homes & Gardens named the Spear Head Spade its Best Shovel and Spade. It is the kind of tool people write reviews about, 472 of them so far, at a 4.9 star average.

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

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