BladeThe part that goes into the ground and carries the load. It is dished so that loose material stays on it.
PointThe first part to enter the ground. On a round-point shovel the blade curves in to it; a square-point shovel has a straight edge here.
StepThe top edge of the blade. It is turned over to make a flat place for the foot.
SocketThe steel tube at the top of the blade. It holds the end of the handle. On a sheet-steel shovel it is folded from the same sheet as the blade.
HandleThe long piece that joins the blade to the grip. Usually of wood.
D-gripA hand grip shaped like the letter D. It is on the end of a short handle. A long-handled shovel has a plain end here.
Back and side 2
BackThe face of the blade away from the load. The socket runs down it as a ridge. Makers name shovels by it: a hollow back or open back has an open space behind the socket, and a closed back is smooth.
LiftHow high the handle stands above the floor with the blade flat. It comes from the angle between the blade and the handle.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) Wikipedia, Shovel and Spade, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shovel and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spade : a broad blade on a medium-length handle; the blade of sheet steel folded at the back into a socket for the handle; a T-piece or a D-shaped grip at the end of the handle; a treaded top edge on a spade's blade. (2) US Army, TM 9-243, full text at https://archive.org/details/use-and-care-of-hand-tools-and-measuring-tools-1983 : a long-handled shovel has a curved steel blade on a long wooden handle; a D-handled shovel has a shorter handle with a D-shaped handgrip. (3) A fork and hoe maker's catalog of 1972, https://archive.org/details/unionforkandhoecatalognow7273r : blade, point of blade, step, socket, open back and closed back, D grip, handle, blade lift and handle lift. (4) A second shovel maker's catalog of 1937, https://archive.org/details/wood-shovel-and-tool-co-1937 : round point blades, with step, socket, D handle, plain back, hollow back and closed back (smooth front and back, without the open space of a hollow back), and the lift or bend of the shovel. (5) Two garden tool books read as search passages on archive.org (identifiers smithhawkentoolb0000loga and gardentoolsequip0000unse): blade, socket, tread, blade lift. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's tool, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
A shovel is a curved steel blade on a handle. This drawing shows a round-point shovel with a D-grip three ways: from the front, from behind and from the side.
Read the full guide
From the point to the grip
The blade narrows to the point. At its top edge the steel is turned over on each side to make the step. Between the two steps the blade runs up into the socket, a tapered tube that holds the handle. The handle is the long straight piece, usually wood. This shovel ends in a D-grip; a long-handled shovel has a longer handle with a plain end.
Back and lift
Turn the shovel over and you see the back, with the socket running down it as a ridge. Lay the blade flat and the grip stands off the floor: that height is the lift.
Step and tread are two names for the same turned-over edge. The quiz takes either.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a shovel called?
From the ground up: the point, the blade, the step at the top of the blade, the socket that holds the handle, the handle and, on a short shovel, the D-grip. The other face of the blade is the back.
What is the metal part of a shovel called?
The blade. The tube at its top, where the handle goes in, is the socket. On a sheet-steel shovel the socket is folded from the same sheet as the blade.
What is the lift of a shovel?
The height of the handle above the floor when the blade lies flat. It comes from the angle between the blade and the handle, and makers list it for each pattern of shovel.
What is the difference between a shovel and a spade?
The names overlap. Shovel is the general word and covers broad tools for scooping and moving loose material. A spade is mainly for digging, and its blade is typically narrower and flatter than a common shovel's.