Agreed about the handle. And nowadays that scooper just looks like a really cheap “flat” variety, though you can get better ones that are “shaped”. It’s hard to tell about the material and attachment from a photo, but it looks usable. Dunno what the state-of-the-art in snow shovels was back then, but I think OP-commenter is reaching. (I like conceptual art as much as anyone else, fwiw…)
I had to think about it a bit, too. I think the “square handle” refers to the cross-section of the pole rather than the handle at the end. It’s the only way I could make sense of it.
If unsure why the square pole would be problematic, imagine using a snowshovel - you’re clearing the driveway and the snow is heavy. Are you able to scoop the snow away just using one hand on the end of the handle?
No, invariably, you’re holding one hand on the end, and using the other hand on the pole to lift the heavy load and contribute to the smooth “scoop” motion of shoveling. Like the oar of a canoe, you don’t get good control unless you use both hands.
Now imagine what it would feel like to hold onto a square pole instead. Every time you pivot the shovel to dump out the snow, you’re turning the corners of the pole against your hand. Even with gloves on, that’s got to get uncomfortable quickly.
Perhaps the original commenter got some words mixed up, who knows really. But I can definitely see how the design in question wouldn’t be practical for actual shoveling use.
I think the “square handle” refers to the cross-section of the pole rather than the handle at the end.
oooh, that makes sense. the image above seems to be broken now, but wikipedia has a good pic of it. Not entirely convinced – I’ve seen worse designs on real products, but I get what OP’s trying to say.
I agree that the scooper is too flimsy, but I’ve used a lot of shovels with square handles, what’s the problem there?
Agreed about the handle. And nowadays that scooper just looks like a really cheap “flat” variety, though you can get better ones that are “shaped”. It’s hard to tell about the material and attachment from a photo, but it looks usable. Dunno what the state-of-the-art in snow shovels was back then, but I think OP-commenter is reaching. (I like conceptual art as much as anyone else, fwiw…)
I had to think about it a bit, too. I think the “square handle” refers to the cross-section of the pole rather than the handle at the end. It’s the only way I could make sense of it.
If unsure why the square pole would be problematic, imagine using a snowshovel - you’re clearing the driveway and the snow is heavy. Are you able to scoop the snow away just using one hand on the end of the handle?
No, invariably, you’re holding one hand on the end, and using the other hand on the pole to lift the heavy load and contribute to the smooth “scoop” motion of shoveling. Like the oar of a canoe, you don’t get good control unless you use both hands.
Now imagine what it would feel like to hold onto a square pole instead. Every time you pivot the shovel to dump out the snow, you’re turning the corners of the pole against your hand. Even with gloves on, that’s got to get uncomfortable quickly.
Perhaps the original commenter got some words mixed up, who knows really. But I can definitely see how the design in question wouldn’t be practical for actual shoveling use.
oooh, that makes sense. the image above seems to be broken now, but wikipedia has a good pic of it. Not entirely convinced – I’ve seen worse designs on real products, but I get what OP’s trying to say.
I too had an issue with this point and I don’t think the handle shape has anything to do with the title. I feel it was misconstrued
I’ve shoveled many driveways with a shovel that looks just like that and even looked up snow shovels just to be sure I didn’t misremember
Looking up “shovel” shows a majority of tools that have the same handle so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This square handle?
I can’t find any rectangle rods even looking for “shovel square handle”.