all the colonist had was wooden shovels or wooden shovels with iron bracing between the blade and handle.John Ames design was the curved neck socket that the handle fits in, greatly reducing breakage and increasing leverage.The wooden shovels and early iron shovels used by the colonist had straight handles that broke fairly easy.Jseal I couldn't find a pic of the early wooden shovels but I'll keep looking.

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The mind never forgets what the hands have learned