My mother-in-law is strong. She is so strong that she already broke 3rd spade this year alone, including a good old forged one.

Here comes the Torque Spade:

I suggest a safety mechanism for spades, that only allow certain torque on the spade. If the preset torque is exceeded, the handle is released from the metal blade and the spade is saved.
-- slovakmartin, Aug 11 2024

Good idea if you have crappy spades. The one I use is over 90 years old (Sheffield steel) and I’ll defy anyone to break it. Have this crumb for your efforts regardless. [+]
-- xenzag, Aug 11 2024


Good idea though.
Apprentices kill tools.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Aug 12 2024


[xen] challenge accepted, bring it here and I will break it for you.

[+] for the idea. Better if it has a dial strain gauge, best of all if it can incorporate a paper-trace reel to draw a graph of strain against time.
-- pocmloc, Aug 12 2024


I would buy one that did, [pocmloc], but that feature would probably only be available via bluetooth.
-- normzone, Aug 13 2024


Will there be some way of getting the blade out of the ground? It will be firmly stuck, for sure.
-- bhumphrys, Aug 13 2024



random, halfbakery