My review of the Black Ada Gladius Stainless Steel spade
Well, what a great day I had on Saturday, maybe it was the new digging spade that made it happen, but not likely, lol
One Celtic coin, eleven roman coins, four roman brooches although just the bottom half with the catch plates on three and the top half of one, what a shame they aren’t complete.
Anyway about the new spade, I decided to buy the new Black Ada Gladius Stainless Steel for £53.99 as it had some discount on it from where I purchased, free next day delivery aswell. Wife keeps asking where her border spade has gone
The decision was based on the overall appearance and design but mostly the high & wide situated foot assist and curved blade, price wise it is around the norm for SS products of this type, and like anything its personal choice that matters
It is about the same size as my usual spade the Joseph Bentley stainless border spade, I modified the blade a bit by cutting an angled tip and sharpened it, it has served me well and have used it with some force and it has been OK, I first used a draper mini spade but that’s more suited to snow white’s gang, although some prefer it as its light and easy to carry, but a lot of bending is needed.
The Gladius is a bit heavier at a total weight of 1.6 Kilo than the Bentley border spade at 1.2 Kilo
Made with 12 gauge SS for the blade and 16 gauge (1 ¼”) SS tube for the handle.
I put it to the test and tried it on some soft wet ground, really rooty couch grass infested ground and some stony ground and have to say it copped with all at ease, although the ground was quite claggy and sticking to my boots the stainless steel lost anything stuck to it with a bit of a bang on the ground.
I’m tall and managed one handed without bending down and keeping the detector in the other hand, It dug the holes a lot neater with a plug that was easy to remove, as the blade is curved it only really needed three cuts and then tuned it out with a flick of the foot on the back edge, the wide boot saver is a lot easier on the foot and boot, also it gives a higher point advantage if you want the hole deeper after the initial plug is out, I did this on a couple of occasions to see what it could do and I levered with all my might and if it had broken I think I would have signed up for the world’s strongest person then and there, it truly is strong, I know everything thing has a breaking point but this spade would take some bending or breaking.
After a full day with it I didn’t notice a weight issue although I tend to just drag it behind me, my only gripe is the “T” bar handle, it has left me with a sore finger on the inside of my third finger where the shaft of the spade seems to rub, maybe it’s the gloves I wore, I would have preferred a “D” handle but they don’t do one. I may get it altered to a “D” or change my grip, even make it slightly longer but see how I progress, the “T” is nice and wide so it’s possible to get a good hold and the hand doesn’t go over the ends unless your hands are more than 17 cm (6 ½”) on the edges so it’s comfortable when digging.
On the whole it should last without issues, another small thing is the welding, it’s sound and thorough but not as neatly finished as I would have liked to have welded it, I can weld and I would have finished it a little neater to match the price tag.
Regards Steve
