Metal Shovel Essay

The lowly snow shovel has been around in various forms for hundreds of years. Starting with some of its earliest forms made from wood the snow shovel has progressed through the years and can now be found both in plastic and metal forms. With out this lowly and humble piece of equipment a good part of the world would struggle to maintain a comfortable form of life. Moving snow is essential to both our economy and our standards of living. Without it we would not be able to get out of our houses or for that matter keep our home safe.

Besides keeping the driveway clear or the side walks clean often time we must also shovel off our homes, sheds and cars so they will not suffer damage. Without doing this we would be stuck staying inside or trudging through the snow on our own two feet which is no easy task. In the not so distant past snow removal simply involved citizens going into the streets to level the drifts for sleigh traffic by hand. Today of course we have many other ways to remove snow but the shovel is still the most common of those

At first these were heavy and cumbersome being made of steel. Often this also kept size to a minimum as the larger the blade the heavier it became. Today the metal shovel is often made of aluminum so the weight problem is a thing of the past. You can find them in all different sizes and shapes. Some of the most popular ones are similar in shape to a snow plow that you might find on a truck. With its curved blade it is easier to push the snow up in to piles. You can still get the standard flat style as well which is used better for scooping the snow up and throwing it into piles. One draw back of the metal shovel is that the tend to bend when you don't have an absolutely flat surface to shovel. Also snow can stick easily to some of them and when you try to get the snow off by hitting it on the ground upside down you usually end up bending it more. All in all though it is light weight and easy to