DEAS 1020: 2019  
ICS 25.140.01  
 
 
© EAC 201 9                                                                                                                               First Edition 201 9 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Shove ls and spades  — Specification   
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS 1020: 2019  
ii © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
This EAC document is copyright -protected by EAC. While the reproduction of this document by 
participants in the EAC standards development process is pe rmitted without prior permission from EAC, 
neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form for 
any other purpose without prior written permission from EAC.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this documen t for the purpose of selling it should be addressed 
as shown below or to EAC’s member body in the country of the requester:  
© East African Community  2019 — All rights reserved  
East African Community   
P.O. Box 1096 , 
Arusha  
Tanzania  
Tel: + 255 27 2 162100  
Fax: + 255 27 2162190  
E-mail: eac@eachq.org  
       Web: www.eac -quality.net  
Reproduction for sales purposes may be subject to royalty payments or a licensing agreement.  
Violators may be prosecuted . 
 DEAS 1020: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchang ed 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academ ia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalizat ion of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expecte d to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 042, Production and general 
engineering .  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that s ome of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 
 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1020: 2019  
 
© EAC 201 9 – All rights reserved  1 
 Shovels and spades  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East Africa Standard  specifies  requirements, me thods of sampling and testing of shovels and 
spades.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the editi on cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
ISO 9556, Steel and iron — Determination of total carbon content — Infrared absorption method after 
combustion in an induction furna ce 
ISO 10700, Steel and iron — Determination of manganese content — Flame atomic absorption spectrometric 
method  
ISO 439, Steel and iron — Determination of total silicon content — Gravimetric method  
ISO 10714, Steel and iron — Determination of phosphorus c ontent — Phosphovanadomolybdate 
spectrophotometric method  
ISO 671, Steel and cast iron — Determination of sulphur content — Combustion titrimetric method  
ISO 6508 -1, Metalic materials — Rockwell hardness test — Part 1: Test method  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the following terms and definitions apply:  
3.1 
handle  
portion of a spade or shovel from the shoulder of the blade to the extr emity of the grip  
3.2 
hilt 
portion of a spade or shovel that comprises the grip and its means of  attachment to the shaft  
3.3 
reference plane  
plane that touches the back of the blad e and the handle  
3.4 
shaft  
part that fits into the socket at one end and into the  hilt at the other end  DEAS 1020: 2019  
2 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 3.5 
size number  
number that desig nates the size of a spade or shove l 
3.6 
socket  
tubular section that is formed integrally with the blade, and into which a wooden shaft or tubular steel shaft is  
fitted  
3.7 
Shovel  
tool consisting of a broad scoop or a more or less hollowed out blade with a handle used for lifting and moving  
bulk materials such as soil, coal, gravel or sand  
3.8 
Spade  
tool with a sharp edged flat metal blade and long handle, used for application such as digging, cutting soil and  
sand  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Materials  
4.1.1  Material used for manufacture of the blade  and socket shall be steel with chemical composition as 
specified in the table  1, or any other type of steel which can give the required physical properties of the 
shovel . 
Table 1 — Chemical composition of steel for manufacture of blade and socket  
Element  
 Composition, %by wt.  Test Methods  
Minimum  Maximum   
Carbon  
Manganese  
Silicon  
Phosphorus  
Sulphur  0.4 
0.5 
0.15 
- 
- 0.8 
0.9 
0.35 
0.05 
0.05 ISO 9556  
ISO 10700  
ISO 439  
ISO 10714  
ISO 671  
 
4.1.2  The handle shall be made of the material that facilitates compl ete bonding with the hilt and the socket 
and facilitate firm grip by the user. If it is made of wood it shall be hard wood with a specific gravity of 0.66 to 
0.8 seasoned to not more that 20 % moisture content on dry basis.  
4.2 Hardness  
The blade when test ed up to 45 % of its height measured from the cutting edge and  in accordance with ISO 
6508 -1 shall have a hardness of 39 HRC – 48 HRC  or its equivalent.  
4.3 Handle and grip  
4.3.1  Grip and handle shall not rotate in use. The grip and the handle should be sm ooth; free from cracks, 
sharp edges . DEAS 1020: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  3 
 4.3.2  The handle shall be tested for strength by clamping it and subjecting the same to a static load of 50 kg 
at a radius of 750 mm for an hour without brea king or showing a permanent deformation (see figure 1). 
 
 
Figure 1 – Handle and grip strength test  
4.4 Dimensions  
Dimension of the shovel and spades should be as specified in annex A.  
5 Methods of test  
5.1 Bend test for spades  
Using a vice (see figure 2 ) fitted with a 50 mm cylindrical insert of length at least equa l to the width of the 
blade under test, clamp the blade to a depth of 50 mm from the tip of its working edge. So apply a load in the 
appropriate direction to the hilt that the blade bends over the cylindrical insert and the hilt moves through an 
angle of 7 5°.  DEAS 1020: 2019  
4 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 
 
Figure 2  — Bend test for spades  
5.2 Strength test for sockets, shafts and hilts  
5.2.1 Support the tool as shown in figure 17. Gradually apply a load to the hilt such as to impose a bending 
moment at the shoulder of the blade, equal to the relevant o f: 
50 kg  in the case of spades with blades of nominal thickness 2 mm; or  
36 kg in the case of spades with blades of nominal thickness 1.6 mm, and all shovels.  
5.2.2 Maintain the bending moment for a period of 2 min and then release it;  
5.2.3 Immediately me asure the vertical deflection of the grip from its initial position, and take this to be the 
permanent set.  
 
View in direction A showing hardwood             View in direction A showing hardwood  
packing piece to suit round blade                       packing piece to suit flat blade          
Figure 3  — Strength test for sockets, shafts and hilts  DEAS 1020: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  5 
 5.3 Workmanship and finish  
5.3.1  The blade and socket shall be free from pits, cracks, flaws, burrs and other visual defects.  
5.3.2  A coating of protective paint or grease on the working part of the blade shall be provided. The top part 
not in direct contact with the soil shall have an anti - corrosion paint coating.  
6 Sampling  
6.1 Lot 
6.1.1 If the entire stock  is of homogenous quality then in effect, the stock  shall comprise a single lot. A 
sample of specified size may then be selected directly upon opening the stock . 
6.1.2 If the lot is composed of boxes (for instance, each from a different manufacturer) then sampling shall 
be conducted in two stages. First select a sample number of boxes and  then select a sample of hoe s from 
within each selected box.  
6.1.3 Once the samples have been selected, they shall be legibly marked (for example 1, 2, 3, etc.) and the 
box from which they were taken also marked so that each can  be sourced back to the box from which it was 
taken.  
6.2 Sample size  
6.2.1 A zero-based acceptance sample shall be selected based on an  Acceptable Quality Level  of 2.5 %. 
The sample sizes to be selected are as given  in Table 3 . 
Table 3 — Acceptable Quality  Level (AQL) of 2.5 % 
Lot size  Sample size  
Less than 90  7 
91 to 150  11 
151 to 280  13 
281 to 500  16 
501 to 1 200  19 
1 201 to 3 200  23 
3 201 to 10 000  29 
10 001 to 35 000  35 
35 001 and above  40 
7 Marking and pack aging  
7.1 Marking  
The shovel s and sp ades  shall be legibly and indelibly marked with the following information;  
a) Manufacturer’s name and/or registered trade mark;  
b) Batch number; and  
c) Country of origin.  DEAS 1020: 2019  
6 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 7.2 Packaging  
The shovels  and spades  shall be packaged in such a manner that they are protect ed from damage during 
transportation and storage.  DEAS 1020: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  7 
 Annex A    
(Informative)  
Dimensions and figures for shovels and spades  
 
Figure A.1 – Spade and shovel  
 
 
 
Figure A.2 – Hilt dimension  
 
DEAS 1020: 2019  
8 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
  
Table A.1 — Dimension of spade s 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 
Type of 
spade  Size 
No. Blade  Socket  Length of 
handle  
mm 
± 25 mm Length  
mm 
± 10 mm Width  
mm 
± 10 mm Nominal 
thickness  
± 0.15 mm  Lift 
± 15 
mm Shoulder 
tread width  
mm, min  Lengt
h 
mm 
± 10 Outside 
diameter at 
end mm, 
± 2 mm 
Digging . 
wooden shaf t 2 300 200 2.00 75 12 230 38 660 
Digging . steel 
shaft  2 300 200 2.00 75 12 - - 660 
Vineyard . 
Wooden shaft  3 320 215 2.00 110 12 315 38 760 
4 330 230 2.00 110 12 340 38 760 
Light  weight  
Spade . 
tubular shaft  1 260 175 1.6 70 12 70 32 710 
2 295 190 1.6 75 12 70 32 710 
*May vary according to purchaser's requirement  
 
Table A.2 — Dimensions of shovels  
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 
Type of shovel  Size 
No. Blade  Socket  Length 
of 
handle  
mm 
± 25 
mm 
Length  
mm 
± 10 mm Width  
mm 
± 15 mm Nominal  
§ thickness  
mm Dish  
mm 
± 10 mm Lift 
mm 
± 10 mm Length  
mm 
Min. Outside 
diam at 
end 
mm 
± 3 mm Length 
of 
handle*  
mm 
± 25 
mm 
Round nose 
wooden shaft  2 330 230+ 2.00 48 150 230 38 660 
4 340 260+ 2.00 50 165 230 38 660 
480 
Round nose 
steel shaft  2 330 230+ 2.00 48 150 - - 600 
4 340 260+ 2.00 50 165 - - 600 
480 
Round nose 
steel shaft(mine 
pattern)  4 340 260+ 2.00 50 165 - - 480 
560 
600 DEAS 1020: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  9 
 660 
Round nose . 
steel shaft(thin 
blade)  2 330 230+ 1.6 50 165 - - 660 
4 340 260+ 1.6 48 150 60 32 660 
Round nose . 
tubular 
shaft(thin blade)  2 320 218+ 1.6 48 150 60 32 660 
Square mouth . 
wooden shaft  2 320 265++ 2.00 45 150 300 38 660 
5 355 290++ 2.00 45 165 300 38 660 
7 370 315++ 2.00 45 180 250 38 700 
10 430 360 2.00 60 215 280 38 700 
Square mouth . 
steel shaft  2 320 265++ 2.00 45 150 - - 625 
5 355 290++ 2.00 45 165 - - 660 
Square mouth 
tubular 
shaft(thin blade)  2 320 265++ 1.6 45 150 70 32 660 
5 355 290++ 1.6 45 165 70 35 660 
Locomitive firing 
shovel  - 450 215++ 2.00 65 125 230 38 540 
Pit pan shovel  1 380 378 2.00 55 178 230 38 685 
2 450 390 2.00 55 178 308 38 718 
*The length of the handle shall be as required. where a choice exists  
+Width measured at the widest section of the blade.  
++Width measured at mouth.  
§ Subject to a rolling tolerance of ±0.15 mm 
 
Table A.3 — Dimensio ns of hilts for spades and shovels  
1 2 3 4 5 
Type of hilt  Diameter of grip at 
centre , D1 
mm 
± 3 mm  Diameter of grip at 
ends , D2 
mm 
 Length of grip , A 
mm 
min. Gap between grip 
and end of shaft , B 
mm 
min. 
Pressed steel  38 30 125 63 
Cast 30 30 125 63 
Plastics 32 30 125 63 
Wooden tee 
(applicable to 
locomotive firing 
shovels only)  38 30 135 - 
 DEAS 1020: 2019    
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved