Patent ID: 7712805

Claim:
A sifting shovel for sifting particulate matter from a volume of material, the sifting shovel comprising: a shovel head with a base plate, a sifting plate fixed in relation to the base plate, a first side wall, a second side wall, and a proximal end wall wherein the sifting plate has a plurality of apertures therein, wherein the base plate, the first and second side walls, and the rear wall together define a reception volume for retaining a volume of material, wherein the base plate, the sifting plate, and the first and second side walls have distal ends that together define an open mouth of the shovel head; and an elongate handle with a proximal end fixed to the shovel head for enabling control and manipulation of the sifting shovel wherein the handle has a substantially round cross section, a bend adjacent to the proximal end of the handle, and a substantially straight portion from the bend to adjacent to a distal end of the handle, and wherein the bend angles the substantially straight portion of the handle to a sifting plate side of the shovel head; whereby the shovel head can be inserted into a volume of material, material smaller than a given size can be sifted through the apertures and into the reception volume, and material greater than a given size can be prevented from being sifted through the apertures.