I can get a lot more food into my mouth with a shovel.
An axe of course! I'm a dwarf after all!
but seriously, you can dig with an axe, but you can't chop with a shovel.
You can sharpen a shovel's edges into an axe, or use an especially broad headed axe as a shovel.
I'm going to have to go with "shovel" as it is easier to use a shovel as an ax, than it is an ax as a shovel.
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"...At least it tells us they understand our language; they're just not willing to speak to us in it. -Who knew they were French?"
Depends on the job.
Neither! You can't bake lembas with any of them.
axe is much more useful
Axe.
Could always dig with an axe, but it'd be pretty hard to chop down a tree with a shovel.
An axe! Think Lizzie...
An axe is far more useful than a shovel. Using an axe, one can chop down trees to make planks for a shelter. It can easily turn brush into firewood. It can cut vines or sinew for weaving into baskets, canvas, clothing, or a fishing net. It can be used to make a bow for hunting or a fishing pole for fishing. It can be used to clean all sorts of animals including fish. It can even be used to hollow out a log for use as a canoe or a shovel. If forced to defend oneself, an axe serves much better than a shovel.
Sophie the Enchantress - Creator, Dreamer, Explorer - Happy yet Sad - Seeker of Beauty and Wonder
I wish all of you many successful and happy adventures., brave Ladies and Lords of Middle Earth!
Even though I want to say the axe is them more useful tool, I tend to use the shovel much more than the axe.
Axe. If I need to dig I can just summon a mole.. or a dwarf.
My beloved Legendary Shovel of the Third Age! (Title: Grave-digger) ...It is also great for wacking shrews.![]()
"One thing drives out another." [Barliman Butterbur]
Both are good but you can't play golf with an axe! ...or a shovel... But you can try with a shovel!!
Which makes for an overall more useful tool, a shovel or an axe?
A great question, It's like comparing apples and oranges...
Both have a specific purpose,
A shovel can be used to dig ground, dislodge earth, tile, and plant trees, also very handy for rubble extraction and gardening work, it's a hobbit's best friend, you won't get far in a garden without a shovel/spade.
An axe can be used for a variety of woodworking skills along with felling (if you have the right axe), splitting and chopping branches, anything to do with wood and woodland management really...
If we're talking about versatility, axes have more uses, I suppose you could try to dig with an axe, but you will quickly find yourself blunting the blade the moment it hits mud.
Axes are better as a weapon than a shovel, though a shovel can be used in a pinch if absolutely necessary, but if I had to choose which one to fight an Orc with, it'd be an Axe in a pinch.
If you want a bit of both, go for a mattock, a mattock is very useful, it can dig, you can use it to cut through stubborn roots (I've done this often), you can use it to break rock so that it is easy enough to move with a shovel. A mattock iss practically a pickaxe with a adze on one end, you can't go wrong!
But in my opinion, if I had to choose which tool to work with the rest of my live, an axe is an overall more useful tool. Give me a whetstone along with it and I'll be happy with my axe forever!
Leader of the Mitey Worriers (Laurelin)
Purveyors of premier meats and vegan substitutes since 26/12/17
You can absolutely play golf with an axe, just be careful with the blade as you swing and use the butt of an axe as if it was an iron club! Trust me, this could work!
Shovels (or spades for that matter) don't have the weight or the length to get a good swing, if I had to play golf with either, I'd choose an axe,
once again, axe gang wins!
Leader of the Mitey Worriers (Laurelin)
Purveyors of premier meats and vegan substitutes since 26/12/17
I'd answer Shovel (sharpened edges can cut as an axe)
However...
2-in1:
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Brandy: Cupcakes of Doom.
Landro: Trueheart Companions.
axe
I would pick the shovel, cause if its sharpened it can be a good weapon too.
I was playing DnD with some friends and one of em was a gravedigger and had a shovel that did tons of damage!
Which makes for an overall more useful tool, a shovel or an axe?
A shovel of course.
Sergio :-)
Moved from Riddermark to Landroval on 2/10/1015!
I'm going with shovel on this one.
I hear the jury's still out on science...
Glad to be back after a 8 year break.
Shovel