The Emsland sand shovel is well suited for transporting loose material or for performing excavations in loose soil. Thanks to the curved blade edge, this shovel is also often used for creating narrow ditches, e.g. for water lines or other pipelines. One important part of a shovel is the socket (the point at which the handle is attached) and the socket angle (angle of inclination between shovel blade and handle). This shovel has a flat socket angle (½ raised). In combination with the short handle, it is particularly well suited for performing excavations in tight spaces, e.g. in a shaft or ditch, and offers improved load transmission when lifting heavy bulk materials. The flat socket angle enables back-friendly removal of material from an elevated working height, e.g an HGV loading area.