As the owner of Urban Oasis, a store dedicated to the needs of gardeners, Nelson is routinely offered items for sale at her store. Usually, the item is in the trunk of the seller's car. And usually she politely declines.
But recently she was impressed with a new hand spade designed by Vancouver Island inventor Paul Carr because she could see its advantages to those with limited mobility.
"I recognized right away the ergonomic benefits of the tool," says Nelson, 46, who coaches a seniors' dragon boat team. "As a coach, I constantly tell my crew to keep their wrists neutral when paddling to reduce strain."
She says the concept in gardening is similar.
"When you use a traditional spade, you tend to torque and swivel the wrist. With this design, it works like a wrist brace, keeping the wrist in a neutral position," Nelson says.
According to Carr, 53, the inventor of the Y-shaped spade, the ergonomic benefit is second only to its digging ability.
When the Comox gardener had trouble digging up bulbs using a conventional hand spade, the part-time inventor grafted a bicycle part onto his hand trowel.
"The soil in my yard was so hard I just couldn't push the hand spade in," says Carr, a registered massage therapist when not tinkering in his workshop. "The mountain bike bar-end grafted onto the spade allowed for one- or two handed operation, which made it easy to dig."
He says the modified hand spade, which he calls the Y-Grip, is the first invention he has brought to market.
"It's my get-rich-slow scheme," Carr jokes.
After eight years of family and friends working on prototypes ,the final product is an ergonomically friendly twist on the traditional spade. The small spade is designed to be easy to use in tight spaces where a regular shovel would not be appropriate.
"It's unique because you can put weight on it," Nelson says. "I see it being popular among the arthritis group because it is easy on the joints."
She says the Y-Grip forces gardeners to use larger shoulder muscles when they dig.
She praises the design: "It's dead simple."
The Y-grip, available with a red or blue handle, is starting to show up on the shelves of some garden centres.
It's also available online for $11.95, plus shipping and handling ,from www.ygrip.ca.
-- Canwest News Service
