Okay, let’s talk about fixing up my trusty snow shovel. The plastic edge, that wear strip thingy, was totally shot.
Noticing the Damage
So, I was out clearing the driveway after that last little snowfall, nothing major, but I noticed the shovel wasn’t scraping clean anymore. It was leaving little ridges of snow behind. Took a look at the bottom edge, and yep, that plastic strip was worn down, cracked in a couple spots too. Pretty much useless for getting a clean scrape down to the pavement.
Getting the New Strip
Didn’t want to buy a whole new shovel, the handle and scoop are still perfectly fine. Seemed like a waste. I remembered seeing replacement strips somewhere before. Hopped online, typed in something like “snow shovel plastic edge replacement”, and found a bunch. Measured my old one roughly – looked like a standard size. Ordered one, wasn’t expensive at all. Came in the mail a few days later.
Doing the Swap
Alright, time to get my hands dirty. Grabbed the shovel and the new strip. Found my screwdriver set. The old strip was held on by maybe five or six screws.
- First step: Unscrewing the old ones. A couple came out easy. A few were a bit stubborn, probably a little rust in there. Had to put some muscle into it, but they eventually loosened up.
- Next: Pulled the old, busted strip off. Tossed it in the trash. Good riddance.
- Clean up: Took a rag and wiped down the edge of the shovel blade where the strip sits. Got rid of some dirt and grit.
- Putting the new one on: Lined up the new wear strip. The holes matched perfectly, thankfully. Didn’t have to drill anything.
- Screwing it in: Put the screws back in. Started them all by hand first to make sure they were lined up right. Then went back and tightened each one down with the screwdriver. Made sure they were snug, but didn’t crank on them super hard – didn’t want to strip the plastic or the screw heads.
All Done
That was pretty much it. Stood the shovel up, looked at the new edge. Nice and straight, solid. Pushed it across the garage floor a bit. Felt way better, like it would actually scrape properly again. Took maybe 15 minutes total? Super easy fix.
Feels good knowing I didn’t have to junk the whole shovel. Just a simple part replacement and it’s ready for the next snowstorm. Saved a few bucks and kept a perfectly good tool in service. Happy with how it turned out.
