Stainless steel spade.

Went in my local S****bury's today and picked up a SS spade for £6. 

OK, it's got a glassfibre handle which I'm not keen on as I can usually demolish them in next to no time but I can get a replacement hardwood handle for a fiver locally so I think It's still a pretty good buy.

I seem to spend more time trying to scrape the clay off the spade than digging.

Best thing about stainless steel spades (and forks) is that they don't rust, but they're nowhere near as "non-stick" as many people hope for, although if you don't like cleaning up after you that's probably OK.

Stainless steel is more expensive than mild steel, and I have to admit that a SS spade and fork set I bought for a friend who is by no means really into digging didn't stand up to even relatively simple tasks (there are bargains out there but rarely do you get a lot more than what you paid for.)