Answer

He sounds skilled at his job as Heaney describes his actions which are precise in stanza 4, the word ‘nestled’ making the spade sound at home against his boot.

He boasts in the sixth stanza of how much more turf his grandfather cut in a day than any other man.

His admiration for his skill is shown in the seventh stanza with onomatopoeic words ‘nicking and slicing’ showing the skill of his cutting of the turf precisely. We are reminded of the theme of ‘digging’ at the end of the stanza.