The best shovel you can buy

This being a shovel thread....


I'm in love with my cold steel shovel

Screw machetes axes and big blades... It doesn't even need to be "sharp" to do amazing feats(for a shovel)
The handles not as bad as everyone makes it sound- I was playing with it in the rain and as long as it's dry initially and you keep your hands on it it's fine- the minute it gets wet it's over
 
Still trying to find my darn camera cable. In the meantime I also got the digging fork by WW Manufacturing. While quite solidly built, with a construction style similar to the Predator shovel, the Predator has a more refined shape and smoother finish. Also, WW Manufacturing doesn't mention that they use Ames TrueTemper heads for their digging forks. The tang of the fork is welded quite solidly to a mounting plate, and then welded to the handle. There are no markings on the head save for a "Made in Austria" stamp, but it's quite familiar--you see it on the TrueTemper models. It's all very well put together, and a fantastic tool, but I wish it was disclosed that they used modified stock fork heads on it. Nothing wrong with Austrian-made heads, but when they say USA made...it should read "Assembled in the USA of domestic and foreign components." :o
 
Finally got pics uploaded. Haven't had the time to get any in-use pics but here it is still looking all pretty!

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42b,

Dude, if you got rid of the modern in-home background, and maybe went for a sepia tone than color, you'd look like some kind of awesome/crazy miner with a baby. Kind of like a dirt-moving lone wolf and cub.


God bless,
Adam

PS: Oh yeah, enjoy the new shovel.
 
They're both excellent tools. The pick mattock is absolutely essential where I live. The soil in the horse pasture is all hardpan clay and chock full of rocks ranging from egg-sized to as big as your torso. I'd make no progress at all without it! :D:thumbup:
 
The shovel looks great. Though, too big for back packing. I guess I lived on a horse pasture in Maine, it would be the tool to have. But then I'd have to compete with Bob Marley. Oh, and the winters.
 
Yeah for woodsbumming I'll be getting the Hercules. You can see the size in this video, though the review is for gardening. :p

[video=youtube;V2kIvqIx7_s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2kIvqIx7_s[/video]
 
It looks like you'd have to wear it on the outside of your pack. It could look a little funny. Or just carry a big pack.
 
That's what I'd do. Just tuck it on the side of your pack. I'm sure if you needed it even shorter than that they'd be happy to oblige. I know one guy on the boards here bought on of their Raven models and had a shorter handle put on it. I prefer a longer handle, though. Works much better for digging and hacking that way.
 
Gotta get a Predator. I have killed several good shovels metal detecting. Often because I modify them on bench grinders to get a certain shape. That red Predator looks very close to what I need. Yes, I heard about that Lesche\W&W\Predator whatever mess a few years ago. The kids tried to take over the fathers business or somesuch. Anyway, these are some of, if not the best out there, as far as metal detectorists go. I'd kill a Cold Steel shovel in a week of prying semi frozen spring clay gumbo.
 
Yeah--the Big Red is a tank! :D:thumbup: I'll be getting more Predator designs in the future for sure. It and my WW Manufacturing digging fork, my TrueTemper potato hook, and Tramontina/Easy Digging pick mattock are all easily my most used tools on the farm. Though now that I've been culling the old hens in preparation for fresh laying stock my antique cleaver and Vic. paring knife have been getting a workout too. :eek::p
 
Those predator shovels look tough. And I bet they move dirt effectively, unfortunately, the shape would never work for my main shovel task: archaeological excavation.

As an archaeologist, I make a living with shovels. In my experience, there is no folding shovel made that holds it's own o a midcentury true-temper.

As far as folding shovels go, the west German type previously mentioned is universally accepted as the toughest in the archaeological community here in the Rockies.
 
tiguy7 said:
I like the Glock folding shovel. I think it's used by NATO troops. An added bonus: there's a saw in the handle.
Click to expand...
I've been in NATO, and maybe some member states issue the Glock shovel, but I've never seen Americans with "NATO-issue" shovels, I've always seen the standard, US-issue entrenching tool (e-tool). God bless the Soldier or Marine who invented that! I got one at a surplus store cheap, and it's tough.
 
Bolt-action bultema said:
Those predator shovels look tough. And I bet they move dirt effectively, unfortunately, the shape would never work for my main shovel task: archaeological excavation.

As an archaeologist, I make a living with shovels. In my experience, there is no folding shovel made that holds it's own o a midcentury true-temper.

As far as folding shovels go, the west German type previously mentioned is universally accepted as the toughest in the archaeological community here in the Rockies.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what shape would be most appropriate for your set of tasks?
 
To answer you question 42, we like to take an old true temper square nose shovel and cut off about 4 inches so the overall shape is a square. The tip is then chisel ground and kept sharp in the field. Most of the shoveling done in archaeological excavation is skimming off a few mm at a time keeping the floor of our units flat and even. The flat and even part is often times impossible with anything but a square shovel. To boot, once we get past 20-30 cm below the surface, the long handle is replaced bu on cut to about 18 inches, so we have room to maneuver around in a 1mx1m unit. I moved over 2500l of dirt, skim shoveling and troweling this summer.

For non-archaeological excavation, on the other hand the shape of those predator shovels look like they could ,ove a lot of dirt.
 
Neat! I like the idea--sounds like pretty much the best thing for the task! :thumbup:
 
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