The Shovel Discussion Thread!

[FortyTwoBlades]

Ok--I wasn't alone in being interested in scythes, so let's try my other off-the-beaten-path tool interest: shovels! What do you use, what do you like in a shovel or trowel, and what do you wish was made?

I know a lot of folks enjoy the Cold Steel SF Shovel, and I do as well, but I wish the foot steps were turned inward. If allowed to redesign it myself I'd end up with something sort of like the below.



Around the home I mostly use either an aluminum transfer shovel for mucking the barn, or my Predator Tools "Big Red" diamond point. But out in the field I use a Zenbori "hori hori" like this one:

If I were able to design my own similar tool, though, I'd come up with something like this.

 

[Operator1975]

Are we talking camping survival stuff or can I comment on my old dirty flat shovel I use for everything under the sun?

 

[Steve Tall]

Fans of "hand-forged" axes (like Gransfors and Wetterlings) might be interested in "hand-forged" shovels that are available in the USA:

from manufacturer's home page (DeWit)
http://www.gardenersfirstchoice.com/

[video=youtube;KTKSpZmHb4k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTKSpZmHb4k[/video]

 

[trailmaker]

I recently bought a Fiskars shovel that performs better than my other shovels. I haven't paid much attention to shovels, I'll have a closer look at them.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Are we talking camping survival stuff or can I comment on my old dirty flat shovel I use for everything under the sun?

Everything shovels. Everything.

Fans of "hand-forged" axes (like Gransfors and Wetterlings) might be interested in "hand-forged" shovels that are available in the USA:

from manufacturer's home page (DeWit)
http://www.gardenersfirstchoice.com/

[video=youtube;KTKSpZmHb4k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTKSpZmHb4k[/video]

Never seen the video before, but I'm familiar with the shovels--good stuff!

I recently bought a Fiskars shovel that performs better than my other shovels. I haven't paid much attention to shovels, I'll have a closer look at them.

If you like the Fiskars check out Predator Tools. Similar construction but USA-made and ten times as indestructible. I love my Big Red--used it this morning to chop, chip, and pry ice chunks from the mouth of the driveway from when the plow truck went by.

 

[euroross]

Anyone use the Cold Steel shovel?

 

[leon08]

I'm a fan of versatile tools. I recently refurbished a Romanian military shovel, a beautiful combination between Western military style (German, Austrian - folding, etc.) and the Eastern (Russian - fixed).
The blade has a sharp edge for cutting wood (like a chisel), one side with saw teeth and a sharp tip for digging (duble bevel at 45 degrees).
A good tool tested over the years both in military and civilian field.
A few pics

Thanks!

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Very nice refurb job! Looks brand new!

 

[M3mphis]

Nice job, Leon. That's cool. Now I'll be on the lookout for a rusty old trenching shovel.

 

[leon08]

Thanks guys! I appreciate!

 

[bearhunter]

Nice job, Leon. That's cool. Now I'll be on the lookout for a rusty old trenching shovel.

oh great!!! here we go... something else to dig through a pawn shop for...

leon, that does look really nice. i had one of those years ago when i was a kid... long gone now though...

 

[G-pig]

I've got a crappy newer one I use for moving loose stuff, and a better tempered one I use for cutting sod and crap. For turning up soil for a garden bed, a hazel hoe seems to work wicked good. A hazel hoe and a scythe and you got all ya need for that jazz- no tractors or tillers for this luddite. (no, I don't dig with the scythe... thats for the mulch )

 

[sharpguytoo]

Hey 42, if I forgot to thank you for the p-38 on my last order-my bad. Anyways I have the CS and use it for car camp stuff. A usa entrenching tool lurks in my jeep as well. Most used is a relatively small flat "barn shovel". I use it to move all kinds of stuff (even snow-im old!) around the home place. Small enough 6-8 with a shortish 36"? D handle. Very versatile.

 

[Operator1975]

Here is my best story about a shovel - and it is 100% true.

So I am helping my buddy clear out his land that he bought. He wants to build a house on the property. So many weekends in a row we are clearing brush, felling trees, burning, etc. Basic stuff. So he had a tremendous amount of what we call redbrush, a thick clump of brush about as big as your thumb, but 15 or so shoots would come out of one common stump. So we would cut them, and then you had to dig it out, or else they would shoot back up again. So I had my trusty Stanley shovel on me, with yellow fiberglass handle. So I would commence digging out the small stumps. I get to this one, where I cant get the shovel head down in underneath the stump. So I jump up and land with both feet on the shovel head to pound it down into the ground, and the whole shovel head bends like a rubber band, then right back to form. I said this shovel is junk, and threw it up into a nearby maple tree.

Couple days later I stop by the new place and my buddy isnt there. I proceed to turn around in what I thought was a cleared out area, and with my window down promptly hear my tire blow after it ran over one of these red brush stumps that someone had left a nice pointed shoot on. So I pull my truck over to a place where I think I can change out the tire. There is no level ground, so long story short I had to monkey my way up into the tree with the shovel, cause I didnt have one in the back of my truck, and get the shovel and dig out the ground beneath my truck to level things up so I could set my jack so I could change the tire.

Who knows what would of happened if I had not thrown the axe into the tree. Or maybe the gods would of let me escape that day, tough to say. It was some old stanley junker, but I still have it to this day, and my buddy and I always have a story to tell now.

 

[Square_peg]

I love it! Very well done!

I have a couple old army shovels that I'm fond of. They haven't been restored, just cleaned up and oiled. The one with the pick is Korean made but never the less is very sturdy. It's my 'keep behind the seat of the truck' shovel. The other is a genuine WWII Ames army shovel. It's my favorite and stays with my camping gear.

 

[Square_peg]

I also have a rusty old Ames, very heavy, that is a project in the works. I have a nice branch of plum wood sitting in the wood shed seasoning. It will be used to rehandle the Ames this summer.

Here's another photo of the WWII Ames.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

A shot of three of my most useful tools on the farm besides the transfer shovel and scythe. A Tramontina 3-lb pick mattock with extra long 45" handle, Predator Tools "Big Red" diamond point, and an Ames potato hook (think a cultivator but with longer tines.)

Detail shots of the Predator from before it got dirtied up.

No photos of it, but I also have a digging fork with the same construction as the Big Red.

 

[Operator1975]

I have a tree planting shovel I should get some picks on here. Also great for burying wire - say like telephone or UF electric line.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I used my Predator shovel to dig a dead sapling out of the ground--got down to the root ball then severed the roots and taproot with it, and pried it out of the ground. It's a beast!

 

[Square_peg]

That Predator looks like a tough shovel. It would be nice if they made one with a full sized handle. The forest service has some pretty nice heavy duty shovels. The local state and county trail crews are getting good stuff too. Oh, and same for the Washington Trails Association. I need to find out who their suppliers are.

These guys have some stuff.
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/search.asp?stext=shovel