The Shovel Discussion Thread!

[FortyTwoBlades]

DIGGING
by Seamus Heaney

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked,
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.
Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner’s bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, going down and down
For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.

 

[Square_peg]

Great tribute.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Heard it on the radio yesterday. Damn powerful poem.

 

[Kunai]

One shovel that I like but I don't really have the money for right now is the 'crovel extreme shovel'
It has an Axe blade and say blade on the shovel head, a bottle opener, a hollow paracord wrapped handle, and a great crowbar on the end. The head folds down so it's semi compact too

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Personally I'd stay away from it if looking for a serious digging tool. If you want a badass shovel go with Predator Tools. Not as "tacticool" but a lot more performance-driven.

 

[Square_peg]

The saw blade on the shovel will be toast the first second that the shovel touches ground. Gimmick.

 

[Georgecatl]

I thought I would share a recent pick-up off the bay.
A vintage Railroad coal shovel. Marked BULLDOG R R, and C O R R

After a little clean up with a wire wheel and a some BLO.

Now its ready for a new life in my truck

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Gorgeous! Excellent work!

 

[Ballenxj]

After a little clean up with a wire wheel and a some BLO.


Now its ready for a new life in my truck

I'm thinking that one is fairly collectible? And still a good user to boot.
-Bruce

 

[Square_peg]

After a little clean up with a wire wheel and a some BLO.

I love seeing an old shovel being cared for like a vintage axe. The quality of those old tools is just as good as old axes and just as superior to new stuff as a vintage axe is to a new cheap import axe. Those are worth saving though there seems to be little collector interest in them.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I love seeing an old shovel being cared for like a vintage axe. The quality of those old tools is just as good as old axes and just as superior to new stuff as a vintage axe is to a new cheap import axe. Those are worth saving though there seems to be little collector interest in them.

Same here! Not enough folks do manual labor these days to appreciate 'em I think. Axes get used in the woods a lot--good forged shovels less so. The same goes for things like pickaxes, hay forks, etc. Woodworkers still value old planes, competitive gardeners still value spades...but it'll be a while before hobby farmers/homesteaders catch on to the idea that old tools like that are worth both seeking out and restoring. It's starting to gain traction, but hasn't "arrived" yet.

 

[Square_peg]

.....but hasn't "arrived" yet.

All the better for you and I.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Dang straight!

 

[garry3]

Same here! Not enough folks do manual labor these days to appreciate 'em I think. Axes get used in the woods a lot--good forged shovels less so. The same goes for things like pickaxes, hay forks, etc. Woodworkers still value old planes, competitive gardeners still value spades...but it'll be a while before hobby farmers/homesteaders catch on to the idea that old tools like that are worth both seeking out and restoring. It's starting to gain traction, but hasn't "arrived" yet.

There has to be plenty of people that can appreciate a good shovel. You can't do much flood irrigating with out one.
It reminds me of how much I hate irrigating and shovels. I did enough of it that it was not fun at all. You guys can have fun with a little shovel work, but if you did enough of it you would probably feel the same as I do. If I never pick up another one I am good with it. If I have to use one though I hope its a good one.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I do plenty of digging--the soil at my place is rock-filled hard clay but the horses have left a nice layer of spongy organic substrate on top of it over time. That means that whenever it rains (which it has quite a lot this season) the top layer holds onto the moisture like a sponge while the clay prevents it from draining. That means I have to constantly be digging and redigging drainage trenches so that the water can channel away from regions that otherwise turn into a swamp. The horses knock down the berms and I just have to clean them up all over again, but it's worth the effort to keep the place from getting TOO squelchy.

I don't ALWAYS look forward to the work, but using a good shovel is always pleasing regardless.

 

[Square_peg]

I'll confess that I started my career many years ago as a ditch digger for an irrigation company. I appreciate good shovels and good picks, but I rarely use them in my work anymore. I still use them at home and when I do volunteer trail work but that's not anywhere near the level of work that Garry is talking about.

 

[Charlie_K]

Okay. Wow. I can't believe it was almost two years ago that this thread last saw activity. Time is starting to get away from me.

Anyway I come bearing updates. I did some work on my Cold Steel special forces shovel, and I got this.











I think it looks a lot better now. Got a nice WW1 feel about it.

 

[LEGION 12]

Talk about digging up a old thread. All I did with mine is sand and stain the handle.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Haven't had to do much digging lately, but I may have a few tasks to tackle soon enough.

 

[kookery]

I absolutely love posts from FortyTwoBlades. I buy his stuff from time to time, but it's the posts he makes about the stuff he doesn't sell that really expands my horizons. I never would have found the Predator Tools products without his mentioning it. Now, if only it was made of INFI, then it wouldn't need paint to keep it from rusting, and it would stay sharper longer. S7 would be cool too. Can anyone comment on the chopping ability of a Predator Tools folding shovel entrenching e-tool? What are the pros and cons of the long versus short handle versions? Why do all the shovels weigh exactly the same 48 ounces?

It's only a matter of time before the vintage axe market moves on to exotic steels. Maybe after that wears out its trendiness, people will be hyped up about dusty old shovels, and eventually we'll get some exotic shovels too! Maybe by the time I'm too old to shovel, there will be an antique toilet paper craze, and then fancy automatic toilet paper will come out so I can still at least wipe my own butt even if I'm too old to change my own diapers!