Certainly Peg has wonderfully demonstrated (in re-handling that forged shovel) proper grain orientation and optimum handle selection. You can get away with all kinds of 'bum-grained' wood on short handled gear but not with a long shovel that gets pry-levered on a regular basis.
The Shovel Discussion Thread!
- Thread starter FortyTwoBlades
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That's quite a lovely shovel. Love the taper, the well turned steps, and the double rivet socket extension. The one at my family's camp is similar, though without steps.
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That's a shame. There is the end of tough quality shovels. What will the fire fighters use? Maybe Dixie Industries or Barco will step in.
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I'm afraid I was remiss in mentioning what a great job he did. I like that the grain was run for strength, and an excellent job of re-handling.
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As I understand it, Seymour does forge some solid shank shovels in-house, though I haven't gotten a sample to check the quality yet. I know Council makes a FSS shovel, but I'm not sure if theirs is a solid shank or not. It's expensive enough to be one, though.
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In-turned steps and double riveting were major selling points for me. I'm glad somebody picked up on those. The other great advantage to these shovels is that there is no 'mud collector' on the back. It's all closed. Plus they're strong as hell.
New FS shovels come to a sharp point at the tip. They penetrate the ground well but they can't cut roots, the point just slips off to one side. A slightly worn shovel that has lost its factory point will cut roots just fine.
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That's one of the reasons I like rice shovels. It's like they just took a typical round or diamond point shovel and cut the very tip off flat. Cuts roots great.
A Firefighter shovel has that sharper "V" point also a steeper "scoop" angle to assist as a scraper & throwing dirt tool. Of course it can dig, but not optimised for that.
Not all rice shovels have that flattend point. Both types are made.
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Yes, though those without the flattened tip still have a much more rounded point than usual--more like a cap rock shovel. I think it's possible, however, that in cases where the flattened tip isn't used it's a savings in tooling that motivates the omission.
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Sports Man Guide has a new Swiss Military Issue Coal Shovel, D-handle, 42 inches overall for $14.99, Item J6M-663107. John
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I brought this home today - and old Iwan Bros. post hole auger. I recall we had a couple sizes of these when I was a kid. I found them in our old barn, left behind by the previous owners. I remember that they worked surprisingly well.
A quick internet search found that Seymour still sells these. Anyone else use these before?
A quick internet search found that Seymour still sells these. Anyone else use these before?
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I've been curious about them but haven't been brave enough to give one a go on account of the large volume of rocks in the soil here. Nice find!
I brought this home today - and old Iwan Bros. post hole auger. I recall we had a couple sizes of these when I was a kid. I found them in our old barn, left behind by the previous owners. I remember that they worked surprisingly well.
A quick internet search found that Seymour still sells these. Anyone else use these before?
Similar idea to an ice auger. Probably a bear to turn in clay and useless when you try digging through roots or rocks. And in sandy soil I would expect the excavated material to leak out on the way up.
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FortyTwoBlades, I feel your pain about the rocks in your soil. Here we call them "Spanaway Spuds" and if you dig up a cubic foot of soil at least half will be rocks and stones. I had to put in a new post for my mail box, so bought a post hole digger (close as I will ever get to a PhD!) and it was soon evident it was worthless, at least in my yard. It was back to my M1951 US E-tool to dig the hole. John
If you can get hold of an Erie clam digger (and use a steel bar to pre-loosen stones, concrete and roots) you can tunnel through just about anything. I spent 4 months, alongside 3 dozen husky men, digging 3 1/2 foot deep post holes in preparation for 40 miles of 8' chain link fence around newly expanded Ottawa International Airport in 1974. Only when the digging was easy did the contractor bring in a tractor with an auger attachment. There were times I'd have to spend an entire day chipping through bedrock (and excavating the stone chips with the digger) just to make one or 2 post holes.
Sandy soil wont be a problem,( dry sand of course wont work) especially so if slightly damp.
Any soil if too wet is a problem. Just like any other digging in mud. Digs easy, it just weighs a ton & wont clear easy off the tool.
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The sole reason I will not part with my Erie clam digger! In pure clay you sometimes have to rap the blade on a hard surface to dislodge stuck material but otherwise these machines are bullet proof compared to any of the other devices designed for digging holes. In pure loose sand all you have to do is dig within a piece of Sonotube and keep turning the tube downward into the substrate as the hole goes down.
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300Six, 40 miles! Damn, that must have been a long, hard job. John
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This is not a crumber, but a Drain Cleaner. Go to http://www.blackburntools.com/artic...s/keen-kutter/pdfs/simmons-1939-1101-1260.pdf and scroll down to page 1150 of the 1939 E.C. Simmons catalog and you'll see it on the bottom right corner of the page