Shovel Choices

[micmccon]

I'm sure this issue has been beat to death but I wanted to revisit it nonetheless. I have been reading the reviews of others and watching videos on the subject but haven't found the responses that I was hoping to see. Lots of people speak glowingly of their Lesche brand shovels which look to be tough. I have a bad back and am 6'2" so I find the handle a bit too short for me. I like the reviews of the Predator shovels and they offer longer handles which is nice. I see a lot of people liking the Piranha and plenty of good feedback on that one. I like the curved and serrated blade style of the Raven model but haven't seen anybody really compare them. Does anybody have both and have some real life feedback? I also saw an interesting shovel made in the UK called the "King Digger" but the website doesn't have specs on the length, width, and blade depth. Does anybody have any experience with that shovel either? I am in Virginia where we have hard clay, roots, rocks, and every other possible impediment to digging imaginable so a tough shovel is in my immediate future.
Thanks in advance for your input!

 

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[Carolina Tom]

Predator is the way to go. George Lesche builds bulletproof shovels. I use the smaller blades, for cutting plugs in grassy areas and general hunting... Piranha and Ultra Eagle. He has a relic shovel with a larger blade, I have it, but don't use it... the smaller one fills all of my needs.

 

[micmccon]

Predator is the way to go. George Lesche builds bulletproof shovels. I use the smaller blades, for cutting plugs in grassy areas and general hunting... Piranha and Ultra Eagle. He has a relic shovel with a larger blade, I have it, but don't use it... the smaller one fills all of my needs.

I was leaning toward the Piranha but they are out of stock. George responded to my email promptly and let me know they will have more in about a week. I was interested in the Raptor mostly because of the rounded blade . It is narrow enough to penetrate and the front being rounded seems like it would be better for removing dirt from the hole. Also cutting a nice round plug seems more likely than with the Piranha. No matter what I buy, I'm sure I'll get a quality product from Predator. I'm new to Detecting and I am using a shovel I bought from Lowes some time ago with a "D" handle , a long narrow blade and short handle. Overall length about 48". I can tell that I will break it with all the digging I have been doing. At $100+ I want to make sure I buy a good shovel and buy it once! Evolution Solutions makes a nice looking spade but I am not sure I want to buy over seas with limited reviews if I were to break or damage it.

 

[Carolina Tom]

I used Ultra Eagle, but the step was too small, when wet, my foot would occasionally slip off, much to my chagrin. Piranha is the same small blade, but a bigger step. I use the Piranha everywhere.

You stomp/step it into the ground on three sides, and pop up the plug. Rarely will you actually "shovel" dirt out of the hole. the target is usually, right there.

Just wait to get one of these, they are all steel and solid as a rock. You break it, George will replace it.

It sounds kind of odd to get excited about shovels, but these things are really nice, and go through the ground very well. You will not be disappointed.

 

[micmccon]

I'm new to this and its all exciting, lol! My next move is to go wireless with the headphones. Man I hate the cable! I'm thinking bluetooth will work well.

 

[Carolina Tom]

I'm new to this and its all exciting, lol! My next move is to go wireless with the headphones. Man I hate the cable! I'm thinking bluetooth will work well.

When I started, I had a Bounty Hunter for a couple of months, then AT Pro for 90 days. I could not stand that cord, so I got a Deus. Wireless is the deal, it makes the whole process smoother. There are "after market" units out there that work well. I am uncertain if they are Bluetooth or 900mHz... but supposedly, they have no delay.

A hand digger is important too. Most people I know, including me, use the Lesche hand digger... maybe, Model 75. That You will find that a good hand tool is key. When you cut 100 or more holes per day, every advantage that you can afford yourself will pay off. In some places shovels are frowned upon.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing some nice treasure out of you shortly!

 

[micmccon]

Thanks Tom, I ordered my shovel just tonight. I went with the Piranha and got the foot pads too. I have decided on a hand trowel too but will likely wait a day or two on ordering it. I did modify my detector a bit to give me a little sanity with the headphone cord. I made a jumper cable to go from the original headphone jack to the right side of the arm cuff near the bottom "wing" with the cable passing through the hand grip. Now the headphone cable is a lot less likely to snag and is MUCH easier to unplug if you need to set the detector down to dig. I did find some cool stuff the other day and will likely start a new thread with pics but I found a wagon wheel band that goes around the outer diameter of a wheel. It is over 40" diameter and has square nails in it. I found a half horse shoe near by also. This site also gave up a partial cannon ball a few weeks back. Good times!

 

[Auriemma]

I picked up a Little Eagle from Predator. All I can say is WOW! This makes digging so much easier it's not funny. It's a serious tool that I would HIGHLY recommend.

 

[micmccon]

I received my new Piranha yesterday and all I can say is WOW! That thing goes right through the roots and soil like a hot knife through butter. Exactly what I needed. BTW, first blade full I dug had a 3 ring bullet in it. Looks to be about .58 caliber. Perhaps it's lucky as well as awesome, lol. Thank you Carolina Tom for your suggestion, it was a good one!

 

[micmccon]

I picked up a Little Eagle from Predator. All I can say is WOW! This makes digging so much easier it's not funny. It's a serious tool that I would HIGHLY recommend.

You could not be more correct! I had no idea just how much better a shovel could be but there it is!

 

[660GRIZZ]

I just placed a order for the groundshark from lesche the 40inch model any opions on this model very new to detecting ty

 

[Auriemma]

Looks similar.
Lil Eagle vs Ground shark
Sharp point vs shallow point
Double edged serrated vs one side edged, the other serrated
Side step vs rear step
28" vs 40"

Should do you just fine!

 

[relicmeister]

My wife bought me a Garrett digger and I already have a lesche and one more so
I just took the "D" handle off the wood shaft of an old snow shovel and it fit right over the handle of the Garrett digger. It now is 18" long with much greater leverage. My actual shovels are
Short like under 24" which I prefer as I do my digging low on one knee. I intend to try the extended "D" handle Garrett digger at a few sites that can produce colonial coins but the creek side ground is extremely hard with a lot of rocks and roots. I'm hoping the garretts narrow pointed tip and the leverage of the "D"
Handle will penetrate the ground there. This is important now with a minelab safari where I often get signals from 10" and 12".

 

[relicmeister]

I looked at the little eagle and it looks like a great shovel. If I need a longer shovel I'm going with the piranha

 

[relicmeister]

I used that Garrett digger with a D handle over the digger handle extending it to 18". I must say it will break into very hard ground easily due to its narrow blade and the leverage of the additional D handle. It's definitely
Effective and it'll likely be my shovel/
Digger of choice at the sites that have really hard and rocky soil.

 

[Doc5934]

My Piranha and foot pads just came in today. If I may say, this thing looks and feels absolutely solid, can't wait to use it.