What do you use when the dirt is REALLY hard to dig?

[TrpnBils]

With how dry and hot it's been here lately the ground is getting ridiculous. I hunted for about 8 hours yesterday and for a little bit today and the ground is so hard that my right hand is killing me. I've always used a blunt-nosed hand spade from Lowes...and anytime I find something new to use it's always because the handle has broken off or the blade gets bent. So far I've had this one the longest of anything and it's holding up well, but I'm wondering if there is something better for tough ground.

 

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[penzfan]

Ever tried a small pickaxe?

 

[jamey]

those big made in china knives i find at yard sales work ok

 

[TrpnBils]

I mostly do door-knocking and I can just imagine what the reaction would be if a homeowner saw me in their yard with a small pickaxe...lol. How does a lesche do in that type of dirt?

 

[Silversurfer79]

I have a hori hori knife that works pretty well on tough ground. Tough as nails too!

 

[prospect007]

hammer and chisel

 

[masterjedi]

Buy a Sampson metal detector shovel from wwmfg.com...
This is a must have tool.
The is a Walter Lesche tool... The best..
They are like $63 on eBay
Best thing I bought... It cuts perfect plugs...
Its like 5x7" blade...
You can did a plug in seconds and find more treasure...
And your hand wont hurt :-)

Gary from Oregon

 

[collision]

Ever tried a small pickaxe?

If the pickax and mattock don't work, do with the jack hammer.HomeDepot rents electric jackhammers.

 

[Jeremy S]

I only hunt in the water or in a park that frequently waters the grass when it gets hot and dry like this. Otherwise the ground is too hard and you will kill grass by digging in it.

In the summer rain storms are your best friend. When it rains I am usually out ASAP hunting.

 

[RustyGold]

I think the Lesche 18" Sampson with a T- Handle works great in hard dirt!

 

[dirtlooter]

the really hard stuff is hard to describe to a lot of people, the palms of my hands get really sore from spending 20 minutes trying to get six inches deep in the concrete like ground around my home area, there is no cutting plugs here, makes you nervous about the old coins as you claw and scrape every sliver of this stuff out. But then, when you actually get to dig in real dirt....oh yeah! spent 20 minutes one time only to find out it was a rusty screw LOL. But when you are new and trying hard to learn as much as you can with limited access to ground to detect, you detect where you can. good luck

 

[TNGUNS]

I think the Lesche 18" Sampson with a T- Handle works great in hard dirt!

With RustyGold on this one (although I use the longer one). I know it looks intimidating to hit a yard with it, but will make about as neat a plug as anything else I have used. I usually try to show the home owner how I do it if they seem concerned. Nice yard and hard ground will call for a touch up on the edges from time to time. Easily done with a hand grinder. The Sampson stays pretty sharp and works great ........ worth the bucks.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Ever tried a small pickaxe?

A Small Pickaxe is what I used to use too. Sometimes its the only thing to break thru this dry Texas soil.

I know exactly what you are talkign about thou. I was detecting yesterday and had to give up on a couple deeper targets, because my Lesche wouldnt barely scrap the surface. Plus in 100+ temps...my patience was a little low

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

I think the Lesche 18" Sampson with a T- Handle works great in hard dirt!

I dont know...I know my hunting buddy was using one , and even with it sharp as hell, it barely touches the dry Clay we have here...I'm sure all soils are different. But it felt like we were digging in bedrock

 

[luvsdux]

When conditions are hot and dry, I pull out my water machine and hit the river beaches in the area or stick with well watered parks etc. When all that fails I wait for the fall rains.
luvsdux

 

[mlayers]

When the ground is dry and hard I switch over to the beach and detect the sand and water. When we get a good rain then I will hit the yards again for a few days. I would hate myself for digging in people yard when the ground is hard and dry and the grass will die because I had to chisel out my find. So hit the sand or hit up some tot lots plenty of change and jewelry to be found there.

 

[stefen]

With how dry and hot it's been here lately the ground is getting ridiculous. I hunted for about 8 hours yesterday and for a little bit today and the ground is so hard that my right hand is killing me. I've always used a blunt-nosed hand spade from Lowes...and anytime I find something new to use it's always because the handle has broken off or the blade gets bent. So far I've had this one the longest of anything and it's holding up well, but I'm wondering if there is something better for tough ground.

BACKHOE

 

[Frankn]

Check out the A M Leonard site. they cater to professional and have reasonable prices for quality tools.
Frank...-

 

[kyleeskastles]

I just joined the hori hori club today and for the price you got to check them out, excellent tools. Wish i had of known about em long ago since i garden too

 

[Garrett424]

I swear by my old, US military issue folding Army shovel. That thing is SO strong. I've had it for over thirty years.

I actually broke the wooden handle in half about 15 years ago (but the shovel part didn't budge one bit). As it turns out, it's now the perfect length to fit into my small backpack and perfect for ANY digging. I have NEVER encountered a rock that it cannot handle and I always bring it along for tough rocks.

If they're good enough to dig foxholes and trenches anywhere in the world they're more than suitable for metal detecting under any conditions.

Ironically, where I am I'm having the opposite problem over the last few days. We've had lots of rain and I'm running into mud lately.

Oh, one more thing. I also bought a cutting tool made by Ames at home depot. It's very similar (practically a knock-off) to the Fiskars digging knife (which is actually what i was looking for at the time but they didn't carry it and I had already been to two other stores). I don't have the money to blow on something better right now but this thing cuts a plug perfectly and it's really tough. It cost me a whopping 10 bucks.

But again, I prefer my US "D" shaped folding shovel over a spade any day under dry conditions. The newer ones are a bit different than mine, which came with a really hard wooden handle. They have a large, triangular handle at the top of the shaft and I believe they fold in three sections as opposed to two.

Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Military-Original-E-Tool-Entrenching-Shovel/dp/B004SOPJG4



Using a spade is just too much work when it's dry. You need to bring a sledge hammer along to drive the thing into the ground.