Favorite Digging tool?

[goldencoin]

Hello, I like to detect with 3 tools that i keep in my left hand (yes i can hold all of this)

Camping shovel
Regular trowel
and a pinpionter

I see many of you prefer the sod cutting tools like leche (spelling?). I gave my old one a try yesterday after i left my shovel in the house. After an hour and a half, my hands and arms were sore and i had several callouses. I love the camping shovel because: it is nice and sturdy, i can go from grass to sand to wood chips with out carrying around so many tools, it cuts excellent straight plugs, which i can then pry up without much effort, and it saves the strength in my arms for detecting.

HH
-GC

 

[RainDog]

I modified a camping shovel with 4ft garden spade handle. Thats my favorite
RD

 

[Tykit]

My favorite tool, I use it 99% of the time in parks. Pulls pulltabs, rings, foil, coins, any piece of metal out of the ground up to 8" deep. For soft soil, won't penetrate hard soil. Made from an 8" bread knife, not a knife with a long tapered point. Bread knives have a blunt tip. Cut 7 or 8 notches with a Dremel, metal cutting disks. Need to beef up handle for grip when pushing down, straight down. Fast target retrieval with good pinpointing. No plugs cutting.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Doesn't that gouge up the coins something fierce?

 

[Tykit]

Gouge coins? It could, but it usually requires more

than one pass and by then the soil is loosened up. I don't search for old coins in parks anymore. Hunt for jewelry and clad dropped during the past 30 years.

 

[goldencoin]

Thats an amazing tool! however, id think that be hard in rocky ground and hard soil, plus you wouldn't be able to pry up the plug. I love my camping shovel because i can just use my legs to cut 3 swift cuts and then pry it up.

Thanks for responding! (sorry, i've been gone a couple days)

HH
-GC

 

[detectordave]

I used a regular trowel forever. I finally broke down and bought the lesche for 35 bucks. I dont know how I lived without it. I did not believe the people that told me theres a difference in shovels. There is. Hh dave.

 

[pmb333]

Hi There,

I've been registered for awhile now but am just getting back into MD'ing after several years of inactivity. I originally used a regular trowel and surplus "camp shovel", but since I was getting back into the hobby I thought I would look at the Lesche. I almost pulled the trigger and bought one online, but I couldn't figure out how I was going to explain a $35 dollar "trowel" to the wife.

So... I decided to see what I could find locally and found this:

http://www.amestruetemper.com/plantersbuddy.htm

$14 at the local Lowe's. The pictures don't show the heft of this thing - it's close to 1/8" thick and the serrated edge is sharper than some of the knives in my kitchen! I've only used it a few times so far, but it works like a charm.

Take care all. I'll try to post more often after I get back swinging.