Is there much of difference in...

[masterjedi]

Freebird.. Let it go.... Gary from Oregon

 

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[can]

Ok guys thanks for the info. I really did not want to start something like this. I was looking for direction. I am totally new at this. Last week just before Christmas I was doing some Civil War research in my area. Found that there was a union fort in my area. Then that lead to this site. You guys Got me very interested. Got me a great detector and went digging today. At the beach. A great day at the beach. Didnt find much,(a quarter, a nickle, and almost a penny. wow those new pennies dont hold up well do they) walked about two mile, but had a great day. For today a went to the hardware store and got me a 99cent plastic digger and a $12 spade. Got me through the day. Dont expect the 99cent tool to hold up long, but on the other hand the $12 spade is pretty beefy. Heavy, but beefy. Thanks to all who have shared. I will consider all opinions. Now I just gotta learn how to use my machine.

 

[flgliderpilot]

I have a Lesche, and I hated it until I cut some teeth in the opposite side. Before the Lesche, I used this:

Amazon.com : Miracle-Gro® 18787 Titanium Bonded® Hori Hori Multi-Tool : Patio, Lawn & Garden

It works great! Can't beat the price! $11.71! I still keep it around because it cuts through saint augustine grass like butter!

 

[TheHunterGT]

My wife and I have the Fiskars Big Knife pictured in post #34. My wife who is 5ft3in and 130lbs bent the blade slightly on her first tough plug and gave up on it immediately. We replaced it with a brand new one and only use it on very soft grass found in parks...soccer fields...lawns etc etc. Even then it is susceptible to small bends. I myself would easily break it the nearby Colorado rough dirt...zero doubt.

Aluminum....no full tang...plastic handle...$8-10 for a reason.

We have both the KellyCo diggers. Our favorite being the Sawtooth....which is fantastic except for the handle that tends to slip off. That is fixable with Gorilla glue or whatever. Digger itself it rolled steel and I have beat the crap out of it with not so must as a slight tweak.


We also have the KellyCo Razor....but have issues similar to this 2nd pic. (not our pic...found it on Google). Ours does not bend so bad...we bend it back when need be. It was free so hard to complain. A decent digger in most situations...just not as sturdy as the cheaper priced Sawtooth above. Neither one of us are fans of the offset blade...so it does not get used as much lately. Tried to force myself to like it...but just cannot.


Just got a couple steel Hori Hori knives that replaced the Fiskars....both lifetime warranties and feel 10X as solid. No offset...loving them so far. One has a full tang...one does not. So far so good in heavy abuse.


And for when things get really tough....this is worth the $65 IMO. Hell...I use it 90% of the time whether things are tough or not. It cuts perfect plugs...no bending...light weight...solid steel. Hard not to like it.


As always...just my opinion and to each their own. Seems silly to tell somebody else how to spend their $$.

 

[T.C.]

After careful analysis of the sometimes heated comments on this thread, I have come to the conclusion that...."opinions are like anal cavities, everybody has one."

 

[flgliderpilot]

TheHunterGT, the KellyCo is "ok"... nothing special. mine was DULL although to be fair so was my lesche. The problem with the Gator (KellyCo) digger is the serrated edge.. it's just too mild. So I would rate it a 5 out of 10.

My favorite so far (modified)

 

[TheHunterGT]

TheHunterGT, the KellyCo is "ok"... nothing special. mine was DULL although to be fair so was my lesche. The problem with the Gator (KellyCo) digger is the serrated edge.. it's just too mild. So I would rate it a 5 out of 10.

My favorite so far (modified)

It is dull...valid point. Razor digger is dull too ironically...teeth as well. Fixed mine easily on a grinder. Have never needed to use the teeth on the side so cannot comment there. With or without is fine to me.

As a plug digger and pry tool the deep V on the Sawtooth is a bonus for me...as well as no offset.

7.5 of 10 for me if we are rating. IMO only of course.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

How is that even possible? You don't have a public viewable email, so how are these unidentified persons emailing you these harassing things?

All you have to do is click on my profile and anyone can send me a private message. Learn the ropes here before you try to cast any doubts about my statement.

 

[Helix]

I figure rather buy something like a Garrett Ace 150 for the kids.

 

[G.I.B.]

You can tell the quality of a workman by his tools.

To each his own.

Some will start digging with the inexpensive tool, and it will work for them.

Others will bend the crap out of it (I did on 3 inexpensive diggers, and had sore hands, and they wouldn't stay sharp, and they wouldn't cut roots, or dig rocks...)

And then there will be those of us who upgrade and don't worry about it anymore. No more sore wrists, sore palms from trying to pound the digger through the soil... no more bruises- just let the tool do the work. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh~

My daughter (30) was using her Ace and a garden digger. Medium hard dirt, dry and chunky. She came over and borrowed my Lesch (from Predator Tools).

Then she borrowed it again. And then for the next hole... and again. And then it just stayed on her belt.

So yes, I guess I've had to buy it twice.

 

[Muddyhandz]

I can't comment on hand diggers as I've never used one in 30 years of hunting and never will....I use a massive Snap-on screwdriver to pry up dirt after making a cross slit in the grass.
A practice that seems to be ignored and that's why there's hundreds of yellow (or missing) plugs in all the nice manicured parks this past summer.

Out in the relic fields I had a nice mini-shovel that was 50 years old (made in Japan) and it lasted a decade of heavy use before finally breaking.
I've been on the search for one lately and have broken three of them right in the stores with just my bare hands. One being the Wal-fart shovel shown earlier.
After snapping the shovels, I just dropped them on the floor and continued on. One employee saw me (some wholesale store) and was about say something but after looking at my face, decided not to.
All I would have said was to tell your manager to take these crap shovels and send them back to China and start supplying us with NORTH AMERICAN made tools!

Imagine charging $10 to $20 for something I can break with my hands. That wouldn't even last for one hole!
I have 3 modern potato forks sitting out back with broken plastic handles collecting dust and the older wooden handled one is still being used. Even the metal tines are thicker on the older one.
Go to garage sales and buy all the older tools up for cheap and screw all the new crap that the big box stores peddle.
Bloody Capitalism!!!!

 

[dirtscratcher]

All you have to do is click on my profile and anyone can send me a private message. Learn the ropes here before you try to cast any doubts about my statement.

That's not an email

 

[Jason in Enid]

All you have to do is click on my profile and anyone can send me a private message. Learn the ropes here before you try to cast any doubts about my statement.

That's not an email

LOL, that;s not even close to email. That is what is called a "private message". It even says that when you look at a person's profile, or when you click their account in a thread. So, what were you saying about "learning the ropes"? LOL

 

[Jason in Enid]

After careful analysis of the sometimes heated comments on this thread, I have come to the conclusion that...."opinions are like anal cavities, everybody has one."

Yep, and apparently someone in this thread has I.B.S. !

 

[Cletus]

i bought a OLD landscaping shovel at a sale (flat & square with a corrugated pan) and cut a point on it and sharpen the front and back edge with a hand grinder.
i have used it to pry rocks, cut roots and all around abused this thing. (it is now my stand by or a loaner since my kids bought me the Sampson.)
it refuses to bend or break. i'm sure with time it will. but i do not see it happening anytime soon.

 

[dirtscratcher]

Another of the worst of the worst is the minelab digger. Bent on first plug in sod. Handle wouldn't stay on and after bending it back too many times it finally broke. The blue ames digger works if you baby it a little. The Garrett bends awfully easy also.

 

[SoCalDesertFox]

If someone's getting threatening PMs over what they said about a Lesche, then I am avoiding Lesche products.

High-dollar products tend to attract high-dollar KNOW-NOTHING attitudes.

The worst attitude on the planet.

 

[SoCalDesertFox]

This thing? I can break that handle off and bend that blade in no time flat. See that upper indentation near the hilt? HUGE weak point. Serious construction workers and gardeners and diggers abandoned that design about 40 years ago. Every additional fold or bend in metal introduces a weakness, much in the same way that knots actually weaken a rope at that point versus a splice.

Unless that handle is something seriously tough like HDPE or teflon or kevlar and actually runs through the tang of the handle, I'm snapping it off in a heartbeat. Epoxy resin and plastic handles get wiped.

My job is to break everything. I know I can break this in under 5 minutes out on Steele Peak.

 

[SoCalDesertFox]

That's not an email

By technical definitions, yes, it is. Even the basics of the underlying systems are essentially the same. It is an electronically-sent message, period. That someone used the term e-mail instead of private message is a moot point.

 

[dirtscratcher]

View attachment 1255394

This thing? I can break that handle off and bend that blade in no time flat. See that upper indentation near the hilt? HUGE weak point. Serious construction workers and gardeners and diggers abandoned that design about 40 years ago. Every additional fold or bend in metal introduces a weakness, much in the same way that knots actually weaken a rope at that point versus a splice.

Unless that handle is something seriously tough like HDPE or teflon or kevlar and actually runs through the tang of the handle, I'm snapping it off in a heartbeat. Epoxy resin and plastic handles get wiped.

My job is to break everything. I know I can break this in under 5 minutes out on Steele Peak.

You should make a video and show us. ROFLMAO