Lesche Mini Sampson 18"

[WV62]

I just ordered a Lesche Mini Sampson 18".

Any comments on this little digger for coin and jewelry hunting?

I also ordered the belt hook carrier and my hope is I will no longer need my 2 small hand diggers.

One of my small diggers works for cutting plugs and prying the plug out and the other I use to dig and remove dirt.

Everything is froze around here so I am just getting ready for when the weather gets a little better.

Ron in Frozen WV

 

[REVIER]

Love mine, I won it in a contest and never used it but last year I did and now I won't hunt without it.
Makes better plugs than my hand digger in my dirt by far, goes way deeper especially in the dry stuff with no effort.
There are a couple of targets I dug last year I wouldn't have even tried to go after with my hand digger that I efficiently dug with this thing without destroying the landscape.
I have a belt clip too but I don't know where it is, I will find it and use it someday but I just carry mine in my left hand and it is no big deal.
At first it was a hassle getting used to doing that but it didn't take long to get a system going and into a nice rhythm so now it seems normal.

I still carry my hand digger though, comes in handy for very shallow targets or digging around big roots that I can't cut through and a few other situations.
When you get real close to a target I would rather do some finesse digging and exploring than to use a bigger cannon...you never know when a quality old coin worth a lot or a fragile piece of jewelry or chain might show up.

Once you get used to it you are gonna love it.

 

[WV62]

Sounds pretty good to me, and I am can leave the plug cutter home.

I had forgot about the fact that silver coins like to hide under big roots, so the little hand digger still has a job.

Just this past summer my brother called me over on faint signal and he was getting a depth reading of 8". So he opened the hole and started down, checked with the detector and it was still there, but he ran into a main root from a large tree that he was right next to. So I got my hand digger out went down next to the root and another 2 scoops from under the root and we were looking at a nice Barber half $. I don't help him dig anymore.

Does a new Mini Sampson come already sharp or will I need to spend some time on the grinder?

Ron in WV

 

[REVIER]

Sharp enough, used mine all last year and it still cuts through everything like buttah.
Remember, you have much more penetrating power pushing this thing into the ground using your leg muscles, if you use your leg muscles, than what you can generate with your arms so even if it gets dull it will still work well.
I got the 31" version so I actually do use it as a shovel, the smaller version I guess can be used either standing or kneeling.

When you get it go outside, put it on the ground and step on it once...like me you will wonder why you waited so long.

 

[WV62]

Now you got worried a little about that short handle on the one I ordered. It's got to be better than hand digger

I ordered the mini version in hopes of not calling any attention and people thinking I am using a shovel. My plan is to use it everywhere I hunt, parks, yards, woods and curbs.

I figure I will need to bend over to keep a grip on the T-handle but I think I will still be able to use my foot to push into the ground.

I have one of those folding army shovels that I have been using when I go into wooded area. The hand diggers for any areas where people can see.

Ron in WV

 

[REVIER]

Now you got worried a little about that short handle on the one I ordered. It's got to be better than hand digger

I ordered the mini version in hopes of not calling any attention and people thinking I am using a shovel. My plan is to use it everywhere I hunt, parks, yards, woods and curbs.

I figure I will need to bend over to keep a grip on the T-handle but I think I will still be able to use my foot to push into the ground.

I have one of those folding army shovels that I have been using when I go into wooded area. The hand diggers for any areas where people can see.

Ron in WV

I used to worry about that stuff too but no more.
I never had an issue, nobody has said a thing or even looked at us weird in any site we hunt both public or private and if they ever do showing them how well these things cut plugs should put them at ease.
For those that don't like us digging with anything nothing will help.

My hunting partner had a 31" but lent it to another guy we hunt with and he loves it so the first guy ordered another one, a longer 36" one that they make now.
I prefer the longer types, not very heavy and perfect for the way I use it.

 

[jim tn]

Sorry guys, I have to whole heartedly disagree with you on this one.The problem with even small shovel like diggers in parks, school yards, curb strips and so on, is the perception people have when they see us using them. They may not say anything, but many are "thinking they are digging up the park," not how neat a hole you have left. T handles with shovel like diggers in m h o are best used in woods and fields, not in city parks and the like. HH jim tn

 

[REVIER]

Sorry guys, I have to whole heartedly disagree with you on this one.The problem with even small shovel like diggers in parks, school yards, curb strips and so on, is the perception people have when they see us using them. They may not say anything, but many are "thinking they are digging up the park," not how neat a hole you have left. T handles with shovel like diggers in m h o are best used in woods and fields, not in city parks and the like. HH jim tn

Then we will agree to disagree.
I have heard it all before, used to think that way myself but not anymore.
That digging up the park thing will happen for some no matter what kind of digger we use.
I have been hassled using the hand digger a few times but never once using my shovel.
I use both of mine everywhere, I have had no repercussions in any public parks and in private lawns the owners said they appreciate the kind of holes I make using it and how well they can be covered up when finished and so I will continue to do that...do what makes you feel best.

 

[jim tn]

Oh, I know you disagree or you wouldn't be using such diggers in schools and the like in the first place. I don't use what makes me feel best, I use what common sense tells me. Anyway, I have said my piece. HH jim tn

 

[basstrackerman]

I use the 18" mini I love it. It's just a better digger all the way around.. cuts cleaner plugs, deeper, saves time and can be used as a cane for getting up off the ground if necessary. Never had anyone say anything about the Sampson mini but did have several people in larger cities ask if my lesche was a knife...

 

[REVIER]

Oh, I know you disagree or you wouldn't be using such diggers in schools and the like in the first place. I don't use what makes me feel best, I use what common sense tells me. Anyway, I have said my piece. HH jim tn

So I don't have common sense?
Sorry, still disagree...using experience as my prime data.
Many have used much wider shovels around here for years, trenching tools and such, but in 50 years no parks, schools or public places have been declared off limits because if it.
Making a huge mess with any kind of digger is the real problem, I no longer believe carrying and using these small, sharp, efficient thin width tools have the huge effect we all thought they have.

I might not agree with your, or anyone's same opinion on this subject but I still will fight to the death for your right to have it.

 

[WV62]

I use the 18" mini I love it. It's just a better digger all the way around.. cuts cleaner plugs, deeper, saves time and can be used as a cane for getting up off the ground if necessary. Never had anyone say anything about the Sampson mini but did have several people in larger cities ask if my lesche was a knife...

Well at my age 69 that cane idea for getting up off the ground sounds pretty good. At one time I was using a large knife that had nice root cutting edge on the back side, but it was stainless steel and shinny. I did get a lot of looks when I out, but nobody was brave enough to come close and to say anything. LOL

Ron in WV

 

[Elton]

I soooooo agree with you Jim.

Example I experienced .A few years ago myself and a few others were in a city park.. (Finding Silver too) when one of the guys pulled out a longer handled digger he had.

About 15 minutes into his using the digger he had. The police showed up. The police had received a call of .."We were digging up the Park" with shovels...... This call came from a house or two along the park parameter.

All the police saw was the [size=large]shovel looking digger[/size] being used and they agreed with the caller... We were asked to leave, not ever return, and if we did Trespassing charges would be leveled against all of us..
One officer asked all of us..why did we think it was ok to dig in their city park..and very nearly charged us with damaging city property. His partner talked him out of it..and pointed out detecting was a hobby. He also said he didn't think it meant using a shovel ..so he had mixed feelings too.We were not sure if it was because 4 or 5 of us were there..or if it was the long handled digger that caused the severe actions of the police.
The digger was for certain what the police officers zeroed in on at their arrival. They both went straight to that person.. Then we were all called over to them...

 

[MarkCZ]

Agree to disagree really?
I see lots of Minelabs people putting up youtube video's using shovels in public parks, and I know this is a bad practice!!
I have a plugger that takes PERFECT PLUGS! and PUTS THEM BACK PERFECT but using it in a public park or school would be foolish!
Little diggers draws enough attention, but when people walk over to check you out its a little hole, its a little digger, he's not hurting anything.
Long handles, bigger holes, more attention! it has NOTHING TO DO WITH A BETTER CLEANER HOLE at the time of the digging.
Now I DO agree the worse thing is when people dig holes in parks (with any digger) and NOT fill their holes back in PLUS any and all trash left out on top of the ground!!!!
I've had to go around and fill in others holes and pick up their trash on more than one occasion!!!!!

Mark

 

[basstrackerman]

Lol. Nice knife though!

 

[vlad]

Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 7 x 2 inches ; 26.6 ounces
This is one shovel you will not bend; forged medium carbon steel and sharpened. (around $30)
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71kKB2r%2BspL._SL1200_.jpg

 

[WV62]

Lol. Nice knife though!

They cost somewhere about $10 at Harbor Freight, if you have need for something like that.

After using that one as a digger the edge was in pretty bad shape, it took me forever and 2 days to get the edge back on it. Rambo would be proud. LOL

Ron in WV

 

[IDXMonster]

Trowels and pluggers won’t get me anywhere near the depth I need to be. My sites look very good when I go back to check on them...the 31” Sampson actually cuts a cleaner plug than any trowel type thing I’ve used. When you’re digging in “original hard pack dirt” a hand held anything won’t do unless you just like punishment. Digging a 10” hole in hard clay/rock sucks....

 

[jim tn]

Oh, I use a Predator Little Eagle T handle digger myself for hunting woods and fields. In fact, I totally agree they can cut a very nice plug and leave a very neat hole. Leaving a urban spot as neat or neater then you found it with any digging tool is not the real poblem with using shovels of any size. Perception is everything. HH jim tn

 

[dfmike]

MarkCZ, that looks a lot like a slightly modified golf hole cutter without the extraction handle. It would not work around here in the hard packed clay unless one would hammer away at that foot plate. Neat idea in softer material.

I agree with you and Jim. Bringing a any kind of shovel type digging tool in popular public places is asking for trouble and possibly the end of metal detecting in some of these spots. I agree with REVIER that in experienced hands it can do a better finishing job than hand tools but human psychology can't be changed. As soon as someone starts using their feet to shove something with a handle (doesn't matter how small the handle is) in the ground, some people will perceive this as vandalism and eventually complain even if they can't even see where you have dug.

This is a debate that will never end.