I have used a lot of digging tools over 20 years of detecting. Some as small as a tablespoon, some the size of full blown spade. Ive even come behind scrapers and backhoes, so I guess you could count them, too!
But here is one tool I am NEVER without. It has served me for years and shows no signs of slowing up this season. I cannot imagine detecting without it and were it to disappear, I would make a new one just like it. Yes I said MAKE - it is handcrafted... well, handmade anyway. I am not sure about the craftsmanship part! You can buy pretty, factory-made equivalents now at 20 times the cost, but I wouldn't.
Here it is:
The BADGER
[attachment 87010 DSCF0028a.JPG]
The scoop part is 3" EMT electrical conduit, split in half lengthwise. That was shaped and sharpened as you see. Then I welded a 4" length of black iron pipe to the scoop at a slight 20 degree angle. To that I screwed on a pipe coupling and added other pieces of iron pipe untilI had the length right. Finally I capped it of with a bell reducer "knob."
This season it got the bright yellow and black paint job seen here. The "bumblebee stripes" are graduated for measuring in-the-hole depth and it is ultra Hi-Viz. This makes it harder to leave behind (which I've done)!
Hope you like it.
But here is one tool I am NEVER without. It has served me for years and shows no signs of slowing up this season. I cannot imagine detecting without it and were it to disappear, I would make a new one just like it. Yes I said MAKE - it is handcrafted... well, handmade anyway. I am not sure about the craftsmanship part! You can buy pretty, factory-made equivalents now at 20 times the cost, but I wouldn't.
Here it is:
The BADGER
[attachment 87010 DSCF0028a.JPG]
The scoop part is 3" EMT electrical conduit, split in half lengthwise. That was shaped and sharpened as you see. Then I welded a 4" length of black iron pipe to the scoop at a slight 20 degree angle. To that I screwed on a pipe coupling and added other pieces of iron pipe untilI had the length right. Finally I capped it of with a bell reducer "knob."
This season it got the bright yellow and black paint job seen here. The "bumblebee stripes" are graduated for measuring in-the-hole depth and it is ultra Hi-Viz. This makes it harder to leave behind (which I've done)!
Hope you like it.