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Product Description
ATTRIBUTES Overall Length (inches): 20.50 Special Features: Shovel Head And Socket Are Forged From Medium Carbon Steel Then Heat Treated For Maximum Strength And Feature A Durable Solid Hardwood Handle
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
69 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Totally Concur... a must-have tool,
By If I need to dig a quick hole in my garden for mulching/transplanting... dig your stuck car out of a ditch... when I am geocaching/hiking/surviving/lookin' for Sasquatch in the wilderness lookin' and I hear a strange noise in camp... when I'm traveling on roads less traveled and unknown to me through the vastness of the country (and want to feel the reassurance of stout piece of oak beneath your legs under your truck seat)... and in case of those annoying sudden attacks by pesky flesh-eating zombies ('cuz it never runs out of ammo)... my tool of choice is this Cold Steel Special Forces shovel. This rather innocuous looking tool (a tiny spade) is really sturdily built of quality materials, and, with a little modification and imagination represents a whole tool chest worth of handy implements, weapons, and elements for other devices. If you are on a sinking ship (or a contestant on Survivor) and you could grab only one thing, you might strongly consider this little shovel. I remember reading about "the little Spetznaz shovel" back in the 80s when I was in the Army. The Soviet version of the Special Forces (the Spetzialnoya Naznashenya <---phonetic Russian... lol), first widely seen in action in Afghanistan, had these ubiquitous little spades in their kit. They used them for much more than digging trenches. They used the flat as a paddle and hammer. The hardwood handle became an improvised riot club. They sharpened all 4 edges of the spade and used it as tomahawk, and even trained to throw the hardy, yet balanced tool, as a throwing axe. Cold Steel merely copied the basic design and used better quality materials to produce our own improved version of it. The personal mods that I alluded to earlier are fairly simple and will instantly improve the utility of this already versatile tool. The handle is made of smooth polished oak which hefts very comfortably in the hand, but can become slick with sweat. I wrapped part of the handle in black (hockey) friction tape for better grip and to subdue the brightness of the wood. I have access to a professional rotary cross grinder machine, so I further sharpened all four facets of the blade, so it is an axe sharp enough to slice paper. Finally, the handle swells at the end to a nice rounded pommel, which is already drilled with like a 5mm hole (I don't know why). I just screwed a large alloy eyebolt into the hole, which provides a tie-down anchor point for straps, rope, and cord. Like anything else the versatility of this tool is limited only by ones imagination. Besides the more obvious uses as the aforementioned shovel, axe, paddle and hammer, I have found use for it as a tent pole, flag pole, camera tripod, and support for a wind-break or laundry line (anytime you need a quick and handy vertical stand to stick into the ground). It can be used as an impromptu ice axe or ground anchor, grapnel for climbing, or just a hook that extended the reach of my arm so I can pull myself up. Though not the best tool for this purpose, I've used it as a (heavy) field expedient machete in the jungle. Like any stick or club the handle can be used myriad ways, and among them, I have used it as a step up over vertical obstacles. The flat of the spade I suppose can be used as a cooking surface, a fire poker, or spatula to retrieve hot items from a fire, or if nothing better is around, as a flat writing surface. And it can be used as an element in devices and traps (survival, early warning, defensive). I believe the hidden advantage of this little shovel is it's compact size and unremarkable appearance as just a mundane, literally "garden-variety" tool. Yet, it is among the best hand to hand weapons I have in my arsenal, decent range, good weight, balanced, remarkable blunt/cutting trauma, can be thrown instantly. It just feels great in my hand. This little shovel would be about my #2 choice (overall). I am not by any means advocating carrying around sinister concealed dual-use implements/weapons, but you know that old adage about "what's the best weapon?" or "what's the best survival tool?"..... Answer: The one that you have with you. All I'm getting at is that people would tend to look at you funny if you walked around town sporting a chainsaw, baseball bat, big axe, a 9 Iron, or a knife/machete, and you'd certainly be eating asphalt if you overtly carried a spear, broadsword, or shotgun around with you. But few seem to notice or care about what is obviously this innocent looking mini-digging tool sitting in plain view in my truck, or attached to my rucksack.
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dig, chop, and defend,
By It's also a swell substitute for a hatchet. It comes from the factory with three sides sharpened to a "utility" edge. While the edges are light years away from "shaving" sharp, they are sharp enough that you can sink the shovel deep into a hunk of wood with very little effort. And you can easily put a much sharper edge on it, if you like. (Right handers might want to sharpen only the left edge for safety reasons.) I imagine it would stand up to a righteous batoning, although I haven't tried it yet. This thing is also touted as a weapon, and while it's heavier and slower than a knife, stick, or machete, it has almost the penetrating power of a tomahawk when swung. A thrust from this thing would be nothing to laugh at, either, especially if you sharpened it. It would provide a nice close-quarters answer to feral dogs, rabid raccoons, snakes in the grass, and most other creatures that might menace you on the trail or in camp. For fun, it can be thrown like an axe, and it sticks well in wooden targets. I'd definitely have one handy for car camping or developed campsites, and although it is not exactly a "leave no trace" kind of tool, I can see lashing it to a backpack for emergency use in the backcountry. For around ten bucks, you can also get a cordura sheath, which would allow more carry options. It is also at home in the tool shed or-- my favorite place for it-- under the bed where it can be reached quickly. All in all, an archetypal tool that still beats the daylights out of any of its fancy, folding competition. It's a must-have.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Set of Reviews and Hilarious to Boot.,
By jeff yamauchi "tenkai" (Chinatown, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel, Hardwood Handle
I'm a field archaeologist at Edwards AFB in the Mojave Desert, and was in need of a portable shovel when we go out and survey and need to do a quick and dirty test units. I'm ambivalent about a folding shovel though portable it has issues of not performing well, and decided to get this shovel from just the reviews alone. I also had to laugh out loud with the hilarious comments as well. In the end, I didn't realize the full utility of a shovel, and now I can impress my fellow colleagues by tomahawking this shovel in a Joshua Tree. Great Reviews. Thanks again!
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