Customer Reviews

Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel, Hardwood Handle

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

One of my favourite pieces of kit. The Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel may save your life.

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.

The best ideas are simple, and this one couldn't be simpler. It is what it looks like: a sturdy little shovel with a short ash handle. It's handy for chores like digging latrines and putting out fires.

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.

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!

I purchased this shovel in Oct. 2008 for use in my hobby--hunting old survey benchmarks, which are often set off in what are now hard to reach, heavily wooded areas, and may be buried underground. I need to pack to them and need a shovel that can handle digging, root-cutting, and peeling soil and lichen off of encrusted ledges.

So far this shovel has done the job nicely. I had the blade sharpened even further, and it quickly hacks through small saplings and cuts underground roots well. The blade is sturdy rolled steel and tolerates being knocked around.

The blade is 6" wide and 7.5" long at its tip. The shovel is 20.5" long altogether. For safety reasons, I'd suggest buying the sheath if you're going to sharpen it. The sheath is ballistic nylon and quite a tight fit--hard to snap the two snaps that secure it with tabs over the base of the blade, so it might be difficult to carry hanging by its loop from your belt or some webbing.

Special Forces Shovel, Hardwood Handle (92SF) Category: Miscellaneous Knives Great tool! I'm a gadget guy who appreciates practical versatility and durability. This fits the criteria very well. Very sturdy. Not just a shovel. I have used it sucessfully as a hatchet, a dirt shovel, and dug my truck out of a dense snow drift up past the axles. I've also used it to move hot coals for dutch oven cooking. The wooden handle is strong and feels good in my hand. The little bulb on the end of the handle helps keep it from slipping out of your hand when chopping, and makes pushing into the dirt easier. It does not fold 90 degrees into a pick configuration for digging into real hard soil like caliche, like the current GI shovel (whose triangular handle makes hacking and picking awkward and difficult) but with enough weight on it like a regular shovel, or with strong, sharp downward thrusts, the point will get through the tough dirt. The handle is shorter than the WWII style GI shovel, and makes it feel more balanced for multiple uses, yet still long enough for use as a regular shovel. Certaily more versatile than either style GI entrenching tool, and feels better in your hand. The flat design makes it easy to store. I keep one in my truck and another in my camp box. I've read stories of little shovels similar to this one being used successfully as weapons during the trench warfare of WWI. I havent needed it as a weapon myself, but it does swing well, and I'm sure it would do quite well as such, and is one reason I keep it handy.

Fit and finish are a little rough, but like most of Cold Steel's cheaper offerings this is a very functional piece of kit. Handle seems fairly sturdy as does the double screwed socket. I have put the little beast through some light paces and no wobble or handle splitting so far. After getting it I immediately took it out to the yard and menaced some saplings, as they were clearly scared I felt it appropriate to cut them down for their cowardice. Then I split some small logs for additional kindling and sacrificed the lot in my fire pit. I think handle issues are a matter of (bad) luck as I have seen a great deal of variation in terms of reviews. The handle is WAY too glossy/slippery from the factory though. I recommend taking the gloss finish off and treating with boiled linseed oil, however hockey tape should work as well. Without some more rough use I couldn't tell you whether I would trust it help me chop a hole in a hut if under fire, but so far it seems fairly reliable. Overall a great addition to my car's trunk kit or as my wife refers to it, my "Zombie Bag".

If you are planning to use this for weapons practice I would recommend the sheath as the balance and weight of the shovel take some getting used to and the side edges came very sharp from the factory on my shovel.

This is the kind of thing you buy twice. In my case, I saved some time on my part and bought two for some strange reason. But anyway, despite being thoroughly canvassed by others as a multi tool, I cannot help but rhapsodize about its uses as well. It came out of the box sharp, though scuffed a bit and a little ragged on the edges. But man, or woman, those steely edges are strong! I immediately hopped away from the scene of opening with my new shovels, and started digging happily at the ice and snow on our patio, when I struck stone. And while the stone was damaged, to say the least, I slit my skin on the edge, though not hard enough to draw blood. I then went over to our local bamboo grove and started hammering at a fallen stand of bamboo. Boy is it loud, but man, does it work! I would suggest any special forces commandos out there, to purchase it, but not for covert operations, because loud noises tend to attract enemy fire, so I am told, though I could be wrong... anyway, this baby, or babies in my case, can be used for anything, virtually anything. The steel will fulfill all but your wildest destructive or constructive fantasies (in other words, no trying to split diamond). I would recommend getting a shovel blade bag for it, because the edges are factory sharpened to be relatively keen. Beware, though, this most likely qualifies as a weapon in the eyes of law enforcement, my dear mother will not let me leave the house with it even though I am a nearly full grown nineteen year old, and despite what my preceding reviewers said, it would probably be bad if you were caught with a razor edged shovel in your possession without a weapons license of some kind. So, be warned, this is more functional as an all around machete than as a shovel, though I admit it does dig well. If you are buying it because you want to dig holes, I recommend the inteletool system on amazon. If you are buying it because it looks, smells, and feels like it would beat the zombie apocalypse back single handled-ly, than this is well worth your money. Sturdily built, expertly tempered, rather inexpertly sharpened, this tool will nonetheless make you feel like a genuine one man army, if only for a moment before reality sets in. Just remember, once again, this kind of entrenching tool was used to decapitate the enemy in the army, use great caution when swinging it around people, because harmless, this tool is not. EDIT: I just chopped a fair sized branch in half with one of my two shovels, and it is a more than decent chopper. I spend every day honing the edges on one my shovels, so it works with a vengeance. But, in the end, a good kukri will still outdo the cold steel shovel in chopping, unfortunately. But a kukri cannot dig well, and a kukri can't slice like this shovel can. Peace.

Inexpensive quality backup shovel. If you've never engaged the 4WD on your Jeep, you probably don't think you need this. If you've ever been stuck, you know you needed this or something a lot like it.

This is a useful shovel for light digging, emergency chopping, and menacing critters. For the price, you can put it in the back of your rig and only take it out when you need it. The wooden handle is especially nice in freezing weather, even if you put spare gloves with it. (Buy some thermal grippy gloves, they make bad situations so much better.)

If you plan on getting bogged in your jeep regularly, get a real shovel as a primary. You still need this for extra hands and when the main shovel breaks.

I think everyone should have one of these. For the price it can't be beat. It is one of the most usefull, multipurpose tools I carry. It can chop, carve, hammer, throw, oh and dig. I keep it in my truck for digging out of tough situations or cutting down fallen brush on the trail. It deffinately isn't the best for cutting, but it's the most versatile. Anyone who uses dirt roads should carry one in their truck and anyone who camps could find a million and one uses for it. It's uses are only limited by your imagination. And it's CHEAP!!!

This item may not be as compact as the latest military models but it will out perform them, hands down. I keep this little gem in my pickup for any emergencies and keep it close for any survival type emergencies. There is no doubt it is made for hard work and emergencies. This shovel is well made, both by the design and material.