Hey, looks real nice. Couple of questions for you: Is that just 11 GA mild steel that you used for the blade? Now that you've had a chance to use the shovel for a while, how well is it holding up? Any bending? You mentioned that it was a bit heavy.. Do you think thats due to the thickness of the pipe you used for the handle or the thickness of the blade?
I'm working on a shovel of my own so I'd like to hear your feedback. I know the ones from Predator and Lesche are made from 4130, heat treated and tempered so I'm really curious how well plain old mild steel will hold up after some heavy use. I'd like to make mine as light as possible while still being durable so still debating on what thickness to use for the blade. The blade on my Sampson mics at .104 so I was thinking of using 12ga.
The one I designed will be sort of a cross between a Sampson and the Predator Tools Ranger. A little more aggressive and longer than the Sampson, but not as big and bulky as the Ranger.
Thanks!