Pete e
Elite Member
I have to say I don't see any need for a full size conventional shovel for run of the mill detecting. I
am in the UK, so the brand's I use are different, but the products are pretty similar in design.
I would start with the lesche style hand digger and then rather than the 18" Samson, I would go with the 31" version....in fact if most of my detecting was over easy to moderate going soils or sand, I would actually go with one of the mini spades as shown in Seaking406's pic earlier in the thread.
These are cheap as chips, lighter than similar sized stainless steel models and cut a really nice plug. Short of using it as a crow bar or other abuse, they hold up well, just get a decent branded one not a really cheap Chinese knock off.
If you intend detecting in woodland, a pair of gardeners secateurs makes short work of roots, and are far easier to use in the confines of a small hole than a saw or even the saw edge of a digging tool.
One other thought is to use a drop cloth to pile the dug soil on. I use an 18" square bit of tarp...it makes finding small items that are lost in the spoil easier to find, and perhaps more importantly, makes closing down a plug in the tidiest manner really easy...
am in the UK, so the brand's I use are different, but the products are pretty similar in design.
I would start with the lesche style hand digger and then rather than the 18" Samson, I would go with the 31" version....in fact if most of my detecting was over easy to moderate going soils or sand, I would actually go with one of the mini spades as shown in Seaking406's pic earlier in the thread.
These are cheap as chips, lighter than similar sized stainless steel models and cut a really nice plug. Short of using it as a crow bar or other abuse, they hold up well, just get a decent branded one not a really cheap Chinese knock off.
If you intend detecting in woodland, a pair of gardeners secateurs makes short work of roots, and are far easier to use in the confines of a small hole than a saw or even the saw edge of a digging tool.
One other thought is to use a drop cloth to pile the dug soil on. I use an 18" square bit of tarp...it makes finding small items that are lost in the spoil easier to find, and perhaps more importantly, makes closing down a plug in the tidiest manner really easy...
