Diggers? make or buy. see one very popular but "50bucks"!!!

tinsmith

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All over videos or equipment lists I see the(usually red handle) Letch or letsh or some spelling? Anyway what up wit dat? I have a Home Depot transplanting trowel it's similar but rounded at the tip and no its not very strong so I'm a bit careful. The digger might be a personal choice but I think maybe a heftier one my go easier on the carple. Anyone make something cool? Or as I've thought about... the old army survival knife or as I had long ago and regret losing, the marine bowie from about 40 or so yrs. ago. My brother inlaw gave me one after Nam. I found surplus knives similar on a website and now this stuff is sold as classic and expensive. What are your thoughts?
 

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You can buy several lesches for the cost of one of these:lol:
 

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I like the Fiskars sod knife, $7 at Walmart. I've used it for almost 3 years now, sharpened twice, still going strong. Florida has very loose, sandy soil, no natural stone, so just need to cut roots. It has a 'V' tip, which is useful to pop through pencil size roots. Lots of oak trees, roots are tough to saw through. Got a folding pair of pruning shears for larger roots. I use a trowel to dig deeper, after lifting the plug. Don't really see a need for a $50 digging tool around here.

Different areas, require different tools. Some people won't one tool, to do everything, and usually break quite a few. A sod knife cuts roots, not really a digging tool, or a pry tool.
 
The lesche is a good digger but whatever floats your boat will be the best digger for you, I like the lesche cos its sharp enough, has the curve, has the t bar for help pushing down on and seems to hold up well to being used as leverage, the serrated side helps too but you can get cheaper diggers the same way you can get cheaper machines..all personal choice...I don't think a lesche ever speeded up retrieval or found something another digger wouldn't but I'm sure less broke in the field then others.
 
The lesche is a good digger but whatever floats your boat will be the best digger for you, I like the lesche cos its sharp enough, has the curve, has the t bar for help pushing down on and seems to hold up well to being used as leverage, the serrated side helps too but you can get cheaper diggers the same way you can get cheaper machines..all personal choice...I don't think a lesche ever speeded up retrieval or found something another digger wouldn't but I'm sure less broke in the field then others.

Not to mention its Life Time Warranty
 
yea, the Lesche is a terribly well built and robust digger. Of course, nothing is completely bust-resistant but those transplanters don’t hold up long for some folks. Here in SoCal, which is a lot of desert, I can’t risk having a sub par digger with me, so I have the Lesche with the Ames True Temper planter’s buddy as a backup in case.

At first, the Lesche seems like it costs quite a bit but really, after you bust 3 or 4 of the cheaper diggers, you’ll have spent the same cash. :D
 
I like the Fiskars sod knife, $7 at Walmart. I've used it for almost 3 years now, sharpened twice, still going strong.

I cut the V off of mine, increased the notches on the edge and reinforced the blade to the handle with JBWeld. I love it, works great. I never cared for the V...

shovel.jpg
 
You can use just about anything, but do you want to worry that what you are using is gonna break or remind yourself constantly to dig softly... I broke two diggers before it finally sunk in... I needed a digger that would withstand my abuse... Found one... The Lesche... Once you use it, you wont want anything else... Just my opinion...:grin:
 
I prefer the Gator Razor Edge digger to the Lesche. They need to be sharpened (I used a belt Sander) when new, but they are I believe stronger than the Lesche, are narrower and penetrate the soil better. They are serrated on both sides and cut sod and roots better than the Lesche. I used a simple cheap used Imperial hunting knife from the 60s for many years and it still works just fine and is stronger than most of the cheap garden supply diggers out there. You can get beat up older American made hunting knives at most flea markets for under 10 bucks and they work fine, I just don't like using them in public places anymore due to the inane fear a lot of folks have these days regarding "weapons".
 
Had this one made from a Lawn Mower blade for $10. Crude but VERY strong.
 

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Had this one made from a Lawn Mower blade for $10. Crude but VERY strong.

Now that's nice! And you know mower blades aren't made to stress fracture. If they were I'd quit mowing and hide in a cast iron tub in the house when the landscaper showed up:lol:
 
Made my own

I made my own a 0 cost except my hour of labor. two years and a LOT of use and still going strong. Of coarse you have to have a pile of scrap metal and a welder.
 
Anybody ever use the Newer Garrett Edge Digger? I have a few of them in stock here. I have seen nice results so far.

I use the Garrett, but should have a Lesche soon. The Garrett is much better than the garden trowels I was using (and destroyed), but I'm not terribly thrilled with the location or quality of the teeth on the Garrett. I'd imagine that if I put a little time in sharpening it, it would be a much better digger, and I just might try that before I take it out on Monday...

Had this one made from a Lawn Mower blade for $10. Crude but VERY strong.

VERY nice, and great idea to use a lawn mower blade! Going to have to see what I have in my scrap pile... :yes:
 
Now that mower blade digger is just neat. I use a Lesche, myself and would be loathe to go out without it. I have two of the Fiskars diggers from Wally World just in case, but I don't foresee needing them any time soon.

As far as making them is concerned, the tines from a Troy-Bilt tiller make great knives...old style Troy-Bilts, that is. The new stuff from MTD is 'teh suck'. Hmmm... Come to think of it. I have a complete set of used tines out in the shop. I may just find a forge some where and straighten them out.
 
I have two fiskars diggers. I have abused them, and they haven't bent or broken. They work like they should, and cost less than they should. Some people are brand loyal and insist there is only one tool good enough to dig a hole. It is a shovel, not a scalpel.
 
digger

I have been using a $4 stainless garden trowel from Lowes.... works good and is sturdy...
 
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