Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel, Hardwood Handle

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.

Well, I am blown away. I like things that have multiple uses. Check. I also like things that either don't break at all or are easy to fix, and I like the sound of this shovel on both of those a lot more than a folding e-tool. I would recommend this as-is for heavy gardening and as a trunk tool, and as a camp shovel if you don't mind the size and weight. It can be made to suit a lot of other roles. It makes a very effective shovel, a decent hatchet, a good throwing weapon, and an okay handheld weapon if you know how to handle it. I took mine right out of the box, found a horrible spot in the frozen dirt with clay and rocks and roots, and I timed myself for 5 minutes and got a hole about 12" in diameter and 10" deep in the center. I refilled it inside 30 seconds. I then cut down a small sapling (it could afford to be sharpened for that - it comes very sharp for a shovel but not sharp enough to open up your hand). IF YOU WANT TO TOUGHEN IT UP, this is the section of my review on how to do it. I only have two complaints about this shovel: the wood (as opposed to synthetic) handle, and the available sheath. The head is an exceptional tool, so these two things are quite annoying. Luckily, they can be fixed. A reviewer on Cold Steel's site suggested using a polyethylene rod (available from McMaster-Carr, part number 8701K46) instead of wood. I agree. It is a difficult material to work with, but once you do the fairly light fitting it will need for this shovel, it will be nearly indestructible. A 16-18" long rod will be about the same length as the stock handle and will work great. I wouldn't go much over a 24" rod as the material is a tad flexible. As for the sheath, why would I want to put a dirt-, mud-, or snow-covered tool in a fabric sheath, even if it is nylon? That's just stupid. I plan to buy some sheet Kydex and some grommets and make myself one. You can very easily find how to do this and where to get materials (or where to buy one premade) with a quick web search.

For every reason imaginable you should have one of these in your car. It’s not a full size shovel but it beats the crap out of digging with your hands, a spade, some board you find, etc. It’s a great small camp shovel. It’s not for planting bushes or shoveling snow. It’s really good for a travel tool within easy reach. It appears reasonably indestructible. Unless you abuse it. Much is made of it being sharpened. It’s sort of sharp. It can be made really sharp. That makes it a better digging tool for a small shovel that you have to use with only your hands. You’ll never put a foot on this. It is an effective hatchet for limbs. It will not split wood. The handle on mine seems solid enough. A spare is not a bad idea which they sell. Need to get the cover to safely store it. No brainer emergency tool. It’s a great tool for its intended design - portability

Outstanding shovel for your pack. Just the perfect size and weight. I always build a Dakota Fire Pit when camping. It's like this shovel was built for that. Digging rocks, gravel, dirt, anything you want, this little shovel will excel at.

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.

I’ve abused this thing constantly, it takes everything in stride and keeps going strong

These things are near indestructible. Throw, chop, slice and dig. It does it all. Replaced one handle with the longer version for a little better leverage with digging. Compact and not to heavy. Good addition to your gear.

I ordered this shovel from Amazon via a seller by the name of Ant Online. I'm sure this shovel is a great product, however Ant Online sent me a tomahawk instead, completely the wrong product I ordered. Ant Online had no contact information whatsoever on the packing slip so I had to look up their contact information online. I then discovered how many horrible experiences buyers had from Ant Online trying to return items. I tried to contact Ant Online by email and telephone and got no where just automated machines. They have automated email and telephones with no one to help you with a RMA # so you can't return items. The only way I found to get anywhere was to formally reject acceptance of the item per the Uniform Commercial Code as a non-conforming product, by mail and protest the charge on my credit card. Then I ordered this product from another seller who delivered the shovel I purchased. This is my first experience like this with Amazon where the product was completely non-conforming and the seller treating people this way with absolutely no customer service. I hope Amazon drops companies like this one that drop ship their products for sale. I'm surprised Amazon allows this company to continue to sell products on Amazon. Amazon should ban them from selling products on their site. I also found a website setup by other customers like myself that advertises to the general public to stay away from Ant Onine. Update I got this shovel from from another seller GizmosForLife who delivered this product timely and this shovel is awesome. It is one of those amazing, rugged, simple tools the Russians are famous for designing for their soldiers for battle to dig in. The shovel is made by the Cold Steel company, who used high quality steel and copied the Russian design. This is the ak-47 of shovels. It is a small shovel with knife sharp edges, which can be used as a weapon in a close combat situation. I got it for a little survival tool and gardening tool. Excellently balanced for throwing. If you actually break the handle, the handle can be easily replaced by loosing the two screws that hold it place. You should buy the sheath holder for this shovel also otherwise the shovel may seriously damage whatever it rubs up against. The edges are very very sharp and will cut right through anything. By the way amazon helped with the credit card refund process after one telephone call and one email. Nice customer service from Amazon. So I ended up getting a free tomahawk lol.

Poderia vir com a bainha. Tive que comprar separadamente. Por isso 4 estrelas .

米国の刃物会社、コールドスチール社製。 自治会の植木仕事や、小学校植木ボランティアで使用。頑丈な収納ケース付きで、安全に配慮されている。 30年以上の高齢の 元気のない低木や、温暖化で 冬季 日照時間の減少で 重傷な低木を、移動する時に使用 (春に場所を変える)。 画像参照 : 3回 使用の裏面。石に当たり キズだらけ。土の付着を 清掃する時に、短縮できるように、パテを塗装。清掃時間 50% 短縮。 先端は、サビやすい中炭素鋼で、横幅14.7cm、縦19cm、厚さ 2mm。使用後は 刃の部分に注油する。 先端は、昔の米軍やイギリス軍の ３つ折りシャベルと 同じ大きさ。掘削性能が良く、軽い。 左部分は 刃先で、根切りができる。右部分の刃先は、切れない。キャンプ たき火の木を、折る時に使用。 本体は、全長52cm、柄の長さ24cm。柄は 木製で 直径4.2cmの円形.頑丈。柄は 持ちやすく、操作性が良い。 ーーーーーーーーー 落葉を分解させる為の、穴掘りに使用。 穴は 1m x 3m 深さ0.5m。１年に18カ所、掘る。桜の花ビラ·ガク·実·葉。 サツキとツツジの花·葉を埋める。雑草も。 穴を掘ると、1年に 燃えるゴミ袋 200個 削減。ゴミ収集車の燃えるゴミを削減。 1年で分解して、土に変わる。3年行うと、土中の吸水が 良くなる。 本品は 軽いので、穴掘り作業時間が、30% 短縮可能。軽いので、高齢者向き。 注意、粘土質の土、石のように硬い土は、穴掘り不可。 ーーーーーーーーーーー 毎週 使用、2年目。非常に頑丈。 2個目を購入。2個目は 両側と底側を、アマゾン店で購入した ダイヤモンドヤスリで研ぎ、小石が多い庭の部分を、草刈りに使用。電動草刈機のような、小石は飛ばない。小型の鎌よりも強力。性能が良い草刈道具。

Es una pala muy sencilla, prácticamente servirá para defensa, y trabajos sencillos de supervivenvia

レビューに「シースが付属しない」とおっしゃられてる方がいたので、 別途シースのみ同時に注文したところ、普通に付属してました。 おかげでシースだけ二つ持ってます。 もしシースが付属してなかった場合は、おそらく発送元の同梱漏れだと思うのでお問い合わせを推奨します。

On of the few products that did not just meet but far surpassed my expectations, Absolutely no play in the handle even after chopping with it. Awesome shovel take it every where now