Howdy,
I saw this cool spade on a youtube video and tried finding on for sale but no luck. I sent an email to the youtube presentation, no answer so far. But I did find a similar item, called the, Raptor, and the reviews seemed all positive, even from those with the Gator and Lesche tools. These two tools get right to it and make nice plugs but when you get to the bottom of the hole, on a deep dig it becomes complicated and usually you end up making a huge hole to get the target -- the small tip has a problem pulling up the target so you have to use your hand like a trowel. Enter the Spade style -- these broad blades with a slight curve get the bottom of the hole cleaned out pronto -- how do I know, cause I made one -- well, what I did was take an old "cheaper" digging tool, you know, the one that looks like a piece of angle iron with a handle hammered round with a handle bar grip shoved on? They cost anywhere from $10-20. Well, I took this to the tool shed, placed it face down on a piece of metal, grabbed my 2.5# hammer and smashed the blade out to a nice shallow round shape, then went to the grinder and worked the tip down to a nice half round with a cutting edge. In just one hunt this tool proved to be a great compliment to the Lesche digger, in fact, I found myself grabbing this "Spade" from left over gator holster I had laying around. Speaking of holsters, the type that come with the Gator and the Lesche are crap. You know what I am talking about,. I cut the ends out of mine so the dirt could fall out, then the thing started coming apart, I stapled it but that eventually failed -- so -- I went to the local Lowes, found a holster made of heavy material and a stiff outer shell , you could stick the end of a hammer handle into it, but the bottom was closed off, so, I took a razor blade and sliced it open. This baby is the best, I can drop my digger into this holder no sweat, 6 months later and not sign of wear, only dirty. The belt clip is meant to stay in place, I am on my way to the store to buy another one for my new Spade. Peace, Dan I should add, I do not walk around with my digger in my hand, after all, on these cold, cold morning I need to carry may coffee, and then, I do enjoy the occasional Sweets cigar -- hey, I only have two hands, now I add a second digger, my Spade (see below) so I do know the holsters, when used a lot, do not hold up.
I saw this cool spade on a youtube video and tried finding on for sale but no luck. I sent an email to the youtube presentation, no answer so far. But I did find a similar item, called the, Raptor, and the reviews seemed all positive, even from those with the Gator and Lesche tools. These two tools get right to it and make nice plugs but when you get to the bottom of the hole, on a deep dig it becomes complicated and usually you end up making a huge hole to get the target -- the small tip has a problem pulling up the target so you have to use your hand like a trowel. Enter the Spade style -- these broad blades with a slight curve get the bottom of the hole cleaned out pronto -- how do I know, cause I made one -- well, what I did was take an old "cheaper" digging tool, you know, the one that looks like a piece of angle iron with a handle hammered round with a handle bar grip shoved on? They cost anywhere from $10-20. Well, I took this to the tool shed, placed it face down on a piece of metal, grabbed my 2.5# hammer and smashed the blade out to a nice shallow round shape, then went to the grinder and worked the tip down to a nice half round with a cutting edge. In just one hunt this tool proved to be a great compliment to the Lesche digger, in fact, I found myself grabbing this "Spade" from left over gator holster I had laying around. Speaking of holsters, the type that come with the Gator and the Lesche are crap. You know what I am talking about,. I cut the ends out of mine so the dirt could fall out, then the thing started coming apart, I stapled it but that eventually failed -- so -- I went to the local Lowes, found a holster made of heavy material and a stiff outer shell , you could stick the end of a hammer handle into it, but the bottom was closed off, so, I took a razor blade and sliced it open. This baby is the best, I can drop my digger into this holder no sweat, 6 months later and not sign of wear, only dirty. The belt clip is meant to stay in place, I am on my way to the store to buy another one for my new Spade. Peace, Dan I should add, I do not walk around with my digger in my hand, after all, on these cold, cold morning I need to carry may coffee, and then, I do enjoy the occasional Sweets cigar -- hey, I only have two hands, now I add a second digger, my Spade (see below) so I do know the holsters, when used a lot, do not hold up.
