*Spetznatz shovel*
By: Serger
2-1-02

Cold Steel puts out a version of the Russian Entrenching tool and I thought you might be interested in looking at one. Beside it is a folded USGI E-tool.

Mine’s over five years old and has been used for just about everything. I’ve dug fire pits and snow caves, hammered nails, planted gardens, chopped wood, dug up small trees for replanting just to mention a few things. When I got it the edges had a rough utility edge Cold Steel puts on them when they are shipped. I tried to use a file on it and gave up. To sharpen it required a sanding disc to contour the edge for what I wanted.

After sanding the tool I used an EZ Lap diamond sharpener to put a knife edge on it. Since then I’ve only had to sharpen it maybe four times. The edges retain their sharpness quite well. The shovel point dulls a little but is easy (relatively speaking) to resharpen. In use I haven’t needed that part to be knife sharp. It works fine the way it is. I have been keeping the sides sharp for cutting things, as you would use machete or hatchet for. Where I live there is not enough vegetation to need to clear trails but for cutting scrub and grass it works well.

One of my friends in Texas has thrown his like a tomahawk and once you get the timing of the throw down it sticks well. In fact he says it’s easier to stick the shovel because it’s got a much bigger edge area than a hawk. I wouldn’t know. As a rule I don’t throw perfectly good tools around if I can help it.

A word of caution, when you lend it out tell whoever uses it the sides are sharp. They won’t believe you and will cut themselves but at least you won’t feel bad because you didn’t say anything. I’ve had that happen. My brother in-law gave me some metalized edging used for door gaskets and I keep it in that stuff so nobody gets hurt by it when it’s packed in the pack. That’s what’s lying on the shovel in the deployed photo.

Side by side with the USGI E-tool I think it holds it’s own or is better in every respect except it doesn’t work well as a saw or mattock. And it doesn’t fold up. It is IMHO better as a chopping tool and for pounding. As a close combat weapon I feel it is vastly superior because of the balance. Also even though I’ve never had to do this, the handle acts as an insulator from electricity. That might be of use. It’s also a half meter long in case you need to measure things that are a half meter long.

Dimensionally they are equivalent when deployed as you can from the photographs. I find opening the USGI tool is a PITA, especially in the cold. Weight wise the Spetznatz has the GI tool beat. I’ve never seen anyone who had to carry one of the GI tools use the carrier so I’ll say the weight of the carrier 7 ounces, half a pound or so, is a gimmie. But the other seven and a half ounces used in the GI tool isn’t and I think if you want to keep an E-tool of sorts and are watching your weight the choice is obvious.

Price wise in My area the shovel is cheaper than the genuine USGI E-tools but more expensive than the Wal-Mart Junk tools. As with everything else you get what you pay for. You’ll use the cheapie Wal-Mart shovel once and then you’ll pitch it in the trash for sure probably right after it breaks on you. There has been discussion at the Rubicon of poorly constructed tools dying while placing Caches. I won’t say who brought it up but you know who you are.

If you want one of these shovels there are many knife peddlers on the net. Look around for ones that sell Cold Steel Products. Mine was under twenty dollars and you can still get them for about seventeen less shipping at Discountknives.com. Go there, pull up Cold Steel’s list and look for the Special Forces Shovel, at the time of this writing it’s on the last page of Cold Steel’s stuff. Cold Steel did the Politically Correct thing between the time I bought my shovel and now and changed the name. It’s still the same shovel.

Thanks for the read.

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