Metal Detecting Shovels and Trowels – What I Like and Don’t Like.

In this video, we dive deep into the best digging tools for metal detecting — from heavy-duty metal detecting shovels to compact and durable trowels for treasure hunting. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned relic hunter, having the right metal detecting gear makes all the difference when recovering targets in the field. My Patreon members asked for this video. A few years back I wrote about, and did a video on my shovels so this will be an update to both the video and article. You can find the article here: https://mentalmetaldetecting.com/6-best-metal-detecting-shovels/

In the video I referenced the pistol grip small digging trowel. Where can you get it? You used to be able to get them here: www.backwoodsdetectors.com. There is another company that is making something similar (pistol grip) and you can reach out to them at www.excaliburshovels.com.

Here are the links to the other shovels and trowels I mentioned in the video.

Root Slayer: https://amzn.to/42HKFdV
Stu Line (white Shovel): https://amzn.to/42uHN2T
Lesche (Small T-handle Sampson): https://fortbedfordmetaldetectors.com/product/lesche-sampson-digging-shovel/
Lesche (Big Red) Super Shovel: https://fortbedfordmetaldetectors.com/product/lesche-super-sampson-shovel/
Lesche Digging Knife: https://fortbedfordmetaldetectors.com/product/lesche-digging-knife/
PANCKY Metal Detector Shovel with Extended Handle & Carrying Sheath: https://amzn.to/4jw5dvM
Lowes Digging Shovel (similar to mine): https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-16-5-in-Fiberglass-D-Handle-Digging-Shovel/5014610097

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If you are looking for metal detecting gear, I recommend reaching out to our friends at Fort Bedford Metal Detectors and give them a chance to earn your business. Give John or Zack a call at 814-215-1732. They are a great company with fast shipping and great customer service. Give them a call or check out their website https://www.fortbedfordmetaldetectors.com and tell them Mental Metal sent you.
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[Music] hey guys Scott here from the Mental Metal channel and mental metal detecting.com And wait who’s that guy right there you guys remember him don’t you that’s Rocky He’s going somewhere Anyway so yeah I got something funny on my face here So uh just full disclosure I had a little bout of skin cancer that I had have taken off this week So I’m kind of recovering from that I got some stitches in there So I know I look a little funny for the video but no shame here Um put your sunscreen on Don’t forget or you’ll be like me and you’ll be a scarf face Hey so anyway today I’ve been asked to do a video on my shovels and which ones I use which ones I like don’t like etc etc So I’m going to do a video here on my shovels I use every one of these that I have except for one I’ll I’ll tell you why But um and then I’ll show you my little trous that I have too that I’ll that I’m going through right now a couple of them and give them a try to see if I like or not So uh yeah let’s get over to the the main line of shovels I did a video on these a long time ago I’ll try to resurface the video again for you so you guys can see it or put a link in it But uh not much has changed But um I did acquire a new shovel a couple years ago that I don’t think anybody has really seen or know about But let me go find Rocky and we’ll get back to the video All right So here we are This is my line of shovels that I’ve had for it seems like forever I’ve pretty much stuck to them and um there’s only one here that I haven’t used that much and it’s this one over here It’s the root slayer I used this one a while back in Maryland Now that I’m in North Carolina I’ll probably start using that more Uh it’s a very very lightweight shovel It’s not heavy and it you don’t need a lot of um uh root cutting ability down here From what I’m seeing it’s mostly sand but um it’s very light It’ll be easy to use The thing I didn’t like about this shovel is is when you’re prying up some big rocks and stuff it is a little little flimsy So um I didn’t like that too much I figured I was going to break it Now the new one I have gotten recently that you probably haven’t seen is this one here the red one we call Big Red This one you can get at Fort Bedford Metal Detectors I got that from them when my stew line the white one that’s my favorite shovel um actually broke on me It’s not supposed to break It’s a lifetime warranty and Kelly Co honored that warranty and I got a new one But I had to use this one uh in replace of this one for a while when I was in some really really dry conditions in Co Pepper Uh that that shovel there will not break I guarantee it Um I used it last DIV So uh that’s a good shovel to use if you’re really needing to get deep and that that ground is hard It’ll punch right through Now the other favorite shovel I have here is my little Samson uh dual serrated blade uh shovel there It’s just a little three-footer Um I like that shovel a lot for being in the woods and relic hunting stuff This one also is really good in the woods and relic hunting The steel line uh T- handle 36-in T- handle Uh the only problem with this one is super heavy It’s it’s a very heavy shovel So um just keep that in mind if you do get it Now I will put my affiliate links in for some of these shovels And obviously for the ones that you you can get at Fort Bedford I recommend getting them there Uh I don’t believe you can get them at get the stew line at Fort Bedford but you can get these little Samson shovels the the two-sided serrated blade or you can get the um single side or I think he even has them where they don’t even even have serrated blades but I recommend getting the the serrated blades And then the other one I have here is I got at Lowe’s Uh I use this one a lot DIV because I need to get a big footprint big uh a big um scoop out of the ground I’m digging for Civil War relics So those are my shovels Like I said I’ll put links for you Um you can get these at Well you can get the red one from Fort Bedford for sure Amazon Amazon Fort Bedford and Lowe’s And who knows how much these things are going to cost with tariffs going up and stuff So just bear with you know all that going on But now I’ll show you some of my trials I’m using and um you know which ones I like don’t like etc All right guys So we’re in my garage here and um I’ll show you the first digging tri that I like that’s probably one of my favorite is this one I got this made a couple years ago Um I’ll put a link in the description I’m not sure you can get these anymore My buddy Brian Carr out there in California who’s also a Patreon member and I thank you very much Shout out to Brian for supporting me on Patreon Um he got these made from a guy Um I’ll have to put the link in the description I can’t remember exactly off the top of my head where I got them from but uh these things were a big hit I really enjoyed these Um the the one thing I don’t like about it that it’s kind of like the takeaway that if I could improve and I’ve been trying to I’ve been trying to get somebody to make one about about a little bit longer So about maybe about another inch or two long not longer but wider And I would like to see the tip curved a little bit and that way you can scoop out more dirt and stuff like that This is an amazing little little digger tri And it’s got a pistol grip on it so you can hold it you know and you can really dig hard with it And it’s you know the only thing that um one of my other Patreon members Keith he got one made different type but um he got an a longer extension on this end so it actually has a better rest for your finger for him So uh I’ll put a link to those in the description Well where he got something similar made but it was from a different company or different guy that does them out in the on the West Coast So um I’ll put that if I just could if I remember if I could remember the name of the company It is just not in my head right now and I would give them a plug But um this is my one of my favorite trials to use Um I just I just like it It’s very handy very concealed It’s very small but it’s just you can get really get in there and dig some dirt out with it Now the other one I use a lot and I have used a lot at DIV events is my handy dandy leash Uh this thing I’ve put it through the ringer numerous times I mean it’s it you can’t go wrong with a leash I mean it’s just it’s it’s a nice digging trial So you know you got to um you got to use it for what it is I mean you get in some of those areas you want to poke out stuff with the tip It’s very very sharp very very fine pointed And then you got the serrated blade cut through roots and things like that I’ve really enjoyed this one throughout the years And my only problem with this one is it’s just it’s a little too heavy to carry around I I just can’t stand putting stuff around my waist Um and so this one goes in my digging bag which weighs it down But um it is what it is You got to have this And uh I usually take it with me at DIV hunts Uh but not not anywhere else I usually don’t take this with me only typically on my on my co pepper hunts that I go on That could change now that I’m down here but uh this one goes with me almost everywhere I go So people always comment on this when they see it like “Where did you get this made?” Like if I remember what the company was I would put it in here I would let you know but I’ll put it in the link for sure so you guys have a chance to get these if the guy’s still making them He was a pretty old gentleman that made these and hopefully still around and hopefully can still make some of these So they are really nice All right So the next one I want to show you is this digging tri from a company called Pan Ky Panki Pancake I don’t know It’s probably It’s I think it’s definitely Chinese So you probably spend well let’s see I don’t know what is it 124% more down the road on this So you may not even be interested in it Uh this was turned on to me by uh one of my Patreon members Keith um told me about this one and I thought I’m going to try that cuz it looks really cool So this is a uh digging tri that has uh a shade blade on both sides up towards the top and uh right here in the back Kind of gives you some you know numbers but those numbers are wear off Uh I used this at DIV just to get an idea of how it was going to work The problem with this the con to this digging trial is it’s not a very very durable um blade So I don’t know what kind of metal it’s made out of but uh it’s it’s going to probably give in the middle But I also I think I just noticed I tip I bent the tip at DIV The ground was super hard and um I think I I bent it I think it just bent a little bit Maybe not Um I like the handle on it The grip is nice Uh the one thing I do like about it that you know we’re kind of exploring a little bit more with this one is it also comes with an extension So you guys doing parks uh you know you’re not allowed to take shovels in parks uh this could be your solution This gives you a little bit more you know leverage and things to kind of get through that tough dirt and stuff Um but it’s a nice little addition to uh uh you know the way you normally have And you can you know it’s not obvious that you’re cane around a shovel but you can you know if you you know keep this part and if you need to break out the extension to use it to dig out some um tough holes you can But then you can quickly unscrew it and put it back in your bag and people won’t even see it So it’s a nice little uh attachment I like that a lot Um still playing around with this a little bit The verdict’s still out for me but I do think it’s a little bit weak as far as the blade goes cuz it will probably bend or break if you try to pry like rocks and roots and things out But um it did okay I mean it it worked at DIV for the most part other than that slight little bend Um but I like it cuz you know you you have a place for your extension fits right in there and your tri fits right back in there as well Just as I’m having trouble putting it back in I swear it did go in there just nicely before Just like that There you go caught on the Velcro here So that is the digging tri from Pancake Key So you know I got this off Amazon Like I said who knows what they’ll cost in the future And then the um uh my tried and true here are the three that I that I have currently that I use Obviously went through them but um this one by far is the one I use the most I just love it Pistol grip Very very small very lightweight Just wish it was a little wider But um yeah So those are my digging shovels and my digging TRS that I use I used to have a couple more different TRS that I had over the years Got rid of those They just um not really uh I don’t keep a lot of stuff anymore I just use the stuff I use and and uh I try a couple things out and if I don’t I get rid of it So it just clutters up everything if I don’t So there you go That is my video on my shovels and my triles So uh if you have any comments or questions like I said I’ll put links to all these in the video and I will remember where I got this and um I will reference the company that makes these similar to these Um I just cannot it’s off the tip of my tongue and I cannot remember the company but uh I was trying to get him to make a little wider one for me and I just that communication failed I need to reach out to him again So anyway that’s it for me in the video Thanks for watching and uh don’t forget to wear your sunscreen All right thanks for watching I’ll see you in another Mental Metal video [Music] [Applause] Hey hey hey [Music]