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Cheap-Ass Tools: A Folding Shovel For $4

By Stephen Cooke

Folding Shovel

If you’re planning to drive on the beach — or to participate in any kind of off-roading — you’re going to need a shovel, and this little folding shovel from J.C. Whitney is a lot easier to stow than the one you use in the garden.  It’s 24” long and locks into both a straight and 45 degree position.  What’s even better is the fact that J.C. Whitney has them on sale right now for $4.

24″ Folding Shovel [JC Whitney]
Street Pricing [Froogle]


This entry was posted on Monday, April 16th, 2007 at 10:39 am and is filed under Dealmonger, Hand Tools, Lawn/Garden. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “Cheap-Ass Tools: A Folding Shovel For $4”

  1. Fred Says:
    April 16th, 2007 at 12:26 pm

    Also known as an entrenching tool. It’s what the infantry uses when they want to get entrenched.

  2. james b Says:
    April 16th, 2007 at 1:20 pm

    I have a similar one with the triangular handle. Used it to dig the jeep out of a pile of snow this winter. I wanted to see how much snow it took to get stuck, and found out.

  3. Fletcher Says:
    April 16th, 2007 at 8:09 pm

    Or, buy the real deal at an army surplus store for about the same price and without shipping.

  4. Nate Bezanson Says:
    April 16th, 2007 at 8:16 pm

    They’re fine for snow, but not for prying, which includes stiff clay soil. I’ve found the blade to buckle easily if much torque is exerted on it. On the plus side, the handle and joint held up fine, so welding a bit of angle-iron to the back of the blade might stiffen it into a useful tool. Now, can I justify a $200 welder to improve a $4 tool?

  5. Donald Bradshaw Says:
    April 17th, 2007 at 7:41 am

    Yeah, this is just an E-Tool. These are great for carrying around in your ruck sack but are not easy to use compared to a real shovel.

    It sure beats digging holes with your kevlar though.

  6. G1ZM0 Says:
    April 17th, 2007 at 9:36 am

    I prefer the solid Swiss shovel.

  7. John Shea Says:
    April 17th, 2007 at 10:34 am

    Second on the surplus store. Also get one that has a pick on it too, it’s very handy.

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