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Lesche Sampson T-Handle Shovel ......18" Mini or 31" ?

GKL

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Jul 22, 2016
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Winnsboro, South Carolina
At first I had thought about getting the 18" Sampson shovel for it being easier to carry, but after doing some reading of Amazon reviews online I get the impression the 31" would be easier to dig with.

If you bought an 18" Sampson do you feel the 31" one might have been easier to dig with ?

If you have a 31" Sampson now, but have used the 18" one, do you feel the 31" one makes it easier to dig with than the 18" one ?

I have a Lesche hand digger and it works pretty good many places, but I've been digging some locations where gravel is mixed in with the dirt and some places that are hard clay and those places make digging with the hand digger VERY slow.
 
I have the 31 and mostly use my lesche hand digger... but I mostly hunt school fields, or lakes (scoop) so have not had much chance to use the 31”.
 
I have the 31 and mostly use my lesche hand digger... but I mostly hunt school fields, or lakes (scoop) so have not had much chance to use the 31”.

Thanks for saying which one you have, I guess part of it also is if the location you are hunting has mostly shallow finds and the ground is easy to dig a hand digger would be fine.

I had a dig today that was very hard clay and a real deep signal, it was very slow digging with the hand digger, after finally reaching about 6-7 inches and still not reaching my target, I refilled the hole and took a pic of the location and figured if I got a Sampson shovel I'd go back and finish that dig hoping the find would not be trash :lol:
 
I have the 31" , won it at a seeded hunt.
When I use it less bending over when digging plugs than the 18" so happy I got it.

Neat prize !

Thanks for the comment, I am definitely leaning towards getting the 31" model.

Even though I am 67, the bending over and getting up and down off the ground has not been a problem, I just think the shovel will make for faster plug digging so I can detect more targets per hunt, but maybe when I'm in my 80's I'll be glad I got the 31" model :lol:
 
I have the 31" and use it for every hole.

I also have the Lesche hand tool, but use it for maybe...one out of every 3 holes I dig.

I could see the 18" being useful for soft ground that's a little too hard to use the hand tool easily, but not hard enough to warrant the extra force the 31" shovel can provide.
 
I have the 31" and use it for every hole.

I also have the Lesche hand tool, but use it for maybe...one out of every 3 holes I dig.

I could see the 18" being useful for soft ground that's a little too hard to use the hand tool easily, but not hard enough to warrant the extra force the 31" shovel can provide.

Thanks, after your comment along with the others I feel reassured about deciding on the 31" model !!!! :thumbsup:
 
Thanks for everyone's replies and comments !!!!

I decided on the 31" model of the Lesche Sampson T-Handle Shovel (with a single serrated edge) !

I shopped around with forum sponsors as well as other shopping sites online, and the forum sponsor Phil of Myers Metal Detectors had the exact model I wanted and offered a great deal AND very fast service and shipping, I ordered a little while ago and already have the tracking number for it being shipped today !!!!
 
I own both. I had only the 18" Mini for years and I almost never got on my knees. My buddies used to comment, "Man, I don't know how you dig by only bending over at the hips." I eventually got the 31" Sampson use it all the time, unless I'm in a better class of landscaping and neighborhood so it gets used. I couldn't imagine quitting the 31" shovel. It's the best digging supply I ever bought.

Don't trust that it won't bend though. I only had to straighten mine one time, and straightening was easy. I've just respected those really hard limits in pulling on it ever since, and that's been years gone by with no issue. You'll love it.
 
I own both. I had only the 18" Mini for years and I almost never got on my knees. My buddies used to comment, "Man, I don't know how you dig by only bending over at the hips." I eventually got the 31" Sampson use it all the time, unless I'm in a better class of landscaping and neighborhood so it gets used. I couldn't imagine quitting the 31" shovel. It's the best digging supply I ever bought.

Don't trust that it won't bend though. I only had to straighten mine one time, and straightening was easy. I've just respected those really hard limits in pulling on it ever since, and that's been years gone by with no issue. You'll love it.

Thanks for the comments, glad to hear another positive review !

I have read that while it is a tough digger, it is not a pry bar and you have to respect it's limits as far as trying to pry something beyond it's limits, glad I realize that ahead of time to not try to force it way too much and use it more as a digger rather than like a heavy duty pry bar. I have read it can pry stuff, but I guess you have to get a feel for if what it can and can't pry.
 
I use the 18" Just a little bigger than a leash .. I like the 18" because of the T handle .. the offset of the Leash handles hurts my wrists .

To bad they do mot do a leash digger with the T handle
 
I use the 18" Just a little bigger than a leash .. I like the 18" because of the T handle .. the offset of the Leash handles hurts my wrists .

To bad they do mot do a leash digger with the T handle

The 31" I ordered has a T handle also, never thought of a Lesche hand digger having a T handle but it's an interesting idea !

I guess if someone had the welding skills and equipment maybe they could mod a hand digger to have a T handle !
 
I have both the 31" and the 18". I bought the 31" first but haven't used it since I bought the other. I'm almost 75 (2 weeks) and don't have any problem digging with it. You have to get down to retrieve your find anyway. I made a holder that works with either one. I carry them with the handle down so they don't bang against my leg. The 18" isn't as heavy as the 31" but most of the time I don't carry either one. My Hori-Hori knife works as well and I haven't found any ground it won't dig through.
H1.jpg
 
I have the Predator Tools 18" T handle (aka " The Spike") and love it. Ive recently found that i can bring it into parks without any weird looks. Ive started cutting the plug with my hand digger, and then use the greater leverage of 18" to filp the plug in one piece. I have a longer T handle for the woods.
 
I have both the 31" and the 18". I bought the 31" first but haven't used it since I bought the other. I'm almost 75 (2 weeks) and don't have any problem digging with it. You have to get down to retrieve your find anyway. I made a holder that works with either one. I carry them with the handle down so they don't bang against my leg. The 18" isn't as heavy as the 31" but most of the time I don't carry either one. My Hori-Hori knife works as well and I haven't found any ground it won't dig through.
View attachment 471409

I'm 67 and haven't had any problems physically getting down on the ground to dig with the Lesche hand digger and getting back up, so it's mostly to help me dig plugs faster and also to dig difficult ground that makes digging with the hand digger very slow.

I've noticed your shovel holder on other threads before, nice work ! I already planned to use the same basic idea to make one myself !

I have the Predator Tools 18" T handle (aka " The Spike") and love it. Ive recently found that i can bring it into parks without any weird looks. Ive started cutting the plug with my hand digger, and then use the greater leverage of 18" to filp the plug in one piece. I have a longer T handle for the woods.

I've read where some have not had a problem using even a 31" shovel in parks, though one said online somewhere (maybe a product review page) that it's as long as it is not a very busy crowded park. I guess it depends on each specific location.

I just now thought that maybe after I get it I'll take pictures of a test plug with my phone, one pic to show how the ground looks before digging, one pic with the open hole and plug next to it, and a 3rd pic with the plug replaced to show how good it looks afterwards. That way if I have anyone question using a small shovel I can show them there is no reason for concern.
 
I've had both the 18" and the 31". For me, the 31" makes things much easier. I have worn out knees along with spine issues so the whole reason I got a long handled shovel was to limit bending & getting down on my knees as much as possible. With the 31" I can dig and retrieve targets without getting on my knees *sometimes*. Of course I still have to get down occasionally on stubborn targets, but the ability to stand up while digging the hole at least limits the time I spend down on my knees.
 
I've had both the 18" and the 31". For me, the 31" makes things much easier. I have worn out knees along with spine issues so the whole reason I got a long handled shovel was to limit bending & getting down on my knees as much as possible. With the 31" I can dig and retrieve targets without getting on my knees *sometimes*. Of course I still have to get down occasionally on stubborn targets, but the ability to stand up while digging the hole at least limits the time I spend down on my knees.

Thanks, good point !

I have seen some detecting videos where they make it look easy with the long handle shovel, popping out a plug, retrieving the target, replace the plug, all while still standing up and do that hole after hole !

.....of course I agree with you that some digs would still require getting down with your hand digger to finish the retrieval.
 
I went with the 36" length, after testing my height with a yard stick, and i've found it to be perfect for me. I'm 5' 11" tall, wear 30" to 32" inseam pants and the shovel will still clear the ground in one of those T handle holsters by about 3". I really like the no bending over much as i'm also 67, but it's really not an issue either way. I suppose getting up and down all day would trash me pretty good though. I've only dug plugs for a couple of hours at a time so far.
 
Have them both - I like the smaller shovel when I'm in a park or somewhere more crowded. I love the bigger model if I am in a field or a large park where I can easily flip the plug over while standing with the bigger shovel. You will love the Lesche, they cut so well and are extremely durable!
 
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