Initially I was going to buy a drain spade from the depot of homes for digging my metal detecting targets, but while reading the reviews for it, someone that bought that drain spade for metal-detecting said that after only a few weeks the head of the shovel bent, further lamenting that they wished they had bought a Lesche instead. After doing lots of...digging...across multiple suppliers/sites for pricing, I ended up here.
While the price point between the french drain shovel and the Lesche 36" T-Sampson dual-serrated shovel was a smidge over double the price, I'm a firm believer in the "buy nice or buy twice" motto when it comes to investing in tools and hobbies. After using it a few weeks in the field I'm very glad to have bought this shovel; it is robust, incredibly sturdy, and of quality design, materials, and fabrication. Its size allows it to stows easily for travel and is comfortable to carry in the field for hours at a time. This shovel will outlive me, and whoever gets my metal-detecting stuff after I die will have it for the rest of their life — it's that good of a shovel.
The only design tweaks I'd wish for are a slightly longer handle and a wider kickplate (the part you step on), but take that with a grain of salt because I'm 6'6" with a size 16 boot, so I'm sure this shovel is perfect for most people.
