Can the SHOVEL be a good weapon?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มี.ค. 2022
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Let's have a look at the SHOVEL and see how effective it is as a weapon, and its combat use in history.
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The shovel is an S tier weapon, the detail you missed is that it's made to fight planets, not people
It's a weapon of mass displacement
Lmao I've never thought of a shovel that way before.
@@SonsOfLorgar Lmao
@@Gohka So shovels are Vladimir Putin?
@@vgman94 No since God-Emperor Putin has the power to remove COVID from the Headlines and that's only 1.666% of his power!
The shovel was truly ground breaking technology
Get out.
Shut up dad
You are legend. Never change.
I see what you did there...
Ba-dum tiss
There was once a legendary warrior called the Shovel Knight. The spade of his shovel had bladed edges.
S H O V E L K N I G H T
I am very surprised how long I had to scroll through the comments to find even one mention of Shovel Knight.
FOR SHOVELRY
Steel thy shovel
@@DrMemeD302 same
When you're jumping with rockets, if you have the right shovel, you'll get a crit.
But you can't touch the ground first.
7 out of 9 people won't survive such an attack!
you gotta have a gardening shovel i believe
I can't wait for 26 May #SaveTF2
You can, but it requires frame perfect bunny hops.
Hypothetically how viable would a shovel be while flying through the air(possibly propelled by a rocket launcher)
Edit: to clarify, the shovel is being use as a melee weapon while flying through the air, a shovel launcher is it's own beast
Godspeed you magnificent bastard
Happy gas mask noises*
if it's balanced enough, shouldn't be any worse than an odd-shaped unfletched ballista. I imagine it would be kinda terrible as a shovel, a little bit like how the kunai is: just a flat cut sheet of metal with a handle you can shovel dirt with.
Depends in what boots (and over what) you're treading
I’d love it, but it would only really be good at shooting around corners lol
I love how Shad somehow manages to incorporate his pure hatred of nunchucks in every single video he makes, even when its not about nunchucks at all.
Somehow I wonder if it's him trying to hide the fact of him going into a dark, hidden basement and spend hours a week practicing nunchuck skills.
Pity he didn't mention the Monk's Spade, though.
@@Grandwigg pp
Granted I have my opinion on nunchakus but Shad bashing nunchaku was pretty predictable.
There was pretty epic backlash in the comments from that video(s) and I assume that’s why he’s doing that; for comedic purposes.
It’s still the funniest one imo, and I have a couple pairs of them and didn’t disagree. It’s basically just juggling with broken sticks on a chain. lmao
No but seriously, the shovel was an almost essential weapon during ww1 and 2, simply because of its utility. Shovels were used for everything from digging trenches to sapping enemy minefields, to digging out stuck tanks. Truly, the mightiest weapon ever made is the tank, and the shovel helps keep the tank from sinking into the mud.
*Looks at the nuclear tipped ICBM* 🤣
@@candleman2123 Guarantee you the kill count of the M1 sherman is higher than an ICBM that has never been fired.
@@retroarktv9865 true that but question is how high would the kill count of a ICBM be if ever fired? Especially if it hit a city with millions of people in it. But i see your point and as long as the ICBM isn't fired it's a lot of "what if?" while the M1 Sherman is based on real facts.
@@Suchsdirhaltaus yeah.
@@retroarktv9865 M1 Sherman? Now I'm imagining a Sherman with a M1 Abram Turret, hmm maybe a M1 Abram with a Sherman turret. I need to see something like that
I remeber reading in high-school the war memories of a WWI veteran. He said that the soldiers in his company would grind the edges of their shovels between the many assaults. He made a case for grinding a shovel instead of crafting yourself a mace, stating that you'd always have a shovel with you and giving very graphic details about just how deep you can cut into someone with a sharpened shovel. He also explained that they quickly learned to ditch the bayonet, for they were too fragile and would break easily.
Where can I find this?
@@KattalystFr Im Westen nichts neues for example.
@@methanbreather Oh nice I bought that book a bit ago, haven't read it yet as I'm still reading Storm of Steel.
It's endlessly entertaining to me how one of the first weapons humanity ever came up with is considered one of if not the best melee weapon, and it can be summed up as a long sharp pokey stick.
It really was one of those 'got it right on the first try'
That and it helps that pretty much everything we've ever had to fight that wasn't human never had many (if any) ranged attacks, and even then we could always just throw the spears too
All weapons are pointy sticks, with variations.
You're forgetting another important function of the shovel. You can kill the intruder with the shovel, and then you can use the shovel to burry the body.
Fucking inflation, thanks Joe
You’ve never tried to dig a six foot hole by hand have you?
Still point dully noted.
@@hitandruncommentor I've also never killed anyone before to my knowledge, but I have dug a three foot hole, so that'll have to do.
Smart, managed to get away with animal abuse with a shovel. Great comment!
that's kinda the idea of the Monk's Spade. one end was a crescent moon shape to push away animals and weapons, the other end for striking. But the reason it was a shovel at all, was so that monks could still give the bodies of fallen on the roadside a somewhat proper burial.
Shad should do an episode that covered the medieval-esque melee weapons used during WW1, since that was brought up. The trench clubs, maces, daggers, swords, lances, etc. of medieval origin used in modern combat.
InRangeTV did a video on WW1 Trench wepaons
The same thing that makes the etool useful on the battlefield, is why the Bowie knife has stuck around so long: It's a very weight-efficient multitool weapon.
The novel "All quiet on the Western Front" was required reading back in high school. Even now, 30 years later, I still remember the trivial detail that the veteran sergeant preferred to use his trenching shovel as a melee weapon over the rifle bayonet, because it was less likely to get stuck in whomever he was attacking.
I think they also mentioned that using bayonets was generally frowned upon and meant that you wouldnt be given pardon.
@@Nutellafuerst The M1898/05 'Butcher Blade' bayonet was made in the first model plain back and second model with a saw-toothed back intended for sawing wood, but which was seen as a war crime by Germany's opponents. I own one from 1917 which appears to have had the teeth removed.
@@Nutellafuerst I thought it was about bayonetts with saw-tooth?
I read that for a literature and film class in college as it was one of the only books and movies I could see without spending money. I remembered that detail and then snickered as the Made for TV adaptation I watched had the actors smacking people with the broad face of the shovel shortly after a scene where Kay explains to a new squad the benefits of a shovel because the budget didn’t allow for the accurate presentation for how they used shovels.
@@946towguy2 And despite that Germany still offended by Americans using shotguns.
One other reason shovels weren’t used as weapons as much historically is that a lot of historical shovels were made entirely of wood. Wood headed shovel makes for a much worse weapon than sharp metal head.
Huh...odd they had wooden heads for their shovels. I would think they would have metal ones by the time metal was commonly used...or at least iron was more commonly used. I can see Bronze being kind of problematic.
@@mkdemigodzillawarrior might have been for one of the reasons Shad mentioned in the video. Structural integrity.
I have broken one myself with a good quality modern steel shovel. There is a lot of force at the end of a shovel when digging so they need to be made really durable. With lower quality steel and worse equipment they probably couldn't make good shovels with easy that were made in metal. Lots of stress on the entire blade so any fault would probably see it bend or brake rather quickly.
Never thought about it before but it is probably the reason picks were more common back then. You had a metal pick to loosen the earth and then you used the shovel for shoveling rather than digging. If you mostly just moved already loose earth, a cheap and simple wooden shovel would be enough I suppose. Then you could use the metal for more useful stuff. Making a pick looks to be much easier to make than a shovel as durable as we are used to in the modern world.
Medieval shovels were generally all wood and the digging edge was capped in a slightly sharpened metal, the idea being that as you sharpen it and wear away the metal you just had to replace the metal and not the whole shovel
@@mkdemigodzillawarrior you can still buy wooden snow shovels today
i was tired of wood handle shovels breaking and splinters getting in my hands
so i made my own shovel with some pipe and welding
its a great shovel but a bit heavy ...not so much that you cant use it
but if i ever use it as a melee weapon would be like a sledge hammer
I can imagine combat shovels to fit very well with fantasy dwarves.
My brother plays a Grave Domain cleric in our 5e D&D game, and his weapon of choice is an enchanted combat shovel. We run it as a battle axe for combat mechanics, and he uses it as a weapon, a staff of office, and as a tool for digging graves. This video is actually amazing because I want to draw it, so I'm gonna use your suggestions for it!
This is amazing!
Is it possible to also use shovel as Spiritual wrapping appearance?
Your comment is meaningless your profile pic however that's mint
Dyslexic vox * 😟
@@gromaxe Do you mean use a shovel as the *Spiritual Weapon* spell? Then yes you could, though he would likely summon a scythe with that particular spell.
@@er1cdoom yeah, autocorrect changed weapon to wrapping and I haven't noticed.
The Death Korps of Krieg have taught us that the shovel is the mightiest of weapon.
It serves us well on Vrask, and is one of the most vital pieces of equipment to fight the heresy.
Ok for a moment I thought I was the only one who heard happy people in gas masks.
Just to be clear, I was scrolling through the comments looking for fellow Krieger enjoyers. The emperor protects!
The emperor protects!
Commissars assigned to other regiments: Get out there and fight !
Commissars assigned to Krieg regiments: Guys, calm down !
Hans......get ze shovel.
It's a good weapon no question ask. It also comes with a feature of a tool you can use to bury your Victim
It is a weapon and a flex
Tanya von Degurechaff would agree
A most honorable feature!
Huh theirs something wrong with this comment I like it
one thing that would improve the shovel is a pommel that can be unscrewed and thrown
I think the e-tool could be closer related to an axe rather than a war-pick/ standard polearm
they are axes they have a bladed side as foliage branch removal is part of thier function
The e-tool can also be used as a club.
It's actually quite well-documented that soldiers during the world wars frequently sharpened their entrenching tools to use against trench raiders, in which state it became a bit like a makeshift axe.
The Ames trifold e-tool is one of the greatest military inventions of all time. It's a shovel, a shield, a pick, a weapon, a stool, an axe, a saw.....right up there with the p-38 can opener
You sir are a saint. I love my p-38, and will be seeking an Ames trifold E-tool immediately
@@samwhary5498 some of them have telescoping handles too so the handle can be extended by and extra 30 odd centimetres.
And let’s not forget the bottle opener bipod housing on the Galil!
Still have mine on my "oh shit" belt in my trunk for this reason. A bit of everything on demand
@@maxibillionromani2885 Yep I would buy an ARM just to be a bottle opener.
The entrenching tool makes an effective boat paddle, too. That's important when crossing water barriers.
Shovels generally can be used as paddles and more durable paddles can be used as shovels. -_-
But wouldn't that rust the metal?
@@felwinterslie8223 consider what a shovel goes through already when digging, when carried through foul weather, when used around cooking fires--might not be a noticeable difference
Ever hear of hoe cakes?
and for cqc like urban warfare....the edge is always sharpend...one of the first things learn plus how to fight with them....the wounds those cause are realy messy
Example, Operation Market Garden. The American soldiers were supposed to cross a river in folding boats, but they didn't have anywhere near enough paddles, so they used everything they could grab, including rifle stocks and shovels
I'm very surprised Shad never mentioned the Monk's Spade, a historical weapon that was specifically developed from a shovel.
When Americans came over, they came with the best weapon for trench warfare:
the Shotgun and 1911 .45 ACP.
Both weapons have stopping power and knockout potential, and are great in close quarters. My father would use both as a tunnel rat in Vietnam. We used them for inside the ship security, as not only is the stopping power great, but because of the slowness of the rounds, they don't penetrate such things as a ship's inner bulkheads, hitting things inside the skin of a ship that are sensitive to bullets.
It worked pretty well for me during my “Triple H” run of Fallout: New Vegas.
I guess it was TIME TO PLAY THE GAAAAAMEEEE then?
Lead pipe and shovel superiority. Last thing we need is a folding chair to throw.
I was expecting a Shovel Knight comment at the top.
@@Robert-vk7je lead pipe only work if you have a proper gloves. Vibration from holding a pipe and smacking someone with it make it not such a good weapon
What does that mean?
Funfact: In certain editions of Warhammer 40k, a relatively compact folding shovel in the hands of an imperial guardsmen will do more damage to an enemy then an actual laser rifle that is objectively superior to the vast majority of real world firearms aimed at the exact same enemy. Why?
Because it doesn't matter if your enemy is a human chaos cultist, a power armored superhuman space marine, a sentient fungoid ork, or even an armor insect lizard thing like a Tyranid, or even a weebo space communist. Cold steel and a gaping hole where someone used to have a throat, major artery ect is generally lethal.
That makes sense. Most living things don't like gaping holes where our throats should be.
Kriegsmen Approved
Dark heresy you say?
Good thing I brought my... flashlight
😎🔦
@@maxpowers9129 that is until you encounter slanessh forces then you got bigger problems
@@WolfHreda Funnily enough, Cadians used to actually get the better stat aligned shovel attacks then Kriegers.
12:05 Full sized shovels like that are regularly issued as standard, but they are carried in your transport vehichles apc:s, ifv:s whatever for use in entrenchment, building camps or just getting your vehicle unstuck. Together with things like axes and saws. An e-tool would be the largest thing you would actually carry as a part of your own kit.
As someone who played and beat shovel knight I think shovel is amazing and I really like how you dug deep down about the shovel this video was ground-breaking.
I feel like the shovel is kind of a Jack of All Trades, it has a large, heavy head that can be used as a club, it has TWO sharp or sharpen-able edges, so it can be used as an axe, it has a sharp tip so it can be used for jabbing. It was also historically used in WW1 (and possibly two) during trench raids or hand to hand combat.
our army also told it can be used as last resort weapon, we had a picture and bit of text in our soldier manual but 0 combat training, we only dag with it
And the russians still issue and use it like a axe/throwing axe
A spade of all trades
Um, Actually, "Sharpenable" isn't hyphenated.
carry on
Its a good idea, why issue a heavy shovel and a heavy melee weapon when you can combine them. Its a similar idea with bayonets
The most unexpected aspect, that in WW1 trench warfare, in melee combat most german soldier prefered to fight with the the trench shovel instead of their combat knife. There are even reports that the trench shovel was strong enough to behead someone. The advantage was higher reach, easier to access/carry, the shovel blade could be used as club or as a blade. In most part it was just more effective than the combat knife.....the trench coat and helmet offer some protection againt knives, but not much against a trench shovel.
Similarly, in the GTA San Andreas game, the shovel is often easier to find than other melee weapons.
If I had to guess, I’d say the beheading reports were probably a case of the Germans trying to sound more powerful to hurt enemy morale
The newer version of All Quiet on the Western Front has a scene where the veteran sergeant is explaining the effectiveness of the entrenching tool. Pointing out, among other things, that if you stab someone with a bayoneted rifle, the blade could be lodged in the body, dragging the weapon down with the body, Struggling to yank a bayonet clear of a body is not something you want to be doing in the middle of a trench melee.
The Klappspaten is kinda the official melee weapon of the Bundeswehr...just cut down a tree with it last week. When you sharpen it up its a pretty good hatchet.
And of course, you can also dig trenches with it. Or use it as a frying pan!
When I saw the title of this video, all I could think was "Please mention Shovel Knight. Please mention Shovel Knight!" And with a couple of minutes left to go, "Yes, he did it!" Fascinating video as always!
As a Marine, I can tell you that there is a record for confirmed kills with an E Tool
Your a Marine, you should know there is confirmed kills with EVERYTHING!!! 😂😂😂
Yes, obviously, it's a club, improvised axe, entrenching tool, broad dagger, walking stick, improvised pick, and shovel all in one. These are just the things I've used it for this week.
And may all you Kriegers in the comments find the redemption you seek. Maybe try your luck in Eastern Europe at the moment.
Also, I just got that exact shovel a few days ago. Weird coincidence.
Very handy chopper if you sharpen one edge.
@@untraceablefgc-9mkii251 It's WWI aesthetic, rube.
Ah yes, a fellow Krieger
@@untraceablefgc-9mkii251 trench warfare aesthetic is considered alt-right? Well then I'm a hardcore Nazi then
A fellow krieger
Years ago I read a book about WW1 which included an account of a British soldier involved in trench fighting. He described coming upon a dejected British soldier sat with his head bowed and a bloody shovel in his hands. Around him lay the dead bodies of seven or eight Germans, all killed with the shovel.
Oh. Oh dear.
I had a long thought after this episode, about how the logistics implications of a weapon might - and generally does - make a more general purpose weapon "better" than one which is inarguably more effective at causing damage to an enemy, simply because the extra effort of consistently getting the more effective weapons in the hands of combatants at the time, place and in the numbers needed on the battlefield outways the increase in effectiveness at sheer violence. This is my only major concern with Shad's definition for what constitutes a good/better/worse weapon: it ignores the importance of the logistics neccessary to actually turn something from a potentially good weapon which makes a cool discussion piece on a lord's wall above the fireplace into an effective tool of war.
Logistically, shovels are amazing. They can be quickly made with minimal tooling and in large numbers. They have a lot of utility overall; besides the obvious uses like digging and prying, you can easily sharpen the edges to increase lethality when used as a weapon, and you can strike with the flat of the shovel as a 'less-lethal' blunt attack.
Honestly I want to get an e-tool for my shtf loadout because of how much utility they have. And I may have particularly enjoyed Tanya's shovel monologue in Volume 2 of the Youjo Senki light novel...
Admittedly, I only wish that you actually had a few physical examples of shovel-like weapons that did have use in previous ages, past WWI. Beyond that... yet another lovely video! Also, I sincerely hope that your next novel comes out before WWIII! I'm oh-so desperate to see how the story will continue!
When i was an infantryman we used e-tools in everything from mixing a big pot to melee weapons. We called it the everything tool, " e-tool actually stands for entrenchment tool." but its just a danger shovel
Shovels are great. Shovels are the quintessence of civilization.
With a shovel, you can dig a hole just deep enough to hide yourself. Or if you gather a bunch of people with them, you can dig a fine trench.
If you change your viewpoint a little, you can even dig a tunnel. You can smash a sturdy enemy trench with mining tactics (not that they get used often).
A shovel is a good friend to any and every type of soldier. And a shovel is the best gear for a close-quarters fight in a trench.
Longer than a bayonet, simpler to handle than a rifle, sturdier than any other tool. Not only that, but they are extremely cheap and easy to make, so they're perfect for mass-producing.
This is it. The ideal piece of equipment. This is the point humanity was meant to reach. Civilization has developed the shovel as its implement.
"The shovel is truly an implement born of civilization"
Saga of tanya the evil vol 2 page 257 if I'm correct
Why did I know I would find this here?
Western Civilization?
Ah It's always nice to see a Youjo Senki reference that isn't just "lol loli nazi girl"
-Soldier TF2
Having used a full sized shovel to great effect defending myself, I can confidently say a folding shovel is a very handy weapon.
The closest comparison to other weapons would be an axe. Shafted weapon, top-heavy, striking blade well ahead of the primary axis.
thats a good comparison. a shovel (spade) can cut really well when slashing. it can cut througj sod pretty easily, it also will leave a decent cut into wood. i wouldnt want to get hit by one
Just a note before I've watched this. Yes. The trenching shovel was actually made for it. Combination of digging trenches quickly during the two World Wars, and self defence up close.
EDIT: the thing about the trenching shovel though is that for combat, it's most effective at arms length. As well as the fact that it's best target would be lightly armored or completely unarmored, consequently perfect against most modern infantry. You'd be more likely to use it's flat side to parry and bash, while it's sharp edges would be to slice heavily and start bleed out and nick vital veins and arteries.
"the first two WWs"?
@@sunil_de6856 🤣Thats ominous.
@@sunil_de6856 fixed
@@fawlkire5072 nice
@@sunil_de6856 spoiler dude!
Sending this to my Death Korps friend at once!
In one of my settings, common tools like shovels are justified to actually exist becuase self deffence is a high precedence. Not nessisarly that you need to learn how to use a blade like a sword, but if you are constently needing to worry about attacks from monsters, having your tool double as a weapon really helps.
Hey Shad, as a mexican who loves your channel I really wish you cover the Macuahuilt. By some spanish accounts it was a fearsome weapon, even able to behead a horse in one blow. That imo is an exageration but it would be very interesting to hear you discuss how efective it would actually be vs XVI century armor.
Also is a mighty stick with obsidian blades, how cool is that?
Spent an afternoon with my uncle in the 90's throwing a couple weapons at a tree. One a tomahawk. The other a folding tactical shovel that was balanced for throwing, and about the same size. The tomahawk was marginally better. I'm surprised out of all the comparisons, Shad never made any comparison to an axe.
especielly as the british design and im sure others is actually bladed on the side to be used as an axe fot chopping branches or you know some mofo
US Etool has some teeth on the side, not especially sharp but it works
If i remember right the German Klappspaten had one sharp side.
Me too, I was surprised Shad never made the comparison considering the mechanism of using an axe and a shovel as weapons are the same. And in "All Quiet on the Western Front" the German narrator describes using their trenching shovels as war-axes, because their bayonets and knives were actually less effective in trench CQB. Ever since I read that I've never been able to look at an E-tool and not think of it as an axe that you can dig with.
It's not really surprising that the shovel wasn't used much as a weapon in medieval warfare, since most people would have been carrying a better melee weapon anyway.
Or a big stick!
It could be argued that shovels can be seen as a specialist variant of axe. I'm pretty sure that's the logic behind the Krieg usage, as well as their expertise in trench warfare allowing plenty of them to be around.
I have never been more happy to see one off Shad's videos in my recommendations.
Tanya's shovel monologue
"Shovels are great. Shovels are the quintessence of civilization.
With a shovel, you can dig a hole just deep enough to hide yourself. Or if you gather a bunch of people with them, you can dig a fine trench.
If you change your viewpoint a little, you can even dig a tunnel. You can smash a sturdy enemy trench with mining tactics (not that they get used often).
A shovel is a good friend to any and every type of soldier. And a shovel is the best gear for a close-quarters fight in a trench.
Longer than a bayonet, simpler to handle than a rifle, sturdier than any other tool. Not only that, but they are extremely cheap and easy to make, so they're perfect for mass-producing. Plus, I don't have to worry much about damaging my mind.
This is it. The ideal piece of equipment. This is the point humanity was meant to reach. Civilization has developed the shovel as its implement.
Above all, it doesn't rely on magic, so it's optimal for stealth kills. With a shovel, it's possible to educate numbskulls who are dependent on magic scanning - Klang! We can say it's an indispensable item for nighttime raids. Of course, it's an excellent general-purpose tool at any time of day.
"The shovel is truly an implement born of civilization", Tanya murmurs, leading a unit to wish good evening to the enemy with their shovels."
Volume 2 Chapter 5, page 256-257
The Saga of Tanya the Evil
Nice, where can you read these translations?
@@odinsrensen7460 buy the books of Amazon.
I was looking for exactly this comment
I think a fun application for a weaponized shovel in a medieval setting would be the idea of a treasure hunter or treasure hunter guild using their shovels as weapons to save weight for the treasure they have to haul back.
"First i dig for treasure, then i dig your grave."
Glad you did some digging into this idea, I hope TH-cam doesn't bury this video.
Steel thy shovel good Knight.
I got that reference. But I'm more of a "BOOM!" guy, you know?
My boy just started a D&D campaign with a character who dual wields shovels, so this was rather helpful for working out damage/modifiers. Thanks, Shad!
**gasmask noises intensify**
For the emperor!
*FÜR DEN KAISER!!*
Special forces are taught to fight with shovels. Properly designed and built for multipurpose role shovels.
In basic training in Germany I was told 'You know why the Bundeswehr doesn't use bayonetts? Because we have folding spades.
british commandos used their utility rope toggle as well....
Glad you really dug into the topic.
A military grade shovel is deadly because it usually has a point and and edge so getting hit with it in the face means game over
And on top of that a lot of people have mentioned you can dig the person's grave with it
Military shovel is a multifunction tool, with one particular function as melee weapon.
In the grim darkness of far future, the shovel used by death korps of krieg is fearful weapon against the xeno scums.
One of my favorite weapons in Bloodborne is the Church Pick. Of course, it's a transformable/fantasy weapon, but the idea is incredibly practical.
You can dig a trench, you can smack beasts with it, and you can also cut or thrust it like a sword.
I think there was a passage in “All quiet on the western front” that mentioned why the shovel was preferred to the Bayonet/Knife was
I love this episode. I would love an episode or series where shad litterally goes to a farm, takes a look at every common farming/blacksmithing/coopering/leatherworking implement in turn, and rates how effecient it would be for a blacksmith to change that implement into a medieval weapon if a peasant levy who was drafted decided to grab it on the way out when marching, because they couldn't afford anything better.
Most medieval weapons seem to have their origin as a common farming or working or household or hunting tool, but not every possible tool was adapted to war, or at least if they were, it's not well recorded historically.
This episode also proves that direct combat utility isn't the only standard for how common or useful a weapon is in war, utility in combat-adjacent activities also plays a role for how useful a weapon is overall.
I actually have several shovels here at my house that I use for various purposes in homesteading. One of them I inherited from the previous homeowner (and let me tell you they don't make em now like they used to). I refer to it as my 'War Shovel', because it's ridiculously durable and can cut through the hard clay soil on our property like butter. After much use, the tip lost it's main point, but developed two points with a small valley between them. This surprisingly made it an even more versatile tool for removing large rocks, etc. As a life long martial artist, I've found myself instinctively applying stances and postures with the shovel when using it. It's the perfect length to serve as a spear (for me) and it can be used as a blunt or sharp instrument, as well as a traditional staff (not as long as my preferred bo length but longer than a quarterstaff, and great for two handed use).
Personally, I prefer a single combat weapon with a solid non-lethal option. My 'War Shovel' gives me that range. One could easily kill with the weapon in either a stab or a slice, but one could just as easily disarm or knock out an opponent without shedding blood or causing permanent damage. Options. The War Shovel has them in spades! (pun intended). :)
Dude is training to become an irl Shovel Knight. Gotta respect the grind
My grandfather had a shovel like that. I was 6 years old and could dig the ground with one foot. The shape and weight of the shovel did most of the work.
You can get a forged shovel is you're willing to shell out the much higher cost for one. Some old tools are from when the cost of labour was low enough that you didn't spend that much more to buy a shovel from a smith rather than a factory, and the combination of much tougher metal and slightly better shape makes them way better tools. They also last nearly forever if properly maintained.
Man, I've been thinking about this question for years. Good on you Shad for finally covering it!
The best metric of what is the best weapon for close trench fighting is: of the options available, to what did the men in the trenches entrust their life? WW1 bayonets were longer than modern issue knifes/bayonets (12"-18"/30-45cm vs 8"-10"/20-25cm), almost a short shortsword, while "trench knives" were in the 8"-12"/20-30cm range. Also in collections of period artifacts can be found "trench clubs": 12"-18"/30-45cm long with metal studs or spikes. And most WW1 soldiers still preferred a wood handled e-tool with a heavy, fixed, steel blade, sharpened on 1 or both sides, if they could not get a sub-machine gun, pistol, or US combat shotgun.
“If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight”-Tsun Tzu
Sun Tzu said that, and I think he knows a little more about fighting than you do pal, because he invented it!
15:30 the difference between spades and shovels is interesting. In the UK, a spade is quite different to a shovel, with the term applying to a tool designed to break into and lift up pieces of ground material. As for a shovel, those are tools designed for transporting loose materials from one place to another (into a wheelbarrow for instance).
In the US, a shovel is a more blanket term for “a tool that breaks up or moves dirt.”
No, we still use spade and shovel.
Where Im at Shovel is the blanket term and we have the sub categories Spade and Flat for breaking earth and moving material respectively.
I was taught spade is a one handed shovel used for gardening.
@@jacobbarlow6098 I was told that was a trowel. I guess there are some inconsistencies 😂
@@jacobbarlow6098 I was told its called a hand spade as opposed to a spade shovel
Medieval warrior: “Why would I bring a shovel anywhere near a battlefield?”
Modern warrior: **BONK**
Lol but still true
So, what I hear is Shovel knight's shovel is A tier. As it's got more of a shape for swinging around like a double bit axe instead of a pure shovel.
I love the fact that the knife/short sword/gladius used in this video is one I actually have in my collection
Anyone who's spent as much time on the blister end of a shovel as myself, knows its a weapon. Hours of battle have proven the divine purpose of the humble shovel. Planetary Siege Weapon, Mk.1.
Ha! Planetary Siege Weapon should be the new name.
And of course let‘s not forget the shovels greatest advantage compared to any other weapon:
the triple damage while rocket-jumping
its only the market gardener that has this stat, not any of soldier’s other shovels
@@gibbous_silver Soldier has other shovels?
*meme spoon noises*
I keep an entrenching tool in my car. It's been really useful a couple of times after a heavy snowfall.
A spade was a specialist digging tool. It had a flat blade and a treadle to force it into the ground. A shove is more general purpose and mainly used to dig loosened material.
The entrenching tool was last ditch for digging when I was in the army. We had full sized picks and shovels on the truck which hauled c-wire. If you are really digging fighting positions a full sized purpose built shovel is far superior to an etool. I never actually carried my e-tool. I carried a tomahawk, which is a better weapon and better for breaching. I also carried a 7” ka-bar or similar knife.
Last ditch? Entremching? I think a pun burrowed in your sentence.
Second world war German army soldiers were fond of going up against allied forces in assault situations using entrenching tools
We did use them in the US Army in training back in the late '80s, but we only actually dug a hole deep and wide enough for 6 of us to take cover in, and just the one time, as we weren't going to destroy the forest on the base just for practice. I think the logs were brought in by the Engineers. So more bunker than trench.
I was thinking I'd rather have a wood hatchet than that little shovel.lol
@@Tfin I'm guessing you were neither 11 series nor 12 series? The wood was only for overhead cover that every fighting position is supposed to have.
Used properly, a shovel fight can lead to someone getting spade.
Was looking about the potential of shovels as weapons and when I saw the title pop up in the google results, I was hoping it was you that would test that. Your weapons tests are always entertaining.
As someone who played and beat shovel knight I think shovel is amazing
Fun fact, there is an entire order of knights dedicated to using shovels as their primary weapon. Just google "Shovel Knight."
FOR SHOVELRY! :D
Mystery Men, The Shoveler.
I have found my bretheren. STEEL THY SHOVEL!
A weapon so difficult to master, only three knights were able to wield it effectively, they were: Shovel Knight, Black Knight and Polar Knight
Death korp of Krieg say yes. Especially chainsaw shovels.
*heavy gasmask noises
been out of youtube some time, good to see Shad is still around, love your videos man, also, Warhammer 40k has shown us the effectivity of the shovel with THE KRIEG DEATH CORPS.....and I'm feeling that Goblin Slayer would listen to this, get like 3 shovels tailored especifically for cave fighting, a dagger, his short sword and....looks like a targe and start just going NUTS inside them dungeons
9:45 I love how you use any opportunity to dunk on the nunchucks LOL
These are spades. Spades are for digging, they are "heavy gauge" and (mostly) in line with the handle. A shovel is for scooping lose material, it's thin gauge metal, and angled with the handle.
All spades are shovels. Shovel is the general loose term for a digging tool that isn't a spike or drill
probably can't put spade in a title
And many entrenching tools are both, especially those that have folding blades that can be locked at 0-90 and ~180 degree angles to the handle.
@@myfaceismyshield5963 All spades are not shovels they are different things a spade is generally narrower and flatter a shovel is wider and has raised edges to make a scoop. Spades are for digging shovels are for shovelling. Go on amazon and search spade and then search shovel and you'll see the difference.
@@matthewtalbot-paine7977 you accidentally said shovel twice.
If the Death Korps like them, then so do we!
i know this will probably get lost in the comments but have you ever concidered doing a video on how a race might develop weapons in a fantacy setting?
for instance elves in stories are considered the best archers and make the best bows. but if you have magic i the world elves have the best magic most of the time, there bows would most likely have a draw weight (say 30lb at full draw) but are kicked up to war bow by enchantments. Making the bow lighter and possibly have a more modern appearance with arrow rests carved in.
if you have a race with wings (angel like in appearance ) they would, assuming they make a bow at all, would come apart like the Barnett Lil Sioux bow i had as a kid where the handle and arms slide apart when you take the string off (assuming they still make them the same way) and could be slid into a quiver and have a cap to close it off. so flying they would have it in the quiver and once they touch down they assemble it.
something like dwarfs, assuming its the dig home in mountain type, would only acquirer bows after contacting another race that had them and would ether buy from them or copy there version of the bow. this would be because they would have no need inside of a mountain to make such a thing.
beast peope would (humans with animal quality wither just ears and a tail to full furry) would be all over the place because of different physiology and ideologies.
this concept would also go for other weapons and resorses that the race has available to them.
sorry if this is hard to read its a "5:00am and i have just enough energy to type this before it slips my head" kind of thing
In Swedish army it's known as KLAS: Kort Lätt Attack Spade. Short Light Attack Shovel. We were taught to sharpen the sides and use it close and personal as an axe. Fun days!
As the only survivor of a krieg assault once told me, shovels are indeed a mighty weapon, and they cut through the ranks of the enemy like a chainsword through ships biscuit. It would have been more believable if he had any of his krieg friends left alive, but the enemy was throughly routed so he can't have been that wrong.
Edgy teens that fell for the nazi-fascist aesthetic be like:
Explanation here below:
i hope you have enought brain to notice "krieger" and a lot of other german terms are a reference to the whermact, also a lot of use of the latin language that signifies affinity with the concepts of fascism that draws a parallel with classical antiquity and the "greatness of the white race" that they hail as a model and the base of the "civilezed" western world.
Now that you make me think about it i notice that all humans i have seen depicted in 40k are white...
And then there's the tell-tale sign of fascist tendency, xenophobia, nationalism and gloryfication of militarysm and war.
Almost forgot the spiritualism they tend to have just like the nazis were looking for artifacts and doing wacky stuff in 40k you have magic and the warp (hell) with caos gods and demons.
@@untraceablefgc-9mkii251 No Ma'am the Stahlhelm, gasmask, trenches, and attrition warfare represents World war 1, not in world war 2.
@@desideriusfelicia6811 why are you assuming i'm a woman, especially considering what channel this is and since it's mostly man that are interested in warfare.
Also It doesn't change much, you trying to say that the german empire wasn't nationalist, militaristic and racist? The fact that i don't know all the exact inspirations for 40k doesn't mean my points aren't valid nonetheless.
@@untraceablefgc-9mkii251 it doesn’t run that deep bud. It’s a story we’re everyone sucks and they all fight eachother, it’s not meant to be taken seriously
@@untraceablefgc-9mkii251 No Ma'am, the Kaiserreich is not nazi.
The death korps of krieg is well documented to make good use of it
Bayonets are for Cadians
@@indrickboreale7381 i'm surprised the kriegsmen haven't made E-tool bayonets for their las guns, aside from the weight problem it seems functional and deadly
The question was answered in both world wars, they often sharpened one or both sides of the shovel head and then all they need to do is wack the enemy with the edge
You would think a video on shovels is going to be boring - but this is actually one of the most interesting videos I’ve seen in a while. Long live the shovel!
Please remember that the best weapon for self-defense is always the weapon closest to hand. So if the chips are down a shovel can be quite a good weapon indeed.
I was thinking of sending you a “KLAS” for this. It’s the Swedish combat shovel.
KLAS is an Swedish acronym for Short Combat Shovel.
It’s one seriously heavy duty yet reasonably light tool, which also if treated right serves as one helluva melee weapon!
In old infantry manuals there are even manoeuvres illustrated as to how to use the KLAS as a melee weapon.
The blade is 3mm Swedish carbon steel, which puts it almost at the same thickness as the Swedish bayonet or mora-knife. So imagine a slightly above 2kg all steel bladed chopping weapon with the edge of a well sharpened carving knife. Put that in the hands of a well trained infantryman. Then you have something that would make a Kriegsman giggle.
It's short, light, attack spade ;)
And it's 1.5mm steel thickness in the blade, but yes, it's very versatile and I keep a surplus one with the rare aluminium, clip-on, snow blade in my car.
Talked to Vets from four wars (WWI, WWII, Korea & Vietnam) and from other actions all have said that the Shovel is fantastic for removing heads, more than one had reportedly done it themselves and demonstrated the technique and each time they where remarkably close to each other (too close to be fibs if you ask me).
the D handled pointed Spade total length handle 50-60cm with a Blade (that's what you call the business end of a shovel or spade) about 30cm by 20cm serration on one side of the blades point is optional.
Those small trenching shovels are powerful tools when you need them. I've dug tremendous ditched, sometimes in sticking clay mud, and full size shovels are nearly impossible to use except for sticking into the rim to bang the clay mud out of the small shovel with. Try to hit metal to metal to preserve tool use. I've only done that until I could get a digging bar to bang off of.
I used a small shovel for getting my motorhome out of a flood area in a snowstorm. They're high rpm shovels, allowing very quick effective work bursts in confined or open spaces if you got the footing. I'm still grateful for mine. I remember making fun of one before I had ever dug a narrow deep trench. I quickly claimed use of it and adapted. The other guys were jammed with big shovels. I was twice their age though. I'd just never dug a narrow trench in sticky clay mud, more than 2-3' deep before. I could fight a small shovel single arm and use my other for another weapon. Those small short shovels can be a hero in a jam.
Spades are best for digging, while shovels excel at scooping or moving loads. For this reason, spades have flat or almost flat blades, while shovel blades are wider and more concave. There are a huge number of different designs some make much better weapons than others.
My personal picks would be The sharpshooter "long narrow blade used to dig the hard ground and cut tree roots," or long handled nursery spade. both make much better weapons than the square shovel you demonstrated. you can also get collapsing or segmented handles of different lengths.
Agree on the sharpshooter, although in my experience it can be difficult to find ones with a longer handle, which I think would be more beneficial.
Also, a trench shovel is almost always perfectly flat for a one handed approach with the reach of a dagger
@@tannerchaffin9235 long handle sharpshooter wile not in every hardware are not to hard to order. I have 2 from harbor freight there are much better ones out there. they call them Drain Spades.
Ya I saw that shovel and right away knew he had made the wrong choice. As someone who has been in excavation for almost 40 years I can attest that a spade is indeed a weapon. sharpened up it is basically a Dane axe.
When I was in BCT some 17 years ago now, we used a tri-fold e-tool and were trained for combat with them. We also were trained with the bayonette. The thing we were taught is the e-tool was for if you were caught out at the latrine or digging a foxhole or v camp because it was better than nothing and was a force multiplier that you would always have on you. If you had your weapon but were out of ammo, the bayonette was the right choice. Though, considering we went everywhere with our M-16 and a spare clip, not having ammo was never an issue until you got into an actual combat situation.
"When I was in BCT some 17 years ago now...considering we went everywhere with our M-16 and a spare clip"
I think it has been a *lot* longer than 17 years ago... 😄
"Spare clip"? I find it doubtful that someone in a modern army would call a magazine "a clip". Clips are used for the Garand not the M16.
@@wallaroo1295 I have many friends who joined several different branches and all of them at some point were handed a M16. They're still in inventory because they're still viable weapons.
@@md_vandenberg Technically the magazine is the outer shell with no ammunition loaded. So I figured it would be easier to just use "clip" rather than "full magazine" because, I am lazy when typing and didn't feel like typing more at the time.
@@ravencrovax Perfectly reasonable. And you got to set off the pedants, so bonus.
Ok thanks to this video i've found the per weapon for my homebrew ranger specialization for D&D
Thank you, Ozz for mentioning Shovel Knight!
Finally, the video I've been waiting for, besides of Shad reconsidering lizardmen of course.
I love shovels, they are just beautiful, and the tools as weapons aesthetic is always great.
But I think humanoids with an offensive tail, that can possibly be regrown even, and eyes placed more on the sides so that different stances make sense for them, would make a great fantasy Rearmed.
if someone ever tells you "i love shovels", just run
As we used to say in the army: Don't bring a bayonet to an entrenching tool fight! :)
But what about an E-tool and a gladius?
Finally some content to really dig into.
I can almost see a glaive-like shovel, as you mentioned; some tacti-cool entrenching tools even have a hardened machete blade on the side for processing larger bits of wood, so I can imagine an elongated shovel head with a sharpened edge all around it being a fairly effective weapon.