Making Saw Tooth Edge on a Camp Shovel

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Faiaoga

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Jul 3, 2012
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Does anyone have experience putting a saw tooth edge on a camp shovel? I know the idea is not new, but I have only seen low quality saw edges on shovels in camping stores. I wonder about putting a saw edge on one side of a Cold Steel shovel - could a useful set of saw teeth be put on using a triangular file or a bench grinder?

I know this edge will not substitute for a good folding wood saw, but I wonder if a useful edge can be put on a shovel so that the tool can be more versatile. Any useful information on how this might be one would be appreciated. :cool:
 
Find someone who sharpens saws in your area. They have the equipment to put real saw teeth on it, very inexpensively.
 
Thanks for the useful advice. What kind of equipment should I ask about? Are you talking about simple serrations or real saw teeth that will be "set" to angles on alternate side of the blade?
 
But if you use the shovel as a shovel (digging in dirt and rocks), won't that dull/ruin the saw teeth? ;)
 
killgar said:
But if you use the shovel as a shovel (digging in dirt and rocks), won't that dull/ruin the saw teeth? ;)
Click to expand...

In a word, yes.

I doubt shovel blades are hardened enough to hold an edge that's actually sharp enough to cut like a wood saw (which is heat-treated to hold a cutting edge) and still be durable, assuming that's the goal(?). If the sawtooth edge is on a larger scale (BIG teeth), it might have some obscure benefit in certain types of digging (maybe in sod??), or garden use in cultivated soil with a minimum of rocks. Otherwise, I don't see much benefit in it.

Even a quality wood-cutting (pruning) saw will dull quickly when the blade gets down in the dirt, such as when cutting on branches or roots at ground level. I'd think a sawtooth edge on a tool that was never designed for it (never hardened for it) wouldn't last at all.


David
 
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OWE is correct about the heat treating issue.
Large teeth may serve some purpose and not wear too badly.
 
With my curiosity piqued about the asked topic, I was looking around the web yesterday, to see if there's much info out there about sharpened shovels, or the hardness specs for them. Run-of-the-mill stuff seems to hint at RC values in the upper-30s to mid-40s RC, with file-sharpened edges on the sides of the blade (found in a 'spec' document from the U.S. Forest Service, detailing requirements for a shovel they apparently issue as standard equipment). Also found a product review for a Cold Steel 'Special Forces' camp-type shovel with 'utility sharp' edges (straight-edged; not sawtooth) spec'd in mid-50s RC. The reviewer seemed to hint that the sharpened edges were there mainly for the 'Special Forces' duty as a potential weapon (sounds typically like anything Cold Steel), but not for any real cutting purposes. Didn't see any examples at all, for sawtooth-edged shovel blades.

At any rate, even in mid-50s RC, a shovel that gets used at all for digging would stand no chance at keeping a wood-cutting edge, sawtooth or not. The additional thing with a dull sawtooth edge is, when it is dull, it'll do nothing but grab, snag and bind in everything it contacts, if attempting to cut with it.


David
 
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