While multipurpose tools are always fun, how is the Chinese army shovel particularly noteworthy? I'm pretty sure you can get an almost identical model from, say, REI. Or the /US/ Army's surplus.
...actually, they likely all come from the same factory, huh?
We had similar tool in finnish army. The only difference was that when used as a pick against frozen ground it quickly fell apart. I wonder how this fares against such a hard material.
The thing is that these things are called 'entrenching tools', searching for that gives more results. See e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrenching_tool - the pictures there don't look like they have serrated edges to serve as a saw, but there are plenty on e.g. Ebay that do. I know I used to sell the folding model, with serrated edge, 15 years ago in the military surplus stored I worked at.
Dutch shovels, they're known as in the outdoorsy subcultures in the UK, probably because at one point some supplier like Millett's bought up a job lot of them from Dutch army surplus, and that's what everyone bought.
For some reason olive oil in spray bottles is known as "Portuguese sunblock".
Seriously, though, you have to admit they thought of quite a bit more than just an entrenching tool . . . I mean, they at least deserve credit for offering it in "funny shade of orange" and fluorescent yellow.
Though I did think the part where the guy used it as a shield seemed to be the least optimal for the situation at hand. Seems he could have used the blade more effectively, but then that would have made the scene a little less palatable for an infomercial.
It slices, it dices, it opens cans, bottles and jars; but wait there's more; you can also use it as an axe, can your shovel do THIS, I don't think so! So call now, operators are standing by.
Repeat above sentence with different features, repeatedly. Until someone buys every last shovel you have in stock.
That's what I thought when I saw the chopping and sawing parts. I seem to recall that in the Great War book "All Quiet on the Western Front", the author mentions that sharpened shovels get used as weapons extensively on the German side. The author makes some offhand comment about chopping deeply into someone's neck and chest with a sharpened spade or something.
Every comment on this thread so far (20+) has said that this story is not noteworthy in some fashion or another -- and it has a lot of upvotes and is the top ten.
how is this any different from any other army's entrenching tools? Yes there are a few extras added to it but it is not in any way more ingenious than what's already available elsewhere.
The dudes in the video seem to maintain a high level of enthusiasm about it. I quickly grew tired of my e-tool so I have an appreciation for one that can make digging seem fun or worth doing for an extended time.
I love the video player they're using. Instead of 'scrubbing' over the video when you drag the playhead during playback (like most online video), it has something like the Red Book Audio CD 'search' algorithm; it plays a short sample over and over. Hilarity ensues.
I have a few e-Tools too, but nothing like this. And the outdoorsman in me would really like one of these, versus the two anemic and subpar e-Tools I already own. So to all you guys who are like "oh yeah, just swing by REI" or "yeah I have one just like that" (yes, I'm hyperbolizing a tad) it'd be nice if you'd show us where we could get one that's more like this one and less like the ones you can buy for $50 at big retail sporting goods stores.
Damn, the Chinese have invented everything! The compass, gunpowder, chopsticks, printing press and now this!
Although, the fact that their inventiveness missed baking, opting instead to stir fry everything, is a point I bring up often with my Chinese colleagues during lunch.
...actually, they likely all come from the same factory, huh?