Karkee Web - www.karkeeweb.com/

Always keep a rag with your Entrenching tool and its carrier, it has more uses than you can think of when you are standing around in a field wearing military garments of an obsolete pattern.

Simon you are spoiling us... a video on entrenching tools is second only to one on minor variants of Water bottle straps...😂 Bless you Sir, bless you.

One thing you absolutely want with that thing is a nice sharp file. A sharpened tool is infinitely easier to dig with than a blunt one.

It is amazing what I and others did with a small shovel and pick as issued in my career in the 70 80 and 90ties. All due to ignorance really, from day one all we had was that large spoon for a shovel. Typically under the train hard fight easy rule we always had to dig in on outrageously hard ground. It was back breaking just digging but bare in mind all done tactically. I.e. no eating or making of hot drinks until you had at least a Fire Trench dug. If I were given such a small tool for such an awesome job now I would just tell them to Fk right off. Now were are my carpet slippers? PS when fitted to a large pack it often caused injury to others if anyone was careless putting that pathetic large pack on 58 pattern.

Also useful as coshes when doing night picquet around the barracks.

One good thing about it was stutdy enough to be able to start your shell scrape trench from the prone position. Not a great shovel but I could see that being useful.

Handle was used as club!

so nearly 50years after I was playing with Action Man, I find out how the toy tool goes together and why one end was of much smaller diameter

Did the Navy use this for burials at sea?

I’m a 2434 from 74 - 98….non teeth arm. I used one of these on exercise in 1975.

The one I have is a 42 head & 44 helve, dam usefull still Dave

One bit of kit not carried by the Australians and Patt 37 kit although carriers were made late war (1945). I don't even think they were carried in Korea, although GS and RE shovels were carried. Japanese entrenching tools were often seen and photographed being carried by Australian troops in the SWPA, along with GS and RE shovels.

Less than obvious point: no good comes of using the helve with the 1908 Intrenching Tool for use as a spade. The pick blade works just fine as a handle, especially when prone, making the tool into a sort of large trowel. Using the helve as a handle: 1. ensures repetitive strain injury to the arm (Golfers' elbow), usually of the trigger hand, within minutes 😞and, 2. when used with two hands, needs care not to smash the pick blade into one's forehead, eye, etc. on the upswing. Jus' sayin'.

I remember seeing them being sold in the local Robert Dyas complete with web carrier for £2.50 back in the mid seventies !

Excellent as always. 7:50 you said you were going to give a link to Khaki Webb but can't see the link.

There’s plenty of photographic evidence of the Mk2 helve being carried during Market Garden in September ‘44

Where do you store all this kit ?

Very well thought of if a soldier needed to dig very quick to dig a fox hole.

For all the history of "E-Tools", they mostly seem to be very small, only able, as you stated, to provide quick cover/shell scrape for the soldier. Even in modern times, most countries E-Tools are "Tri Fold" types, small again. Now i come in defence of British 1958 pattern web gears E-Tools, the shovel and the pick. Small enough to carry, big enough to dig big with. As far as i know only the British Army had E-Tools this big, they worked well, very well. Small-not very efficient, to, Big-very efficient, to, Small again-not very efficient.

My family has one. From my Dad’s uncle I believe, stamped 1917. Not sure which South African unit he was with or where though…

mine probing must have been terrifying

What is this blanco?I tryed googling it and none of the links made any sense.

We had to dig in our generators about 2 feet down with pick and short shovel then a fighting hole as if there was no heat signature from 6 generators. Stupid idea,we prayed for farm buildings to set up in.

Thank you for all your videos, they are really educational and informative. Top skills. Can you provide the link to khaki webb please?