The one big problem I found with dowsing and detecting
simultaneously is that you need to use both hands and therefore you have no
hand free to carry a digging implement. Small digging implements can be carried
in a finds bag and for a long time I carried a ‘T’ handled foot assisted trowel
on a tool belt, which has worked reasonably well. But now metal detectors go
considerably deeper than they have in the past, it has become necessary to use
a small spade. In fact I use a Draper Mini Spade with D Handle. The digger is
720mm (28in) long and has a rounded point hardened steel blade with foot bars.
The high strength Glass fibre shaft makes it extremely strong yet light,
weighing just under a kilogram (2.2lbs). Now I have been able to drag this
spade quite successfully by fitting a quick release loop through the D handle
and attaching that to a tool belt. That’s fine on a beach or grass or bare
earth (it even leaves a trail so you can see where you’ve been) but if, as I
often do, you search among growing crops then the crop is likely to be damaged and
the farmer won’t be happy. So I needed a way to carry the spade without it
making contact with the ground.
I came across the Bigg Lugg belt hook pictured above (there
is also the McGuire-Nicholas 93333 Monster Hook Cordless Drill Holder Holster
Belt Clip), which after some experimenting has proved to be the ideal solution.
I first tried using the hook on my trouser waist belt on the opposite side to
my detector, the problem with that was that the spade acted like a pendulum and
kept swinging too close to the detector head and causing a signal. I then
remembered, Phil, a detectorist who sadly had lost one arm in a motorcycle
accident. Phil used a belt hook to carry his spade behind him, although I
didn’t realise at the time why he carried his spade in that position. Once I
moved the hook round to the rear, searching became nice and silent once more
(until I hit a target, that is). An added bonus was that if I moved too fast
the spade tapped gently on the back of my legs to remind me to slow down.
Another slight problem remained, which was the weight of the
spade on my waist belt made my trousers slip downward and to keep pulling them
up was a bit of nuisance. I resolved that one by using a separate dedicated
belt for hook and spade. So I can now dowse and detect simultaneously on any
terrain without any distractions.
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