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For many years I carried the orange plastic trowel when back packing. Even with the handle drilled out to reduce weight it still weighed 45g.
Needless to say it finally broke at the handle.
Looking at the junk (saved treasures) in the shed for a replacement I noticed I had some Aluminium Capping (approx 0.5mm thick) and an old garden trowel. These started my thinking and resulted in The T Leaf.
The final weigh in resulted in a larger trowel that was only 39g.
Tools I used :-
A sheet of paper salvaged from the printer.
Scissors.
Black Sharpie
Angle grinder with a metal cut off blade.
Tin-snips.
Flat file.
An electric drill or a hand drill.
A 15mm metal drill bit.
Rat-tail file.
A range of silicon oxide sanding papers.
Practice safe work.
Use ear muffs and safety goggles. Hold material in a vice or clamps when drilling or grinding.
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Signing UpStep 1The T Leaf : Design and lay out
The gardening trowel that inspired the T Leaf has the approximate measurements.
Length 170 mm.
Widest point 90 mm.
Rounding down to approx 60mm near the point.
The fold in the capping strip was used to add rijidity.
Fold the paper in half-lengthwise. Using the dimensions above layout your overall shape. Remember that the final template will be symmetrical along the fold.
Cut along your curve.
Length 170 mm.
Widest point 90 mm.
Rounding down to approx 60mm near the point.
The fold in the capping strip was used to add rijidity.
Fold the paper in half-lengthwise. Using the dimensions above layout your overall shape. Remember that the final template will be symmetrical along the fold.
Cut along your curve.
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As weight is a major consideration I did not use a grommet. If I was going to pad the hole I would tend to run a ring of silicone sealer around both edges and the with damp hands mold them together over the edge.
I've been trying to find a decent backpacking-ready trowel/shovel for years and the old ww2 style ones have seemed to be the only viable option but they're large and heavy for the little use i'd actually be getting from them. This is perfect!
I wonder if a sugru (or oogoo) pad around the thumb hole and along the back ridge would make it more ergonomically ideal too . . .Living in AZ with sometimes rock hard soil would make any digging somewhat painful lol
As Sugru is difficult to obtain here, it tends not to enter my thinking. give it a go in your model and let us know how it goes.