Shovel ID?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Lang

This is the important bit. Shovels tend to have the blade in line with the handle for plunging and levering while standing erect - hard stuff and holes. Spades have the blade angled for scooping and lifting - soft and loose stuff.

And lastly "You can shovel some dirt out with a spade and spade the garden flat with a shovel"

Interestingly, in Dutch it is the other way around. A spade is used for plunging and levering while standing erect, a schep or schop is used for scooping and lifting soft and loose stuff.

Back to the first post: as far as I can tell the "Bulldog - Made in Canada" was made for the civilian market, but procured and issued to military users. The fact that it has a Patent marking and no WD C broad arrow /|\ marking is key to this.

I have seen them in plain wood handle with black metal parts, or green overall.

Tools like spades, shovels, picks were typically off the shelf items with no specific military requirements.