Jess Minton <pd.minton@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> Those Home Depot shovels dont have the _ double crook bend and stick way
> too far out to look realistic
Really? Maybe the Home Depot stores in your area don't carry the same
brands as the ones in my areas, or maybe jeep shovels are different
from HMMWV shovels. I just bought a shovel, mattock and axe there for
my HMMWV's pioneer rack, and all three seem to fit perfectly. The
shovel I bought looks like it's constructed and shaped like the
drawing in the COEI list in my operator's manual, and it seems to fit
the rack perfectly. I'm sure there are differences that a
knowledgeable collector would spot. The axe head looks like it's
shaped slightly differently than the NOS axes I saw on a dealer's web
site recently (but it's still close enough to fit the axe head holder
nicely), I'd bet that the correct shovel doesn't have any chrome on
the metal part of the D handle, and the stampings would be different
on all three. If I can find out how the original tools were finished,
I figure I could paint them to look just like the real thing to
anybody but an expert, at least while they're secured in the rack.
I could see paying extra for just the right shovel for a detailed
frame-off or museum-quality restoration (especially if you never plan
to actually use the pioneer tools), but my HMMWV's a daily driver, and
I figured that the tools that are close enough to fit the rack
properly and are built about the same way as the originals (i.e., no
plastic D handles or fiberglass handles) are good enough for my needs.
Plus, if I ever found the need to use them, I wouldn't have to worry
about wrecking an expensive and hard-to find collectible.
I'm not trying to start a "real" vs. "repro" debate... they each have
their proper places. I would like to learn how the tools I bought
differ in construction and finish from the real pioneer tools issued
with the HMMWV, so I can make my fake tools look right to the casual
observer. I could take a picture of my Home Depot pioneer tools if
that would help.
P.S.: Since the HMMWV has a detachable pioneer tool rack, I just
brought it into the Home Depot store to make sure my tools would fit.
I didn't notice anybody giving me funnier looks than I usually get, so
I guess that nobody recognized it. :-)
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