Some time back I was reading a number of manuals written for the British Home Guard.
Fighting in an urban environment was a common theme.
Many of the authors drew from experience in the Spanish Civil War. They had learnt that urban terrain could negate an enemy’s advantages in air power and armour.
Urban operations was expected to be routine, rather than exceptional.
It is safer to be firing from loopholes rather than from windows, but I began to wonder about the practicalities of cutting a loophole in a brick or similar wall.
The Home Guardsmen probably would have had available the 1937 entrenching tool, which included a relatively stout pick. Troops with other designs of entrenching tool may be less capable.
A bit of research turned up the tool shown below.
This is sold as a “brick hammer”. I will confess, I have yet to try cutting loopholes with it. My landlord would probably object
This is potentially quite a useful survival tool.
The adze part can be used for digging, and should be more than adequate for such tasks as creating cat-holes or Indian Wells.
Shank and head are both steel, so the adze could also be used as a prying tool or crowbar.
If necessary, it can serve as a passable hand weapon or missile.
It could potentially be used as an anchor or for hooking.
The brick hammer is relatively compact and light (718 grams with tape and cord), and very reasonably priced.
For trips that are unlikely to require building foxholes, this may be all the entrenching tool you need.
In its original state, this particular brick hammer was polished steel and a black rubber handle.
I have given the metal parts some paint, although I expect this to wear off with use. The handle was covered by some self-adhering grip tape I had, and I have added a thong for retention.
One of the many things that became apparent after the American Civil War was that the infantryman needed a means to quickly construct earthworks.
“Hardtack and Coffee” informs us that the quartermaster of the army had wagons of intrenching tools [sic] that were supposed to be supplied to units that needed them.
In practice, there was seldom time to send for these tools, and infantrymen resorted to digging with their tin plates or muckets.
As you can see, there were attempts to modify spike bayonets for the role.
One of the solutions offered after the war was the Rice trowel bayonet, which began to see trials in the late 1860s.
The trowel bayonet was clearly superior to the improvised means the troops had been using before.
It also had sufficient size, heft and edge that it could be used to cut saplings and branches, something beyond the current spike bayonet.
Many believed the large, spear-like blade would make a better bayonet than the spike bayonet.
Breech-loading rifles were coming into service, and many were of the opinion that the bayonet might be becoming obsolete. If it wasn’t quite as good a bayonet as the weapon it replaced, this was tolerable and its greater utility made up for this.
The main objection to the trowel bayonet was that troops might be tempted to dig with it while it was mounted on the rifle. This was likely to bend the barrel, damage the muzzle or block the bore. (One reviewer does point out that the trowel was a less effective digging tool used in this way, so the practice will be rare. Someone was bound to try it, however).
Shortly after the introduction of the trowel bayonet it was replaced with a trowel knife. This probably had a better grip than the trowel bayonet, but its rounded tip gives it a less war-like appearance and possibly it was of less utility as a hand weapon.
Bayonets continued to evolve, but along different lines.
The next step was the sword-bayonet, intended to serve as bayonet or hanger.
Some infantry had carried both bayonets and hangers. Napoleon’s guard around 1815 spring to mind as an example.
By the 1880s, most infantry had long since discarded the hanger, so effectively the sword bayonet was replacing an implement that was no longer carried. Nonetheless, many armies entered the 20th century with sword bayonets, and would be using them until the 1940s at least.
The idea of letting the infantry have their very own entrenching tools had taken root, however.
Infantry entrenching tools got bigger and more sophisticated until they reached the form we know today.
As has been discussed before on this blog, some of these tools are overkill for the non-military user.
It is a hygienic cathole, rather than atomic-proof foxhole, that we generally need.
There are little plastic trowels, of course, but these are not much use for anything else. The trowel bayonet suggests a relatively small digging tool can be a useful survival aid. Is there a modern equivalent?
Seeking to answer this took me to discover the hori‑hori.
In another blog I described how I had seen machetes used as jack of all trades by gardeners in Jamaica.
The hori‑hori is a similar device, but more compact. Not surprisingly, these are Japanese.
The ninja put a similar digging tool, the kunai, to various uses.
The hori‑hori were originally used for gathering wild foods, so technically are already survival tools. A variety of models of hori‑hori are available, but the one I have has a 7 inch blade, so more compact than the 10 by 4 inch blade of the original trowel bayonets.
One edge is serrated, the other can be used to chop or cut, or will be once I sharpen it. (The packaging says it comes “razor sharp”, which apparently means “unsharpened”.)
The blade is a broad spearpoint, with one side slightly concave, as suits its digging role.
Mine came with a nice condura sheath.
Unlike many survival knives, this is a tool the makers recommend that you can pry with.
Price is a bit more than a normal trowel, but this can be offset against the fact that many gardeners think they do not need many tools other than their hori‑hori.
On the other hand, compared to many survival knives and tools, the price is very reasonable.
Make sure that you do not buy a mini‑hori‑hori by mistake! Mine has a blade of 18 x 4.5 cm. I also recommend a stainless steel bladed example. The mirror finish on the blade may have applications for signaling.
The hori‑hori seems a pretty useful tool to have along on a trip or stored in an emergency kit. A useful backup or replacement for a survival knife.
I’ve really been enjoying the series “Westworld”. This has inspired me to resume playing “Red Dead Redeption”, which in turn has got me thinking about various topics including that of tomahawks/ hatchets/ hand axes. There will probably be posts along these lines in the near future.
For today I will just post this interesting example of an English boy scout axe. Length is apparently about 14". The head is backed with a point suitable for such tasks as digging latrines/ catholes.
