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.
The hammer part can hammer things, such as tent pegs if stealth is not a requirement.
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.