Sometimes the obsessions of military collectors get out of control. From the Great War Forum:
The classification of the genera and species of military digging implements is truly a sadly neglected area of military history that cries out for further study, and may have a Ph.D dissertation in it for a determined scholar. Since World War II we in the U.S. have been calling them Entrenching Tools. Our model during that war was copied from the one the military genuises in the Wehrmacht had -- it has a blade that can be adjusted 45 degrees to make it either a pick or a shovel. I have one in my car, ostensibly for digging out from mud or snow, but mainly for the purpose of bashing unpleasant people on the head should the need ever arise. The police here would not regard it as weapon should they see it at a traffic stop.If Andrew ***** were to write the definitive book on this subject he could be to military digging implements as Linnaeus is to botany. Who knows, the Royal United Services Institute might even give him a free lifetime membership.Before I read this thread I had the impression that many of the guys who collect obscure items of military equipment led dull lives. I was under the impression that years ago when Dad lent them the car during their teenage years none of their dates had ever unzipped their pants, nor had they done the same to the girls. Boy was I wrong, I really underestimated how aroused these guys become when they get rowdy and out of control! These guys are real live wires, particularly when the discussion turns to the proper nomenclature of old army stuff and they want to fight to the death about the differences between shovels, spades, entrenching tools, picks and maddocks.
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