TerraX Heavy Duty Double Serrated Hand Digger with Belt Sheath

The TerraX Heavy Duty Hand Digger is a black steel digging knife, 11 in long and 2.25 in wide, serrated on both edges, with a rubber handle and a belt sheath. At 14 oz it is light enough to carry on your belt all day. It suits detectorists who recover targets in lawns, parks and fields, and it doubles as a planting and weeding tool for gardening and landscaping.

Who the TerraX hand digger is for

This digger fits metal detectorists who want one tool on the belt for cutting plugs in turf, slicing through roots and opening shallow holes. It also fits gold prospectors scraping material out of cracks and gardeners who want a narrow, strong blade for planting bulbs and pulling weeds.

Look at a different tool for deep relic holes, hard rocky ground or the beach. A hand digger is slow for anything deeper than a few inches. The TerraX Master Digger long-handle shovels in our TerraX collection move far more soil with less effort. On sand, a scoop recovers targets much faster than any digger. See our sand scoops for metal detecting.

Key features and what they mean in use

• Serrated on both edges: Saws through grass roots and small tree roots on either the push or the pull. You can cut a three-sided plug in turf without changing grip.
• 11 in long, 2.25 in wide: Narrow enough to cut a neat plug that closes back up, and long enough to lever the plug open and reach most coin-depth targets.
• Steel blade: Stiff enough to pry against roots and packed soil without bending like a thin garden trowel.
• Rubber handle: A textured, non-slip grip that stays secure with wet or muddy hands.
• Belt sheath included: Covers the serrated edges and keeps the digger on your hip between targets, so it is not lost in tall grass.

What is in the box

• TerraX heavy duty hand digger, black
• Belt sheath

Not included: a belt or finds pouch.

Where the hand digger works well, and where it does not

• Lawns and parks: Its best use. Cut a plug on three sides, fold it back on the hinge, recover the target and press the plug back in place.
• Fields and woods with roots: Works well. The serrations do the root cutting that a smooth blade cannot.
• Hard clay and rocky ground: Usable, but slow and hard on the wrist. A long-handle shovel is the better tool.
• Beach sand: Not ideal. Dry sand falls back into the hole, and a sand scoop is much faster.
• Care: Our practical recommendation is to wipe off soil and dry the digger after wet or muddy hunts, and to store it outside the sheath until dry, to keep the steel in good shape.

How it compares with other TerraX digging tools

Compared with the TerraX 12 in serrated trowels, this hand digger is the heavier-duty option, with a rubber grip and a belt sheath included. Compared with the TerraX Master Digger T-handle shovels, it is a belt tool for shallow recoveries, while the Master Digger is for deep holes, hard ground and relic sites. Many detectorists carry both. See every option in our metal detecting shovels, diggers and picks collection.