Zombie weapons come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, and really a zombie weapon is whatever you grab to smash the undead when needed. Today we take a look at a fan favorite melee weapon, the shovel. Seen often in movies, series and videogames as a go to weapon for suburban survivors, the shovel has some compelling advantages.
Multi purpose weapon
The shovel can of course be used to bash in zombie skull, but is also useful for many other purposes. One obviously being digging, the original purpose of the shovel. Especially in a survival situation, being able to dig a trench, dig out a vehicle or a well can sure come in handy. But also in combat, a shovel can be used several ways. Don’t feel like going for the head? Give a low swing behind the knee to force anyone to the ground. Or use the sharp sides to smash off an arm, making the zombie or human attacker less mobile.

How to pick the right shovel
Of course if you get caught by surprise and you have to make do with whatever shovel is laying around, you go with that. But if you plan ahead when purchasing your next shovel for everyday tasks, look out for the following:
- Preferably a more expensive well made shovel
- Single piece of metal for the whole design
- Larger flat shovel surface
Shovels made out of wood, have the metal head attached to it with friction and one or two screws usually. When using a shovel to smash things it wasn’t made for, these will break quickly. Make sure the shovel is made out of a singel piece of strong steel, preferably a bit on the heavy side.
Customize the shovel
Next comes the sneaky part. To give you some extra advantage in combat, there are a few modification you can make to improve your “combat shovel”. Since it’s all metal, it might be a bit hard to hold properly in all weather conditions. Wrap the stick of the shovel in wrapping tape, or rubber tape, whatever gives a good grip and doesn’t collect too much dirt. Next, sharpen at least one side of the shovel surface, so when you use it to give that killing blow, it will cut like a knife as well.
So to get you started, I did some searching and found this beast on the internet. The “All steel penetration shovel“. And no this is not some sponsorship.
