Spoons and Anvil Head

A split-spoon sampler is a thick-walled steel tube that is literally split lengthwise. Think of it like a long, heavy-duty metal hot dog bun. Because it can be opened up, engineers can inspect the soil exactly as it was positioned in the ground without having to dig it out and ruin the layering.

The Anatomy
A standard sampler is usually 18 to 24 inches long and consists of four main parts:

The Drive Shoe: A hardened steel “nose” at the bottom that cuts through the soil.

The Split Barrel: Two semicircular halves that hold the soil.

The Sampler Head: The top piece that connects the tool to the drill rods; it usually contains a ball valve to allow water to escape as soil enters.