Folding Shovel / Entrenching Tool - quality rules and customization?

[vicky_molokh]

Greetings, all!

So, High-Tech p.25 gives us the Shovel, Folding, aka the Entrenching Tool. Which awesomely can perform the function of a shovel, a pick (according to people who used one, not explicit in HT), and can also be used as an ax at -2 skill*. All for the low low cost of $10, and a base mass of 3 lbs. Meanwhile, an ax weights 4 lbs. All this raises some questions about what is and isn't acceptable to do with it:

Since it counts as a weapon, albeit an exotic/improvised one, does this disqualify this item from using the Quality modifiers on High-Tech pages 9-10 and B345?

If it is legal to make an Expensive variant of the item, does this result in re-evaluating its MinST as per Low-Tech Companion 2 page 15?

Can it have Weapon Quality modifiers applied to it (e.g. LT59)?

*

Spoiler:  

Originally Posted by Kromm

Specifically, Martial Arts has two perks -- Exotic Weapon Training and Improvised Weapons -- that would let you eliminate the penalty for these things not being weapons per se. EWT gets rid of all penalties with one weapon no matter what skills it uses, while IW negates all penalties to use makeshift weapons with just one skill. Since this kind of training includes throwing the tool, I would go with EWT (Entrenching Tool) and say it removes the -2 to swing or chuck the thing. IW (Axe/Mace) would do away with all penalties for awkward axe-like things in melee, but would not help you throw the weapon.

Thanks in advance!