The pocket shear vane tester provides a quick and efficient method for determining shear strength values of cohesive soils. The pocket shear vane is widely used for taking on-site measurements of excavations, including trenches and test pits. It is also used for taking readings from thin-wall or split core soil samples. The pocket shear vane can be used to gather a large number of readings including those from different failure planes without the need to prepare and trim samples. The device can be used on any reasonably flat surface that is slightly larger than the vane surface being used and also can be used with fully-saturated, fine-grained soils with an undrained strength independent of normal pressure, including a wide range of clays from soft to stiff consistency. Readings can be made from 0 to 2.5 TSF (1 Kg/cm2). The dial on the unit reads in 0.05 TSF (0.05 Kg/cm2) increments.It can also be used in the laboratory for evaluations. This device comes with three vanes, which are easily attached or removed. The torvane shear tester is molded plastic and comes in a plastic molded case.