nathankim•11d agoMost Upvoted

Lost a whole dig day to a busted trowel handle

I was out at a site near Flagstaff last Saturday and my trusty Marshalltown trowel handle just snapped off mid-scrape. It was one of those plastic handles, not the leather wrapped ones, and it gave out after just 6 months of use. I ended up having to use a rock to finish cleaning the test pit, which took forever and messed up my wrist. Has anyone else had a trowel handle fail on them like that, or should I just switch to all metal handles for good?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.olivia11d ago

Six months is bad even for a plastic handle. I've had a Marshalltown leather handle last over a decade. Switch to all metal but wrap it with tape so it doesn't get cold.

walker.julia10d ago

Yeah the "Marshalltown leather handle" part really hit home. I had one of those too and it lasted through so many jobs I lost count. Finally wore out after maybe 12 years of heavy use. The plastic handled ones I tried before that would crack or the grip would get loose within a year. I also started wrapping my metal trowel handles with hockey tape, works great and you can replace it cheap when it gets grimy.

alice92810d ago

Ngl that "used a rock to finish cleaning" part made me laugh. Respect for the MacGyver move but maybe treat yourself to a new trowel before you upgrade to caveman tools permanently.