My $20 trowel vs my buddy's $120 fancy one at a dig site in Arizona

Was out on a volunteer dig outside Tucson last month and brought my beat up old Marshalltown trowel I've had for like 8 years. My buddy showed up with some new $120 Japanese stainless steel trowel all the YouTube archaeologists rave about. We were both working the same test pit in this dry compacted soil. After about 2 hours his hand was cramping up because the handle was too narrow for his grip and the blade was actually too stiff to feel the subtle changes in sediment. My cheap trowel with the worn down tip actually worked better for getting into those tight corners around the pottery fragments we were pulling out. Has anyone else had a cheap piece of gear totally outshine an expensive upgrade?

3 comments

3 Comments

green.iris11d ago

Oh man this is so me. I bought a fancy new trowel once because my old one had a bent tip and I thought I was treating myself. That thing was like butter on a hot pan - too smooth, too stiff, and I actually dropped it down a hole because the handle was so slippery. I had to fish it out with a stick while feeling like a total clown. Meanwhile my buddy has the same cheap trowel from Home Depot he's had for ten years and he's pulling out artifacts left and right. I swear gear snobbery is just an expensive way to feel bad about yourself when you realize the old junk works better. Have you ever seen someone try to dig with a brand new trowel and immediately regret spending rent money on it?

jordan_hill11d ago

@green.iris nailed it, it's the same pattern with anything from boots to backpacks where you pay for a brand name instead of just what works for your hands and the dirt you're actually digging in. I've seen too many people drop cash on gear just to realize the cheap stuff they had was already perfect for their style.

lucast8111d ago

Used to watch my grandpa dig with the same rusty trowel he got from a flea market in the 70s. Found a whole collection of old coins and arrowheads with it while I was breaking tools left and right. The man never spent more than $5 on anything but knew how to work the dirt better than anyone with fancy new gear.