Am I the only one who got burned by those 'comfort grip' trowels?

I dropped $60 on one of those fancy ergonomic trowels with the soft rubber handle from the big box store last spring. Thought it would save my wrist on the long days but after about 6 hours the rubber started peeling off in the humidity. Then the blade warped on me after just two jobs. I'm back to using my old wooden handled Marshalltown that I got for $15 at a yard sale. Wish I'd just saved that money and spent it on a good leather tool belt instead. Has anyone else had a bad run with these newer design trowels?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_john11d ago

New tools are always overengineered garbage compared to the stuff that's been proven for decades. Same thing happened with those hammers that have the rubber grip and shock absorption, they just fall apart after a season.

lily23011d ago

Wait, you mean the hammer that costs triple the price of a plain ol' steel one isn't actually going to last me through the apocalypse? I'm shocked (pun intended, sorry not sorry) that a tool with a fancy rubber grip and "shock absorbing" gel insert gave out after one season doing real work instead of sitting in a display case. Next you'll tell me those lightweight composite shovels with the ergonomic handles snap right where the blade meets the handle, leaving you stranded in the mud. I guess some of us just have to learn the hard way that "new and improved" usually means "new and ready to break at the worst possible moment." At least with the old stuff you could fix it with a little duct tape and some swearing, right?