My trowel handle snapped mid-pour yesterday

Was finishing a 30 yard driveway in Phoenix. Hot day, about 105 out. Grabbed my margin trowel to work the edge and the wooden handle just cracked right off in my hand. No warning at all. Had to finish with a beat up backup trowel that left marks. You guys use any trowels with replaceable handles?

3 comments

3 Comments

murphy.aaron19d ago

Hearing that the handle just snapped in 105 degree heat is wild. I've had tools go on me but never like that with no warning.

knight.felix19d ago

@murphy.aaron 105 degrees does weird things to metal, no warning is scary.

wood.eric19d ago

Man that sucks, especially on a 30 yard pour in Phoenix heat. @knight.felix is right about heat doing weird stuff, but I've noticed a bigger pattern lately. It seems like every cheap tool out there uses the same glued on wood handles that can't take real work anymore. Back in the day you could resand and oil a handle for years, now they're basically designed to fail so you buy a whole new trowel. The whole industry is shifting toward planned obsolescence even on basic hand tools. Been thinking about switching to a trowel with a screw-on or compression handle just so I'm not stuck mid pour again.