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Rant: Tried a $60 power trowel blade and a $20 one back to back on a garage floor...
I was doing a 2-car garage slab over on Elm Street last Tuesday. Started with the expensive blade and it felt smooth but left this weird haze I had to buff out. Swapped to the cheap one mid-way and it burned the surface in spots but gave a tighter finish. Honestly the bargain blade worked better on this mix, I think the pricier one was too soft for the 3500 psi we poured. Anyone else find that fancy gear doesn't always beat the basic stuff on a real job?
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the_taylor16d ago
That bit about the $80 chefs knife bending on carrots made me laugh out loud. Guess some gear is just designed for people who never actually use it.
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taylor.reese16d ago
That line about "fancy gear doesn't always beat the basic stuff" really hit home. I've noticed this pattern everywhere, not just on jobsites. My buddy spent 80 bucks on a fancy chefs knife and it bends on carrot ends, while my 15 dollar one from the hardware store still chops fine. Same with my truck, I bought the expensive winter tires once and they chunked out in two seasons, now I run cheap all-seasons that just work. I think sometimes companies make gear for lab conditions or perfect materials, not for the real world where concrete is a little wet or your gravel has clay in it. The expensive stuff might test well in a factory, but out here it's about what handles the mess and the variables.
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jamie94016d ago
Did you try running the cheap blade wet at all? I had a similar thing on a small walkway last month and the budget blade actually held up better once I slowed down my pace.
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