Just lost 6 hours on a trowel blade that was past its life

Picked up a bargain 36 inch trowel at a supply house in Phoenix, figured the edge looked rough but it would do for a garage pad. Halfway through the final pass the blade curled on a cold joint and I had to grind out 14 square feet of lines before it set. Anyone else here just eat the cost of a decent blade instead of trying to squeeze one more pour out of a worn tool?

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2 Comments

gavin2281mo ago

Damn, that Phoenix heat probably made that blade worse than it looked too. I heard from a guy at the supply shop that cheap steel gets soft fast in the summer, so it ain't worth the gamble on hot days.

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pat_moore1mo ago

You ever seen what a hot trunk does to a cheap knife? Had a buddy, Mike, swore by this bargain brand he got at a flea market. Left it in his car for a whole week during that one brutal stretch in July. When he finally pulled it out, the edge felt like butter, just folded right over when he tried to whittle a stick. He was so pissed, said the handle had warped too, all wavy and loose. So yeah, that Phoenix heat is no joke, it'll mess with the cheap stuff way faster than you'd think.

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