Trowel

[Bahco]

I am going to attempt to plaster my conservatory.

I have been looking at the various film clips on You Tube and notice that most plasterers are using the larger trowel and presume more expensive.

Is there any benefit to be had by paying £30 or so for a good quality trowel when it will have minimal use.

I compared 2 trowels yesterday, a £10 one and a £30 one and the metal thickness and rigidity of the blade seemed identical.

 

[Alastairreid]

be it a £10 trowel or £50 they both leave the exact same job in the right hands bahco.

more expensive trowels are better engineered to last longer, have a larger blade for better coverage and a more comfortable to use.

for a one off job a tenner jobby will suffice.

 

[tenn]

If i were you i'd look at a marshalltown pre-worn permashape trowel at around 30 quid, as there pre worn you will find it easier to use for a novice and get better results as the blades slightly curved and bevelled resulting in less trowels marks .

 

[trowelmonkey1]

or a tyzack ready to go, the toe corners are rounded off so you won't get lines through your finish.

have to say though, i have 3 trowels now, the £10 one i learnt with, the £25 ragni 14" and a tyzack ready to go 13", i prefer the flex in the blade of my ragni, my £10 is only 11" so that comes out when i need a smaller trowel, haven't had the tyzack long but keep using it and comparing.

 

[roughcaster]

When you do buy your trowel Bacho,, look along the edges,, lengthways,, to see if the blade is straight and flat.
I use the same as TM, a "Tyzack 13"s/s ready to go",,, a great trowel to work with,,, plus, i also use a Ragni 11"s/s.

Roughcaster.

 

[NickB_99]

Personally, I have a couple of marshalltown ones.
One 11", the other a bit bigger at 14".
The brand is probably not so important (believe Tyzack, Ragni, Marshalltown are all good) - I think the key is to get stainless steel.
11" was a good size to get to grips with initially and would recommend to a fellow newbie .

I have got an old 11" budget one also, which was only steel and the scratches have now rusted. I usually need to give this a rub down with wet & dry before use and now only use it for undercoat plasters.
As an aside, I find its rough surface is easier for keeping bonding on it when I did my first float & set. But would not now use it for skimming as the m/towns give me a better result.

Good luck!!!

 

[neds]

I bought a 11" Ragni, not stainless steel as my first serious trowel. I filed down the edges slightly to mimic the pre-worn Marshalltown trowels. It helped somewhat. It did start to rust slightly so will be opting for a stainless steel one soon probably a 14" as I feel more confident now.

 

[roughcaster]

I have an old trowel just for roughing in any rough areas. Saves nicking the edge of my good trowels on old nails, rough bricks etc.

Roughcaster.

 

[jimfish]

be it a £10 trowel or £50 they both leave the exact same job in the right hands bahco.

more expensive trowels are better engineered to last longer, have a larger blade for better coverage and a more comfortable to use.

for a one off job a tenner jobby will suffice.

Where can i get my hands on a bacho trowel thanks

 

[roughcaster]

Hi Jim, good to see ya on here again.
I've never seen a Bacho trowel to be honest,, plenty of other Bacho tools in our local shop, but not a trowel. Some of the other guys might be able to help though. Good luck to ya.

 

[external]

i shopped for new steel a few weeks ago and put my hands on a tyzak but put it back ,no corners on the front ,wtf is that all about,if you got no corners how do you expect to make one?
marshaltown 14/5 is the dogs off the shelf imho!

 

[1john]

well i spin the trowel around, there you will find your corners, although I dunno if this is correct I know it works for me.

 

[roughcaster]

I've no problem with mine either,,, most trowels, after cutting/trimming down into corners will get slightly rounded at the corners naturally. The trowel that i have, has very little taken off the corners. Select your own,, some have been "far" more rounded than others.

 

[external]

well there was only one in the place rc but it was butchered on the front,shame really as ive had some good tyzak in the past .

 

[roughcaster]

well there was only one in the place rc but it was butchered on the front,shame really as ive had some good tyzak in the past .

I had an 11" s/s Tyzack trowel for years. It was a 216 pattern,, wooden handle, but a great trowel to work with. I could sharpen a pencil with it, even slice a tomato with it for my sandwiches, .
But you're right Exty', some of the trowels during manufacture are butchered when the corners are rounded off. Some are overdone, plus the metal is burred and rough on the corners.
It always pays to take the trowel out of the cardboard sleeve, (if it has one), and check it over before you buy it,, have a look at the front corners,, plus, feel them, to see they have not been left rough/jagged from the grinder. Look along the length of the trowel too, to see it is not bent/mis-shapen.