Had a customer laugh at me for using a trowel from the 80s until he tried it

I've got this old Marshalltown trowel my dad handed down, beat to hell with the handle taped up. This guy last month on a job in Austin kept joking about me using antique gear. Let him borrow it for five minutes to lay a course and he shut up real quick when the mortar just slid off perfect every time. He asked where I found it and got quiet when I said it was 40 years old. Anyone else got a tool that nobody wants to touch until they actually use it?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray3631d agoMost Upvoted

Old tools just work better cause they're broken in, not broken down... folks don't get that till they actually hold one. That Marshalltown's probably got another 20 years left in it if he treats it right. But hey, at least you got to see him eat his words.

martin.felix1d ago

My buddy learned that the hard way when he tossed his dad's old trowel, @ray363.