How to Choose a Plasterer’s Trowel?
How to Choose a Plasterer's Trowel?
A plasterer’s trowel is more than another tool, almost an extension of yourself when you find the right one, a high-quality plastering trowel can provide you with many years of service. But how do you find the perfect plastering trowel? In this Wonkee Donkee Tools guide, we walk you through the most important things to consider when looking to buy a plasterer’s trowel.
Material
The first consideration when it comes to most tools is what material the tool is manufactured from. You want a material that is durable and strong, yet purposefully designed for the exact purpose you need it for. When it comes to plasterers trowels, you will need to consider both the material of the blade and also the material that the handle.
Trowel Blade
For the trowel handle, traditionally wood has been used for many years. Solid and durable, with high resistance to cracking or splintering if treated properly, wood is still favoured by many professionals today.
As with all tools, innovation over time has led to alternative materials being developed and used for performance or longevity purposes and trowel handles are no exception. Rubber and cork are the most commonly chosen material used for handles in modern plasterers’ trowels. Rubber is chosen for its properties of being non-slip, durable and easy to control, whilst cork is lightweight and easy to grip. Each to their own, many plasterers have a favourite handle material and typically it is what feels most comfortable to use, especially for longer periods of time.
Trowel Handle
Generally speaking, the more teeth per inch, the smaller the teeth tend to be and the shallower the gullets. This means that with each stroke of the saw, much less material is being cut and removed.
As a result, a blade with more teeth per inch will cut less quickly than one with fewer teeth per inch.
Size
Plasterer’s trowels are specified and measured in accordance with the size of the blade. Vital to the overall finish, the size of the blade is also very important when it comes to the efficiency of use and the speed at that you can work.
To generalise, plasterer trowels are considered small if they are 11 inches and large if they are 13 inches or longer. As you would expect, using a larger blade allows you to cover areas faster which should technically make you more efficient. However, you will need to account for your skill level and experience when choosing the right trowel size for you.
Longer blades tend to require more control and skill in order to get a perfect finish, whilst smaller blades are easier to use for novices in order to learn the skill. At Wonkee Donkee, we recommend to novices the use of a small trowel to begin, moving up to longer trowels once they have mastered their skill set to get consistent high-quality finishes.
Choosing the Best Plasterer’s Trowel
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to choosing the best plasterers trowel, and at Wonkee Donkee, our recommendation is to simply try out a few different designs to see what suits you and feels right.
If you are going to complete a lot of plastering tasks then you will want something comfortable and lightweight that gives a good finish, which may come at a higher cost, but you will get your money’s worth in the long run.
On the other hand, if you are just after a plasterer’s trowel for sporadic use on odd jobs, it may be best for you to choose a mid-range plasterer’s trowel. This will help you to ensure that you will still get the perfect finish whilst without spending more than your budget.
