Trowels, a tool and maybe a weapon???

Trigger warning for blood and injuries below

Trowels are handheld tools that are used to spread various types of material. They are used for dozens of different things including but not limited to gardening, bricklaying, archeology, and—you guessed it—plastering.

The use of trowels dates back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. These early tools were made of stone and used to plaster walls and lay bricks. The Romans improved the tool by adding a pointed end, which made it easier to reach corners and make more intricate designs. Craftsmen of the Middle Ages and Renaissance returned back to the basics, favoring a flat, rectangular trowel made of iron or bronze with a wood handle.

Over the past few centuries, ceremonial trowels have become popular with the construction of important new buildings, being used to lay the cornerstone and then kept to commemorate the occasion. Ceremonial trowels typically have intricate designs and hold an inscription detailing the event. For example, the New York Public Library has a ceremonial trowel made by Tiffany and Co. commemorating the laying of its cornerstone in 1902.

Modern day trowels, like the trapezoid-shaped trowels ones we apply SET Plaster with are now made of steel or other metal alloys and feature a wooden or plastic handle attached to the blade. The blade of the trowel is forged or stamped from a sheet of steel, and then heat-treated to increase its strength and durability.

After heat-treatment, the blade is ground to its final shape and then polished to a smooth finish. The handle is then attached to the blade, either by welding or with rivets. Wooden handles are typically made of hardwoods like ash, hickory, or maple, while plastic handles are made of materials like PVC or nylon.

Trapezoid trowels (trap trowels for short) were derived from the traditional rectangular finishing trowel. People saw how rectangular trowels were often worn into more of a trapezoid shape from use over time, and many tradespeople in Italy preferred to work with older trowels because they claimed they got better overtime. The angled shape of trap trowels is also ideal for getting into hard-to-reach corners.

——————Trigger warning for blood and injuries below——————

Now that we know the history and a little bit of how trowels are crafted and why they are shaped in certain ways. Let's discuss what happens to a trowel after multiple years of use with a story of injury and pain from Alexa, the studio coordinator….

Essentially, after a trowel is used on a wall the edge becomes a knife aka sharp enough to draw blood. This is from the constant wearing down and whittling away of the steel from wall textures and plaster aggregates. When plastering a wall you have to make sure to wipe the trowels edge in order to not schmear gunk or gray steel particles back on your wall. “I did exactly this, wiped the trowel edge with a Terry cloth towel and was met with the most excrutiating pain”, says Alexa, a huge gash on the palm of her hand, blood and pain. “I should have gotten stitches but I was stubborn” now has the white scar to show it. She did however get a tetanus shot to be on the safe side. So a word to the wise, never touch a trowel edge with your bare hands, it’s not worth it.