My old trowel handle split right in half during a dig in Tucson last month.

I was working on a site near the Santa Cruz River and the wood just gave out, sending the blade into the dirt. I had to finish the day using my backup, which is way too small for serious work. What's the best heavy duty trowel you've used that can handle hard packed soil?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronb5219d ago

Three years on a Marshalltown and the handle split on a site near Ventura, California in rocky clay. I get why people swear by them, but I think the WHS 2-piece trowel is a different animal altogether. The handle is one solid piece of molded rubber, no wood to crack, and the blade is thick enough to take a beating. I've put mine through caliche and river gravel without any flex or wobble. The balance is weird at first, but once you get used to it, you can dig all day without your hand cramping up.

pathenderson1mo ago

Hard packed soil near the Santa Cruz River is no joke. I had a trowel snap on me like that once, and the sound it made (this sad little crack) still haunts me a bit.

adam6751mo ago

Pathenderson is right, that sound is the worst, but my Marshalltown has never let me down in hard dirt.