15/12/2015
A trowel is one of several similar hand tools used for digging, smoothing, or otherwise moving around small amounts of viscous or particulate material.
Hand tools
In gardening, a trowel is a tool with a pointed, scoop-shaped metal blade and a handle. It is used for breaking up earth, digging small holes, especially for planting and w**ding, mixing in fertilizer or other additives, and transferring plants to pots.
A cathole trowel is similar to a gardening trowel, but it was specifically designed for digging catholes in the backcountry. Cathole trowels are used by backpackers, hikers and some kinds of campers, so they are often made of lighter weight materials than gardening trowels to make them easier to carry. Also, they may have features such as ruled sides to measure for proper cathole depth or jagged edges for cutting through roots or frozen soil. Some cathole trowels are also designed to fold-up or collapse into a smaller size for easier storage. Others allow for items such as toilet paper to be stored inside the handle.
A bricklayer's trowel (also known as a masonry trowel or pointing trowel) is a tool with a handle and flat metal blade, used by masons for leveling, spreading, or shaping substances such as cement, plaster, or mortar, as well as for breaking bricks to shape them or smoothing a mould. A tuck pointing trowel is longer and thinner, designed for packing mortar between bricks. Brick trowels are traditionally made of carbon steel, but some newer versions are made of cast stainless steel, which has longer wear and is rust-free.
In archaeology brick or pointing trowels (usually 4" or 5" steel trowels) are used to scratch the strata in an excavation and allow the colours of the soil to be clear, so that the different strata can be identified, processed and excavated. In the United States, there are several preferred brands of pointing trowels, including the Marshalltown trowel; while in the British Isles the WHS 4" pointing trowel is the traditional tool.
Several types of trowel are used in concrete construction. The float trowel or finishing trowel is usually rectangular, used to smooth, level, or texture the top layer of hardening concrete. A flooring trowel has one rectangular end and one pointed end, made to fit corners.
A gauging trowel has a rounded tip, used to mix measured proportions of the different ingredients for quick set plaster.
A pool trowel is a flat-bladed tool with rounded ends used to apply coatings to concrete, especially on swimming pool decks.
Margin trowels and notched trowels are used to apply adhesive and grout when applying ceramic or stone tile to a surface.
A smaller but similarly shaped tool called the palette knife is used in oil painting.
Power tools
A power trowel is a type of Light Construction Equipment, used by construction companies and contractors, serving as a finishing equipment for concrete works.
Significance
The trowel is the nearest that the archaeological profession has to a uniform symbol. It is incorporated into the designs of many archaeological association logos and publications.
The Masonry trowel is a hand trowel used in brickwork or stonework for leveling, spreading and shaping mortar or concrete. They come in several shapes and sizes depending on the task. The following is a list of the more common masonry trowels:
Brick trowel: or mason's trowel is a point-nosed trowel for spreading mortar on bricks or concrete blocks with a technique called "buttering". The shape of the blade allows for very precise control of mortar placement.
Bucket trowel: a wide-bladed tool for scooping mortar from a bucket; it is also good for buttering bricks and smoothing mortar.
Concrete finishing trowel: is used to smooth a surface after the concrete has begun to set; it is held nearly level to the surface of the concrete, and moved with a sweeping arc across the surface.
Corner trowels: used for shaping concrete around internal or external corners; the handle is located at the center of a 90-degree bend in the blade for balance and the ability to apply even pressure to both sides of a corner.
Gauging trowel: a round-nosed trowel used for mixing mortar and applying small amounts in confined areas; it is also used to replace crumbled mortar and to patch concrete.
Margin trowel: a flat-nosed trowel used to work mortar in tight spaces and corners where a larger pointed trowel will not fit.
Pointing trowel: a smaller version of the brick trowel. Useful for filling in small cavities and repairing crumbling mortar joints.
Pool trowel or round trowel: a variation of the concrete finishing trowel; rounded blade prevents it from digging into wet concrete.
Step trowel: similar to the corner trowel, it is used for shaping inside angles on concrete steps; the center of the 90-degree bend in the blade allows for rounded edges.
Tile setter: a brick trowel with an extra-wide blade to hold more mortar than a standard brick trowel. It is ideal for smoothing mortar on large bricks and blocks.
Tuck pointer: used for neatly packing mortar between bricks and blocks when repointing and repairing crumbling mortar in masonry walls.
