carbon steel

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Jace

Jace

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anyone had one or know where to get one from my current ss is only any good now for final trowel over its soo thin now. any tips for looking after it muchly appretciated as ive only had ss before so never had to stop the rust before
thanking you kindly you bunch of knowledgeable.......people:RpS_blushing:
 
I use a Marshalltown 11in carbon. Best worn in on a little S&C. After use I dry it and give it a light spray of WD40. I can't imagine working without a carbon.
 
i dont ever bother with wd40 etc. just in the tub. if its rusty if you havent used it for a bit, just find something to rub it on
 
There's a liquid in the states you put a rusty tool in leave it for 5 mins and it comes off
 
spunky said:
Why do you all think carbons better? Be a bit more specific
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Well spunks the 11" trowel was the standard trowel when I started . I seem to be able to get a much better finish with the carbon I suppose what am trying to say is it reacts better to plaster then my stainless will do when troweling up. If I was like you a site spread I would do all my finishing with my 11". Not used spats on ceilings so not sure of the finish with them.
 
Been thinking off getting a carbon trowel but the rust thing is putting me off. Is there really that much difference between a ss and a carbon? I mostly do reskims and very little site work. Cheers
 
They just need a little more care then stainless trowels when cleaning them at the end of each day.
 
But is it that much better that you don't mind the extra 5 min every day to clean and maintain it? Always use ss marshalltown gold trowels and think they are superb but always looking at trying new stuff to see if it's any better.
 
Stuart trowels only rust if you don't use them, like Essex andy said dry them off well and give a squirt of wd40
 
Carbon steel is stronger and holds its edge far better. Only had carbon when I 1st started and just used to dry it off on my clothes at the end of the day and it was fine the next day. Oil was for holiday periods only and boy did they last. Tyzack still do an 11" carbon skimming trowel and you can pick 1 up for £15ish
 
Martensitic stainless steel is harder than carbon apparently because it can be heated I.e golden trowels
 
Well am on 13" tyzack stainless I get about 2 years out of them then renew all my 11 " trowels carbon, and have lasted years and years.
 
stuart23 said:
Been thinking off getting a carbon trowel but the rust thing is putting me off. Is there really that much difference between a ss and a carbon? I mostly do reskims and very little site work. Cheers
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stuart23 said:
But is it that much better that you don't mind the extra 5 min every day to clean and maintain it? Always use ss marshalltown gold trowels and think they are superb but always looking at trying new stuff to see if it's any better.
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I can honestly say that I would't want to do re-skims without a carbon trowel Stuart.
SS trowels skid over the surface of the plaster a lot more than carbon trowels.
If I was just working on high suction backgrounds all the time then I'd probably use the carbon very little as the SS gets over the high suction much better IMO. But for working on S&C or boardwork they can't be beaten, and when you get those horrid little "pimples" on Hardwall, well the carbon literally knocks spots of what can be achieved with a SS because they bite into the surface that much more.
 
spunky said:
I thought stainless had less flex
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They do, carbon steel trowels are harder though and hold their edge better. Therefore generally feel sharper.

The only advantage of stainless trowels as far as I can see is that they don't rust.
 
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