Masonry Magazine July 2008 Page. 30
BRICKLAYERS' TOOLS
Kraft Tool Co. offers leather handles.
Pneumatic chisels let the user remove mortar without damaging the surrounding brick or block. Trow & Holden's new chisel retainer secures the chisel inside the pneumatic tool so it won't fall out, yet it keeps the chisel loose and easy to control, LaMorte says. The rubber retainer loops onto the chisel and the air tool, and it's easy to install and remove.
"Some masonry contractors like the chisel retainer, because they feel it's safer," LaMorte explains. "For guys working on scaffolding, it's another peace of mind that they're working safely."
Change of materials for comfort, longevity
BREAKING FROM TRADITIONAL tool materials, such as wooden handles and carbon steel for jointers, has produced comfortable grips and tools that last longer. Kraft Tool Co., in Shawnee, Kan., is offering leather handles on its smaller brick trowels.
"The leather handles are more comfortable. Most brick masons are looking for something comfortable that still lets you get a firm grip," says Steve Cook, sales and marketing manager for Kraft Tool. "Wood handles go through cycles where they get wet and then dry out. Over time, this will wear away the wood. The leather handles hold their shape and won't get worn out."
Leather handles are more impervious to hand perspiration, he says. Sweat can make wood handles slippery, but the leather handles dry out quickly without becoming slick.
The company has new jointing tools, including E-Jointers, that fit in a mason's pocket, Cook says. The three- or four-sided jointers are available in varying thicknesses to get into different joint widths.
"You can use these jointers to get into unusual places, like corners and around windows," he says.
Gibsonia, Pa.-based Bon Tool Co. is offering new stainless steel bricklayer's tools, including bullhorn, convex brick and barrel jointers. John Wight, VP of sales and marketing for the company, says stainless steel has been a trend in tools over the last few years.
"Stainless steel tools are longer lasting and more wear resistant than straight carbon steel," Wight says. "Because of their longevity, stainless steel tools are a better value for the money."
The stainless steel jointers won't rust and don't need to be "broken in" like carbon steel tools, Wight says. "The stainless steel jointer creates a nice, smooth joint."
Brett Martin is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer with 15 years of construction and writing experience.
Sticking with Tradition
Brett Martin
Bucking the new tool trend, some manufacturers have been offering the same bricklayer's tools for decades. Garland Manufacturing Co., in Saco, Maine, has been making a split head hammer for more than 100 years, says Dan Garland, company president. The hammer face can be easily changed from plastic to rawhide to BASA, which is used when installing refractory brick.
"This is a non-marring hammer, so it won't damage the face of the bricks," Garland says. "It's a heavy impact hammer, but you don't run the risk of damaging or shattering the brick or paver. You get a more controlled blow."
Dominic Amador, vice president of sales for C.S. Osborne in Harrison, N.J., says his company sticks with its "old tradition" of manufacturing brick trowels. The blades are hardened, tempered, taper ground, and then polished.
"Most of our trowels are forged as one piece where the handle attaches to the blade," Amador says. "This is the old way that the tools used to be made."
Amador says single piece trowels are stronger, and therefore last longer. "Something that lasts a long time, something that's not disposable, and feels comfortable in a mason's hand, that's what masons are looking for," he says.
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