Trowel grip and wrist angle, 12 years in before I got it

I learned brickwork from my uncle in Philly back in 2011 and he always had me hold the trowel like a hammer. For over a decade I fought wrist fatigue every single job and just figured it was part of the trade. Then last spring a mason from Boston came to help on a church repoint and watched me for about 5 minutes. He grabbed my hand, twisted the trowel handle so my thumb rode the top, and suddenly buttering brick felt effortless. All those years of soreness for nothing. Has anyone else picked up a basic habit late that made you feel like a fool when you finally caught on?

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jackson.matthew20d ago

That thumb on top thing hit me hard. I did drywall for years with the same hammer grip on my taping knife and my forearm was always shot by Friday. A guy from my crew finally showed me to let the handle sit lighter in my palm and it changed everything. It still blows my mind that nobody tells you this stuff when you start out. Makes you wonder how many other little tricks we're all just missing. Good on that Boston mason for taking the time to fix it.