renovationism

I’ve mixed grout and thinset mortar in small amounts, without the right tools, and it’s no fun. Trying to get the mix right with a wooden stick is just plain crazy. So with the deck mud for the shower pan on the horizon, I decided to spend some hard-earned coin on a high quality hoe. You see it all the time on TV – people using hoes to mix small batches. I thought I might find a hoe with the other concrete tools. You know – trowels, floats, etc. No luck. So I went cruising where you’d expect to find a hoe – the gardening department. Bingo. There, amidst the shovels and rakes, I found a surprising selection of hoes, both triangular and square, ranging in price from $9 to nearly $40. The hoe pictured below was $15. Right next to it was a hoe labeled Mortar Hoe. I admit I was a bit surprised to find something so specific. I was also surprised to see that it was the same hoe, with two half-dollar sized holes in the blade. I guess this helps with mixing. But the same hoe, with a little less metal, was priced at $30. I bought the $15 hoe. And I still can’t figure out why punching two holes in it makes it worth twice the price?