That moment I realized I was cleaning my trowel wrong for like 3 years

I was on a dig in New Mexico last summer and a volunteer noticed I was scrubbing my trowel with a wire brush after every use. She pulled me aside and said 'you're basically sanding off the patina that makes it glide through dirt.' Turns out all that scrubbing was making my wrist hurt by noon. She showed me just to wipe it with a rag and oil it once a week instead. Now my trowel moves way easier and I'm not fighting it all day. Has anyone else gotten that same tip from an older archaeologist or did I just miss the memo?

3 comments

3 Comments

hill.andrew2d ago

Does the clay just wipe off better if you oil it before you start digging?

julia_carter703d ago

Did that volunteer have any thoughts on the specific kind of oil that works best for different soil types? I'm out on a rocky site in Texas right now and the clay just cakes on my trowel even with a light wipe. Curious if you found one that doesn't gum up when you hit that heavy soil.

kim1913d ago

Yeah that clay gumming up is the worst. Try a cheap vegetable oil spray, it doesn't get sticky like some of the fancy stuff.