Professional Builder’s Tibby Singh gets to grips with a Faithfull Bar Clamp and 11in. Philadelphia Brick Trowel.
Faithfull are a hand tool brand that have been going since 1989 and now offer the trade market over 3,500 products. It sounds like they’ve gone from strength to strength, so I was interested to see how a couple of their products perform.
In one hand I was testing the Faithfull 300mm Bar Clamp. At first sight I was quite concerned about how much plastic has been used on the body but found out that they are made from Heavy-Duty ABS plastic. It is a recycled plastic compound that is itself entirely recyclable. The bar itself is made from a high-tensile steel, which feels solid and doesn’t have
any flex.
The handle is ergonomically designed and feels effortless when pumping. I was also impressed with the release trigger, whic
h you simply press down on with your thumb instead of pressing it in. Another exciting feature is that the clamp can rapidly be turned into a spreader by releasing the tool-free head, which ensures it locks into position and reversing it on to the other end of the bar.
They do have cushioned jaw pads to protect the workpiece from getting damaged and also have vertical and horizontal grooves. This prevents any slipping when you are clamping anything from one corner to the other corner. Unlike some other clamps these won’t slip out and get lost as they are firmly engaged into position.
They do look slightly bulky, but when the clamping force is almost a quarter of a tonne (230kg) you can understand why they have that extra muscle. These clamps have a guarantee of 5 years, so it’s reassuring that Faithfull have full faith in their own tools.
In the other hand, I also put Faithfull’s 11in Philadelphia Pattern Brick Trowel through its paces. Now, I know I’m a chippy and not a bricky but, being self-employed, I’ve quickly had to learn other trades, and I’ve enjoyed picking up tools I wouldn’t usually use. When I started using tools like these I thought that a trowel is just a trowel and they all do the same job. I was wrong, and there is a difference, just like there is with a good saw and a bad saw.
I was wondering why it was called a Philadelphia Pattern Brick Trowel and little research found out that it has a sharp, square heel and broader blade, making it ideal for laying concrete blocks as it holds more mortar. Whereas a London Pattern Brick Trowel has a rounded heel and smaller blade and is more commonly used for laying bricks.
Anyway, seeing as I didn’t have any blocks to lay there was nothing stopping me from laying bricks with it and I guess it meant I could put more spread on and get more bricks laid quicker. No matter how much mortar is on the trowel there is no flex due to the solid tempered and ground blade, which is forged in one piece.
A soft grip handle with a high lift design to save your knuckles makes it very comfortable in use. The handle also incorporates a hardened end cap for tapping bricks and blocks.
This Philadelphia Pattern Brick Trowel is a part of Faithfull’s Prestige Range, which means it has a massive 10 Year Guarantee. This kid on the block is here to stay and ready to lay!
For further information on Faithfull visit https://www.faithfulltools.com/
Tibby Singh – www.TibbySingh.com
