The UK's bestPlastering Trowels2022 Review

Aussie tool heroes OX make rough and tough kit for professionals and DIYers alike, and they’ve been doing it since 1974. They know a thing or two about the best lightweight twin-blade plasterer’s trowel.

The 16″ UltraFlex finishing trowel is a wonderfully light and easy-to-use tool. Just like the NelaFLEX, the stainless steel blade makes use of clever twin blade technology. The extra plate of ultra-thin steel helps to reduce weight and improve durability while allowing for flexibility where it’s needed.

You’ll recognise the signature bright blue OX handle on this trowel. It’s a replaceable blue rubber grip that is ergonomically designed and fits well in the hand. It helps to keep everything well balanced and proves to be comfortable to use for long periods of time.

The corners of the trowel have been rounded off to help you avoid gouging wet plaster, which is a nice touch. The only thing I’d improve about this trowel is a factory pre-wear process. It does need a bit of adjustment before it works to its full potential.

Founded all the way back in 1890, US brand Marshalltown are famous for making the best plastering trowel. Favoured by professional plasterers as well as savvy DIYers, the MPB145GSD gold stainless steel plasterers’ trowel is an amazing bit of kit.

The first thing you’ll notice about this trowel is the colour. Marshalltown have used top quality tempered gold stainless steel that is built to last. It gives this trowel the ultimate balance of stiffness and flexibility without making it too heavy.

Marshalltown have broken the trowel in at the factory, it comes with pre-worn edges to help you get the best finish possible. The handle uses a DuraSoft grip which offers supreme comfort and helps to keep the whole trowel balanced.

With more than 35 years of experience, Dorset’s own Refina are one of the best skimming trowel brands around. The Refina Plaziflex 16″ skimming trowel is a lightweight and refined tool that’s more versatile thanks to replaceable blades.

Rather than superfine stainless steel, this skimming trowel uses a 1 mm durable plastic blade. It leaves an excellent finish on plaster and thanks to the “flexiback” design, it’s rigid along its length but flexible across the blade.

Refina proudly claim that this trowel glides across walls and puts less stress on your joints and arms. The large 16″ blade lets you cover wider areas without having to apply too much pressure.

What makes this trowel stand out from the crowd is the replaceable blade system. At the core is one of Refina’s mini trowels. You’re then free to slot it into any one of Refina’s plastic blades that range from 12″ – 24″. Replacing these blades works out cheaper than buying a new trowel every time as well.

The Nela FLEX II 16 Gold Edition Trowel is a robust yet lightweight plastering trowel with a super flexible gold stainless steel blade. The Nela FLEX trowel is one of the best finishing trowels on the UK market.

Nela have made use of dual blade technology to improve the strength and flexibility of the trowel without compromising on blade thickness. At just 0.3 mm, it’s about as thin as you can get but it’s still strong enough for professional plastering jobs.

Nela use a high-performance BiKo grip made from cork. It’s the ideal compromise between a soft grip and one that gives you ultimate control over the blade. The overall balance of this trowel is what makes it one of the best finishing trowels you can get.

Even though the blade hasn’t been completely pre-worn at the factory, the corners have been nicely rounded. There’s no reason why you won’t be able to produce plastered walls or ceilings with this trowel that are as smooth as glass.

The Spear & Jackson 13″ Stainless Steel Plastering Trowel is an ideal DIYers plastering trowel. This is a small plastering trowel that offers a good quality blade at a very reasonable price. It might not have all the features compared with the Nela Flex II, but it’s one of the best budget trowels you can get.

With a flexible blade and comfortable soft-grip handle, you’ll be surprised how well this trowel handles for the price. Spear & Jackson have used thin stainless steel that feels ideal for finishing work but could be used for laying on plaster at a pinch.

The grip itself isn’t replaceable, but it’s got a decent finish on it that makes it easy to hang onto. It’s got a decent girth as well, which helps fight arm fatigue. What makes this one of the best plastering trowels is the weight. Weighing in at just 436 g, it’s ultra-light but still very capable.

One of the bigger British tool brands out there, Draper are well known for their hand tools. Found in sheds, garages, and workshops across the country, I think their 11″ soft grip plastering trowel is a serious bit of kit for the money. A fraction of the price of a pro-level trowel, this is still a very comfortable tool to work with and ideal for the DIY plasterer.

This is a medium-sized plastering trowel with a carbon steel blade. Smaller in size than the big professional Marshalltown equivalent, it’s 280 mm long and not overly flexible. It’s a responsive blade to work with and has the ideal shape for getting all the plaster out from the bottom of a bucket.

The soft grip handle is of a biomaterial construction. The black section is softer than the red, so it fits nicely in hand and won’t slip easily. Even though this budget-friendly tool isn’t the sort of thing you’ll see a proper plasterer using, for the home DIYer it’s pretty hard to beat.