Saw a guy at the job site fix a chipped brick with a butter knife and it clicked

I was on a repoint job downtown last Thursday when an old timer showed me how to tap a chipped brick back into place using just a butter knife and some mortar. Has anyone else picked up tricks like that from just watching someone work for five minutes?

2 comments

2 Comments

rosew371mo agoMost Upvoted

Ngl, that's just making do with the wrong tool, not a real trick.

sagea881mo ago

Calling it "making do with the wrong tool" like @rosew37 said feels a little harsh. If the butter knife works and the mortar sets, what's the big deal? It's not like he used a toothpick to hold up a load-bearing beam. I've seen guys use a chisel wrong and crack the brick way worse than a butter knife ever could. Sometimes a little dirt and soul in the job is better than running back to the truck for a specialty trowel just to patch a chip.