That site foreman's crack comment changed my whole pointing game

Been laying brick for about 6 years now, mostly residential. Last month on a job in Akron this old foreman watched me tool my joints and just said "you're smearing it, not striking it." He showed me how he holds the jointer at a steeper angle and pulls in one clean pass instead of back and forth. I redid a whole wall section that afternoon, took me twice as long, but the finish was way crisper. Anyone else get told something so simple that made them feel like they'd been doing it wrong for years?

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stella_roberts22d ago

Same thing happened to me with my margin trowel. Dude just said "quit pushing so hard" and I felt like an idiot. Turns out the wrist angle matters more than grip strength. Clay's a lot more forgiving than some of the harder brick too, so you really feel it when you're scraping instead of cutting.