/r/Anticonsumption - in the future if you do have something you don't think you can /want to repair, consider giving it to a friend or someone who would (or at least could learn or practice on it). Thanks for your comment!

I splurged last year on a Victor Journeyman 2 kit for my first oxyacetylene setup and have not regretted it - especially since my other braze repairs have been larger and I have had some uses for a cutting torch as well as the rosebud as well. I have some flux-coated brazing rod I got from the local welding supply shop, but it is too big for this (1/8" diameter I think).

I have a pack of smaller/thinner brazing rods, I think they might be Bernomatic WB5 https://www.bernzomatic.com/Products/Brazing-Welding-Rods/WB5

This small brazing job could have been done with a MAP torch too, but I happened to have my OA setup in the garage. I might try the next small brazing repair (like if another trowel breaks) with MAP just because.

We have a couple more with similar joints that haven't broken yet- my plan is to drill a hole through the middle for a small fastener, like a #10, #12, or maybe even 1/4" screw+nut. Should have zero downsides since there is no weldment in the middle of the joint, so the bolt should only add strength.

This is exactly right, I have multiple welding processes available but do not have the right mix of welder, technique, and materials on hand to weld stainless - it is something I have never needed to do in my shop and I am skeptical of the quality of stainless here in the first place.

As it is I can't tell if the original joint was a weld or something more like a silver solder/braze. I imagine if it was a weld they would have had better penetration and cross-section than it had, so who knows if it was material that was even amenable to welding.

That is all to say I 100% agree with you. I knew it would take braze regardless of alloy, and with brazing there was almost 0% chance of destroying the base metal with poor heat control or other inexperience. Especially because I do not have any tiny OA tips or TIG available, the chances of me burning through the plate portion would just be too high.

Thank you for prompting me to clarify - I have multiple welders (stick (no stainless electrodes and too thin), MIG (no stainless wire), and my OA setup(no filler and inexperience)) but I do not have TIG or another way to weld stainless, like the thinner part of this trowel here. I could have technically done it with OA, but I do not have stainless filler, don't know what alloy this is theoretically supposed to be, and would probably burn through it since it would be my first time welding stainless with gas

So far so good. I've done braze repairs mainly on cast iron and that has held up great, even a vise I repaired

It is stainless and I am not set up to weld stainless

The lessons:

• heat management: think about your strategy for heating the material before lighting the torch and start pointing the torch at things

• It was good to wrap a wet rag around the shank near the handle, to slow down heat propagation that would melt/burn the rubber

• Surface prep, even for a quick/dirty braze repair on a garden tool.

• To do correct surface prep, fully breaking the broken thing may be required and beneficial