Hello all... I realized my clippers are DULL when it was hard to cut a ripe okra off the plant this evening.... How do you guys sharpen your tools -- clippers, lopers, edging tool, etc? Do you take them to be professionally sharpened? Or is there a specific tool to use to sharpen garden tools. Thanks for the advice.
DB, my husband had 'something' he used. It was a wheel type thing, motorized with wire brushes on it. (Wish we could draw thingson here). Don't know if it was actually for something else and he just used it for that purpose as well. Maybe some of the men here will know what I am talking about. I guess it was some type of grinder/brush thingy. Gosh I know that isn't a bit of help and makes me sounds totally nuts!! But I can still see it bolted down on his tool table after almost 14 years!
I hear Ian mumbling once in a while that he'll have to get the whet stone and strop out to sharpen the blades of his tools. Don't ask me what they are though 'cause if I ever found out it's another job I'd be left to do!!!
Gaylyn, my brother has a grinder - it has different wheels that attach to do different things. If someone could tell me how to do it, I could use his. The part that stumps me is how to sharpen curved blades... (well,that and how not to cut off my finger... that's what kind of scares me.) Eileen -- I'm embarrassed to say I don't know how to use a whetstone either.... I've heard if you don't do it right, you can make your blades even more dull so I just avoid it. I think I am going to have to break down and learn how to do this. Bring on the instructions.... I've been googling it... it looks complicated.
Thanks Eileen and Sjoerd. Thi pictures are helpful. From some things I read, a half round file is useful for the curved blades. Probably a small one would be more versatile, being able to use it on the smaller clippers and larger tools? That's my thought process, anyway. Think I will go with the file, rather than the grinder.
Grass Clippers, Pruning Shears and Hedge Shears all function pretty much the in the same manner. The two sharp cutting surfaces of the blade come into contact at the base and literally cut all the way to the tips enabling them to shear grass and stem twigs from the stem of the plants with a scissor action.
I use a Roto-zip or a Dremel will work. Just get a round stone bit and lightly graze the cutting edge. I've used these tools for years. Hedge trimmers, lawn mower blades(on the mower) Shears, ETC. Just wear safty glazed or goggles, these rotary tools spin at 15,000-30,000 rpm. If a sharpening bit should break it could blind you. The tools also cut so quickly you could destroy your cutting edge. Practice Practice first! RJ
I use a bench grinder it makes it so much easier and they are not expensive. Also small 100mm angle grinders are good.
To clean them hand ice cream bucket of sand with oil in it. But have a wet stone -got at auction. Black stone with handle.dab of oil on it and clippers and shovel sharpen fast. Wear mesh gloves-can cut myself.Also have tools to sharpen chain saws-with a file.
I use a small domestic sharpening machine - the main thing is to keep a sharpening angle of the cutting blade. During the sharpening process do not overheat. And do not forget to cool the heated blade on time!
