How To Sharpen Garden Tools At Home
So, you love gardening, and it is one of your hobbies. As fellow gardener, we know that you need to use some tools for gardening. The usage of these tools is necessary for the maintenance and growth of a garden.
Continually using these tools eventually makes them blunt, and it is a real pain to work with smooth gardening tools. Not only is it hard to work with dull instruments, but also these tools are relatively dangerous for your garden as well.
You might be wondering how to sharpen garden tools at home. Well, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will discuss the ways of sharpening your gardening tools at home.
In the next segment of this article, we have mentioned the proper methods of cleaning your gardening tools.
Without any further ado, let’s get into it:
Let’s learn How To Sharpen Garden Tools At Home?
You can take care of your gardening tools by cleaning them after you use them. Cleaning is also necessary before sharpening the garden equipment.
Cleaning your garden tools prolongs their existence and keeps them sharp for a more extended period. It is essential to clean these tools after every usage. Follow these steps for the cleaning of your garden tools.
Washing away mud:
Use a garden hose to remove all the mud that is stuck on your tools. You can use a knife or a scraper for mud removal as well.
Soaking in soap water:
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Use soap water to remove the rest of the mud and dirt. Take a bucket and fill it up with hot water. Then add some liquid soap or liquid dishwasher in the bucket and stir it properly. Put your tools inside the bucket and soak them for fifteen to twenty minutes.
Clean and dry:
Run some cold water over your tools after taking them out from the bucket. After cleaning, use microfiber-cloth for drying them.
Rust removal:
Inspect each tool and see if you can spot any rust on them. If you find any rusty equipment, use steel wool to rub all the rust away. Use some vegetable oil on the tools before brushing them. It helps in making the rust loosen up a bit.
Sap removal:
Look for any kind of sap attached to your tools. Plant-saps can cause your instruments to rust. Use a cloth and some turpentine for wiping them away.
Disinfection:
Disinfect your tools before storing them to ensure safety. Take a bucket of water, put some bleach inside it, and stir properly. Keep your equipment inside it for about ten to fifteen minutes. Take them out of the solution and run some water over to clean them. Dry them using a cloth before storing them.
How to sharpen garden tools at home:
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“Prevention is better than cure” is a very famous proverb. This proverb is quite relatable in the case of gardening tools. How long your equipment will last depends on how you use them.
If you can use your equipment correctly and take good care of them, they will stay sharp for a longer time, and you will not need to sharpen them in the first place.
In this segment of the article, we have discussed everything about sharpening your garden tools at home. Please continue reading to know all about it.
What can I use to sharpen my garden tools?
You need only two tools for the sharpening process. These two tools are a vise and a file. A vise will cost you around ten dollars, and a 10-12 inch file will cost you around seven dollars.
You will need the vise for holding the tools while sharpening them and the file for the actual sharpening process. Get a balanced file that you can use for all the purposes.
Preparation:
Before the sharpening process, you will need to clean your equipment. This step is essential because any dirt, rust, or mud can damage your tools.
In the previous part of this article, we have a step by step guide on how you can clean your garden tools. Make sure to give it a read to know more.
The sharpening process can differ based on what tools you will sharpen. Let us take a closer look at how you can sharpen different garden tools.
Mower-blade:
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A sharp mower blade ensures that you can cut the grass quickly and effectively, whereas a dull mower blade can make rough cuts and harm the grass. Having a flat edge can also put a strain on the engine as well.
Follow these steps for sharpening a mower-blade.
- Hold the blade in a vise.
- Use a file to brush the cutter.
- Make sure to brush from inwards to outwards following the edge of the blade.
- Give the same number of rubs on both sides of the blade to ensure it is balanced.
- Flat out any roughness on the blade.
While a sharp blade does cut smoothly, it also dulls quite fast. So, make sure not to over sharpen the blade. You can also hang the cutter on a pin to check if both sides are similarly brushed.
Machete:
- Hold the machete in a vise.
- Move the file on top of the blade of the machete. Make sure that you are moving the file towards the opposite direction of where you are standing.
- Brush both sides of the blade individually.
Before sharpening, find out if you have a one-sided machete blade. If that is the case, you will need to brush only one side.
You can also keep a few inches of the edge unbrushed near the handle. It gives extra safety and helps it to last longer.
Pruning-shears:
Well, it is easy to sharpen shears, and a sharp shear can change your work experience.
- Hold the shear in the vise.
- Flatly hold the file on the shear and move it. Make sure that you are moving the file towards the opposite direction of where you are standing.
- Do not apply a lot of force while sharpening.
- Sharp both sides equally.
- Only sharpen the cutting edge, not the other blade.
Hedge-shears:
- Hold the blade in a vise.
- Use a file to brush the blade.
- Make sure to brush from inwards to outwards following the edge of the blade.
- Give the same number of rubs on both sides of the cutter to ensure it is balanced.
- Sharpen both the ends in this manner
Shovel:
It may seem unusual to sharpen your shovel but trust us on this one. The difference in experience between using an adequately sharp shovel and a dull one can be night and day.
- Hold the shovel inside the vise.
- Sharpen the edges of the shovel, aiming towards the center.
- Make sure to rub at a 45° angle.
- Sharpen both sides equally for maintaining a balance.
These are some standard gardening tools and how you can sharpen them.
Conclusion:
That’s all we have on how to sharpen gardeen tools at home. Gardening tools are essential to every gardener.
But you need to face a lot of hassle if you have dull equipment and it is also harmful to your garden.
You can indeed sharpen your garden instruments, but it is a better decision to clean your garden instruments regularly and keep them sharp for a long time!
