How do you sharpen your pruners and loppers?
ruth_mi
last year
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Comments (8)
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Do you sharpen your tools?
Comments (28)my youngest spent 2 years working in a rathergood tool shop......with a 45% discount, we absolutely rinsed the store.....and could order from pretty much anywhere. We went a little insane (generators, welders, mowers, chippers.....even gardening gloves and string). Thankfully, he has moved into the welding shop..as my son was also spending around a quarter of his wages on tools......but there is no doubt we are fully equipped.. Our families have always been skilled craftspeople - we are landscapers - so we have a bit of a fetishistic view of tools anyway.....they are our major investment - whether petrol, battery and hand tools (my favourites).........collecting our own, plus what we inherited from our parents and grandparents..........requires several sheds, spare rooms, greenhouse, garage and every stairwell in our very small Engish house. I fear it is all getting out of hand. Grats on the grinder, Kevin - sharp tool addiction coming your way............Certainly, the pleasure of using sharp clean tools more than makes up for the effort of looking after them.....although, I admit to leaving mine out all night, losing small tools for the entire season, throwing them in the incinerator, general abuse/misuse.....and behaving in a careless fashion completely at odds with my professed love of such items. Must be that familiarity and contempt thing?...See MoreCan I sharpen my pruners?
Comments (12)Depends on the pruning shears. I buy good ones that cost about $15.00-20.00. They have one easy to remove screw and a spring. Whether they're sold as Corona or Ace brand or Bond, they have the same general mechanisms. Cheap ones will dull and wind up hogging more space in a landfill somewhere and I prefer to protect the environment not contaminate it. I've had two pairs of shears for well over ten years and they're in no danger of wearing out. Take the screw out and remove the spring. The cutting side of the blade can be sharpened easily with a basic whet stone or a sharpening attachment or even taken to a knife shop. It's one side of one blade. Even cheap ones can be sharpened without being taken apart. Taking them apart though allows you to clean and disinfect the shears. This is important as pest and disease can be transmitted from one bush to another on your shears. That screw mechanism and the part where the blades meet can harbor stuff even if the blades have been dipped in a 10% bleach solution. I clean mine with Formula 409, Spic and Span or baking soda. Use a piece of 3M pad or a Brillo Pad to scrub off the hard-to-remove gunk. Using a very fine grade sandpaper, you can shine up your shears like new. Once they've been cleaned, sharpened and sanitized, put them back together and apply some sewing machine oil or WD-40 to the screw and work the shears to smooth the action and adjust the grip again. One good pair of shears will last a long, long time but I always carry 2-3 pairs during pruning season so I can switch them out if needed. I spray them with Lysol between cuts or bushes but it probably isn't the best method of disinfecting. Bleach solution in a spray bottle would work at least until the bleach eats through whatever allows the bottle to spray, lol....See MoreHow do you sterilize your pruners?
Comments (15)I spray with Lysol unless I've got a 10% bleach solution mixed up. Since bleach is a contact disinfectant I don't see soaking metal in it will kill more germs but it's guaranteed to rust your blades. I prune a lot of bushes for people and in public rose gardens. I don't want what they've got as I'm trying to maintain an organic garden. We have a problem with San Jose Scale and I managed to introduce it into my garden. This stuff is nearly impossible to control and chemicals are of very little help unless you catch it on the move. If people only prune in their own gardens and they don't have infections nor infestations, they shouldn't need to disinfect their blades on a regular basis, IMHO. I sure don't disinfect between cuts unless I'm working on a scaley bush. I don't disinfect between bushes unless one of them has 12-month powdery mildew. Between beds... yep, I disinfect then and even change out my shears....See MorePruner Cleaning and Sharpening at Olympia Trade
Comments (3)There are complete kitchen facilities available, including a range, refrigerator, electricity and hot and cold running water. I am bringing coffee and soda, and will supply paper plates, cups and utensils. I'm not planning on bringing bowls, but you can eat chili out of a cup. You should bring ladels and serving utensils, and if you need to cut a cake or lasagna, you should bring your own knife - in the past, we haven't found those items in the clubhouse kitchen. I'm not sure how many vegetable starts I will have this year. It's been too rainy for me to plant any, but I still have almost a month, so here's hoping... I do have some herbs, if it ever warms up enough for them to poke their heads up. Tammy...See Moreruth_mi
last yearcearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
last yearlast modified: last yearruth_mi thanked cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)