Maintaining Garden Tools
I always like things clean, organized, and in good working condition - it's a standard I try to impress upon everyone who works for me, especially when it comes to valuable tools.
If you're an avid gardener, you know sharp pruning tools not only make chores easier to complete, but they also make cleaner cuts, which allow plants to heal faster. Making clean cuts also exposes them to less damage from diseases, insects, fungi, and weather extremes. My gardeners and outdoor grounds crew clean, sharpen, and condition their pruners, snips, and shears every few days. The process only takes a few minutes, and it keeps these gardening implements in proper working order.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- Once a week, my gardeners like to take stock of their cutting tools, and clean and sharpen their hand pruners and snips. For this task, Brian uses a coarse cleaning block, a whetstone, and oil.
-
- These are Okatsune secateurs. Everyone on my crew has a pair. Bypass garden pruners such as these make nice, clean cuts using two curved blades that bypass each other in the same manner as a pair of scissors. One blade is sharpened on the outside edge and slips by a thicker unsharpened blade.
-
- First, Brian uses a special cleaning block to remove any dirt, sap or other debris. This little scouring block is called a Creaning Mate by Niwaki. It has a slightly rough texture for removing grime from the blades.
-
- Brian goes over every part of both blades. One can also use a medium grit sandpaper.
-
- It is important to get all the dirt off the metal parts – anything left on tools can attract and hold moisture and cause rust.
-
- Brian does the same with these snips. Snips have pointed blades, and are essential for precise pruning and trimming of houseplants and outdoor garden plants. They’re ideal for removing spent leaves, trimming soft stems, and harvesting flowers and various fruits. As I always say, use the right tool for the right job.
-
- Next, Brian uses a whetstone. Sharpening stones, water stones or whetstones are fine-grained stones used for sharpening the edges of steel tools and implements through grinding and honing. Brian soaks the stone for a few minutes before using. A wet stone will help keep the pores of the stone clean, dissipate frictional heat, and ensures smooth sharpening.
-
- Then Brian carefully goes over the blades. Most secateurs are single bevelled – Brian sharpens the outside, and then smooths off the inside, going slightly over to remove the burr.
-
- Brian stops for a quick snapshot while sharpening. This entire process for each tool only takes a few minutes, but makes all the difference when working in the gardens.
-
- Brian holds the whetstone at an angle to sharpen the edges and maintain the bevel. The bevel is what makes a tool sharp, and blades are factory ground to a precise angle that’s just right for each tool.
-
- The same is done on the snips. And be sure to always watch what is being done – keep fingers away from the blades.
-
- Finally, Brian uses some oil to lubricate the pruners. One can use multi-purpose oil from the hardware store. Brian uses oil from the seeds of Camellia oleifera. This oil is the traditional Japanese choice for protecting tools from rust. This oil leaves a deep, non-oily, and odorless finish. It is available online or at various gardening shops.
-
- Brian lightly lubricates all the clean, sharpened metal parts with oil. Oil will help the pruners perform more smoothly.
-
- He also oils the joint where the two sides meet. After oiling, it is a good idea to open and close the pruners to hear how the parts move together – they should work smoothly and evenly.
-
- Then, using a paper towel, Brian wipes off any excess.
-
- There are all sorts of sharpening tools at the hardware store – many are hand held sharpeners like this one, which is handy to carry in a gardening bag. This has a single edge blade to sharpen each side of a pair of pruners or shears. It doesn’t need much to use – just about five or six strokes on each edge.
-
- Here is another sharpener. This is a hand held mini hone file by DMT. It is made from Monocrystaline diamonds, which makes it strong and very durable.
-
- And this sharpener is an all-in-one tool for sharpening pruners, loppers, or even household scissors. It allows for easy sharpening and is ergonomically designed for added control and accuracy.
-
- Brian takes the newly sharpened pruners outside for a test. Here he is pruning one of the raspberry canes.
-
- Here is a cut done with the sharp pruners – very smooth and clean.
-
- Compare it to this one done using a pair of dull pruners – one can see that the cut is not as smooth. Dull pruning tools are likely to crush or tear plant tissue, increasing the likelihood of infection or disease.
-
- But all of Brian’s tools are now ready and safe to use out in the gardens – until next week when these secateurs and snips will need to be checked once again.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
