Sharpening a spade, hoe and ax - this is how it works with a hand file
The edges of the spade and hoe are sharp again after grinding with a hand file. A wide range of files with different degrees of fineness is available in hardware stores and garden centers. The safe, yet easily controllable handling is advantageous for the home gardener. That is how it goes:
- Thoroughly clean the spade, hoe or ax
- Clamp the garden tool in a vice
- Move the file over the edge with up and down movements
- Note the specified angle on inclined blades
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To protect the freshly sharpened garden tool from rust, treat the metal surface with a universal oil, such as sewing machine oil.
Grinding stone makes blunt knife and scissors blades sharp - this is how it works
The sharpness of pruning shears (19.03 € at Amazon *) and knives are more demanding than those of spades and the like. To get blunt rose shears or hip shears sharp again, pull the blades off with a wet whetstone. Combination whetstones with one coarse and one fine-grained side, which soak in water or grinding oil before use, have proven themselves. How to do it right:
- Dismantle the garden tool and clean it carefully
- Sharpen the blades in a circular motion with the whetstone
- Use the fine side of the grindstone to pull off the resulting burr (fine wire) lengthways
If dismantling the garden tool is too laborious for you, use a hard metal sharpener instead of a grindstone. You can use the handy device like a knife to peel potatoes to sharpen all knives and scissors in the house and garden. It is important to note that you first work the top of a blade with the carbide sharpener. At the end, you only pull off the resulting burr from the underside.
Tips
Sharpening lawn mower knives confronts the gardener with the question of how to properly tilt the device to get to the knife block. As a rule of thumb: Always tilt the lawnmower so that the spark plug, carburetor and air filter are pointing upwards. Otherwise, oil and petrol can damage the engine.
