HOW TO SHARPEN SECATEURS – We all know that buying quality Gardening tools is not cheap and therefore to make them last you should take good care of them. Secateurs are a handy gardening tool that is used often for pruning and clipping plants, flowers, shrubs and more and for them to be effective they must be sharp. In this Gardening Tip you can learn how to sharpen your secateurs to ensure they remain useful.
Step 1
Try cutting a medium size twig or plant stem. If you get a nice clean cut, that doesn’t require too much force, then you have a nice pair of sharp secateurs to use. If not, then you need to sharpen them.
Step 2
Take a sharpening stone and apply a few drops of oil and spread this over the stone.
Step 3
Place the sharpening stone on a flat surface, preferably a work bench. If you have a clamp or vice then place the sharpening stone in this to ensure it doesn’t move about when sharpening your secateurs. Note that it is possible to use an Angel Grinder but you should do so with care.
Step 4
Drag each blade of the Secateurs back and forth in a figure of 8 pattern. Try to angle the blades at about 30° and maintain that angle while moving the blades back and forth.
Step 5
Once again, take a medium sized twig or plant stem and try cutting. You should be able to cut through a medium sized twig without too much effort. If not repeat the process until you can.
Step 6
While this takes a little effort it is much cheaper than having to buy new secateurs and a good pair will last you a very long time providing you keep them sharp and look after them.
