The best way to sharpen garden tools

There's nothing like dull hedge shears to pop your bubble of gardening tranquillity. The following will explain how to sharpen those old hedge shears, pruning shears and grass clippers and transport you back to bliss.

All three of these tools function in a similar manner. The two sharp surfaces of the blades come in contact at the base and cut all the way to the tips. They literally shear the grass and twigs from the stem of the plant with a scissors action.

• These two opposing surfaces are finely ground at the factory to the precise angle that makes them the most efficient.
• When you resharpen these blades along the original bevel, you can get them so sharp that they'll easily cut tissue paper.
• The key is to sharpen exactly along this factory-cut bevel.
• Tools that are sharpened improperly because the person attempted to construct a "better cutting edge" or used the wrong tool to sharpen them become worthless.
• Unless you're a pro, you shouldn't use a power grinding tool for sharpening tools.
• Buy a new mill file, 25 centimetres (10 inches) long, for the best control. It works really well on hedge and pruning shears and even on grass clippers.
• If you find files confusing, read the package. It will tell you if the file's OK for use on garden tools.

Hedge shears are perhaps the most abused garden tools. Because of their huge blades, it's tempting to use them as pruning shears.

They're designed for cutting green wood only, no thicker than one centimetre (0.5 inches). Cutting thick branches or dried wood can stress the pivot nut and even bend the blades slightly.

This tool is by far the fussiest garden tool to sharpen. The principle is the same as for hedge shears, but filing along the curved blade asks a great deal of fine motor skills.

The other half of the pruning shears has a thick, blunt blade that the sharp curved blade cuts against. This heavier blunt blade is one reason this tool is able to cut branches more than 2.5 centimetres (one inch) thick.

The blunt blade needs a crisp 90-degree edge. Think of the edge on a freshly cut piece of granite. Both the top and the side surfaces are flat, and where they meet you'll find a crisp, sharp edge.

Because this tool is so close to the ground while clipping, it takes a lot of abuse. Soil can get between the blades and grind away at them each time you squeeze the handle. The moisture in the grass also can corrode them quickly.

As you would with all trimming tools, wipe your grass clippers clean after each use and keep all the moving parts lightly oiled. You can sharpen your grass clippers with a scissors sharpener.