How To Easily Sharpen Pruning Shears To Razor Sharp in Just 2 Minutes - Quickly Remove Rust, by Creative Inventions on YouTube. 8 min 4 s.
- Video length
- 8 min 4 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Put on gloves and wipe the blades with an oiled cloth to lift sap, dirt and loose rust. Scrub stubborn rust with a wire brush or steel wool.
Open the shears and clamp the cutting blade in a vice, or hold them firmly on a bench with the bevel facing up.
Look at the cutting edge. The angled side is the bevel, usually ground at about 20 to 25 degrees. Only this side gets filed.
Push the file or diamond stone along the bevel from the base to the tip in one direction, following the curve. Do 5 to 10 strokes, then check the edge.
Leave the flat back of the blade alone. Lay the file flat and give it one or two light passes only to remove the burr raised on the other side.
Wipe the blade clean, then put a few drops of oil on the pivot and work the handles open and closed.
Tighten the pivot bolt until the blades close with light drag and no gap. Too loose and they tear stems instead of cutting them.
Test on a green twig or a sheet of paper. A sharp shear slices cleanly with no crushing or dragging.
Wipe off sap and oil the blade after each use, and store the shears closed in a dry place.
Tips and common mistakes
Colour the bevel with a marker pen before filing so you can see exactly where the file is cutting.
Skip the bench grinder. It overheats the thin blade and ruins the temper.
Sharpen little and often instead of waiting until the shears crush stems rather than cut them.
Anvil shears only get the flat blade sharpened. Never file the soft anvil bed.
Questions
How often should I sharpen pruning shears?
Give them a quick touch-up every few weeks of heavy use, or whenever cuts start tearing instead of slicing. A full sharpen once a season is usually enough.
Can I sharpen pruning shears with sandpaper?
Yes, fine wet and dry paper on a flat surface works for a light touch-up, but a file or diamond stone holds the angle better on a really dull edge.
How do I stop the blades rusting again?
Dry them after use and wipe a thin film of oil over the blade. Store them closed and out of damp sheds.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
