Sharpening and Caring for Hand Tools

Why Sharp Tools Matter on a Smallholding

A blunt tool is a dangerous tool. That sounds like something your grandfather would say while tapping the side of his nose, but it happens to be true. A dull pair of secateurs needs more force to make a cut, and force is exactly what leads to slips, crushed stems and sliced fingers. A sharp blade bites cleanly, goes where you aim it, and leaves the plant — or the log — with a clean wound that heals rather than a ragged tear that invites disease.

On a smallholding you probably rely on the same handful of tools day in, day out: a good pair of bypass secateurs, a pruning saw, a felling axe, a splitting maul, a couple of sturdy knives, maybe a sickle or billhook for the rougher stuff. Keeping them sharp takes perhaps ten minutes a week. Letting them go dull costs you far more in effort and in replacements. The good news is that sharpening is a skill anyone can learn, and the tools you need to maintain your tools are few and inexpensive.

The Basic Kit

You do not need a workshop full of stones and jigs. A modest collection kept together in a tin or a drawer will cover almost everything:

• A double-sided combination oilstone, coarse on one face and fine on the other.
• A diamond file or diamond paddle for quick touch-ups and for hard, awkward edges.
• A round or tapered diamond rod for serrated edges, billhooks and the inside of curved blades.
• A flat file for axes and for restoring a blunt or chipped bevel.
• A small whetstone, sometimes called a pocket stone, for knives.
• A stiff wire brush, an old toothbrush and a rag.
• Camellia oil or a light machine oil, plus a tub of petroleum jelly or beeswax for protection.

Add a pair of leather gloves and, if you use one, a sharpening guide for knives. Everything else is technique.

Cleaning Before You Sharpen

Never sharpen a dirty tool. Grit and dried sap will clog your stone and stop the abrasive from cutting properly. Wipe the blade with a rag, then use the wire brush or toothbrush to work out sap, soil and rust from the pivot, the spring and any recesses. Warm soapy water is fine for secateurs, but dry them thoroughly afterwards — a hairdryer on a cool setting works wonders on a stubborn pivot.

For rust, a drop of oil and a rub with fine wire wool will usually shift surface corrosion without scratching the steel. Heavy pitting is best dealt with using a fine file, but be careful not to remove so much metal that you alter the shape of the blade. Once clean, inspect the edge in good light. You are looking for nicks, rolled edges and rounded tips. A rolled edge needs only honing; a nicked edge needs the file first.

Sharpening Secateurs and Knives

Bypass secateurs have one cutting blade and one counter-blade. Only the cutting blade is sharpened; the counter-blade is left flat and is simply cleaned. Hold the blade so you can see the original bevel — usually around twenty to twenty-five degrees. Lay a diamond file flat against that bevel and push it along the curve of the blade in one smooth stroke, following the existing angle rather than inventing your own. Five or six strokes per side is usually plenty for a touch-up.

Only sharpen the bevelled face on secateurs. Do not file the flat back of the blade; that is what keeps the two halves meeting properly. When you have finished, a light pass on the fine side of a stone will polish the edge and remove the burr. Test by cutting a piece of soft paper — it should slice cleanly rather than tear.

For knives, the same principle applies: follow the existing bevel, keep the angle constant, and work from coarse to fine. A small kitchen-style whetstone is perfect for a penknife or grafting knife. Finish with a few strokes on a leather strop or the back of an old belt loaded with a little polishing compound. Stropping is the step most people skip, and it is the one that makes the difference between an edge that is sharp and an edge that is truly keen.

Axes, Billhooks and Rough Tools

Axes are sharpened differently to knives, and the difference matters. An axe is a chopping tool, so it needs a convex edge — a gently rounded bevel that supports the blade under impact. Filing a flat, knife-like edge onto an axe will make it sharp but fragile, and the edge will chip the first time you hit a knot.

Clamp the axe head securely, or hold it steady with a gloved hand well away from the edge. Work a flat file along the bevel in overlapping strokes, moving from the cheek towards the edge and lifting slightly at the end of each stroke. This rolling motion creates the convex profile. Turn the axe over and repeat on the other side, keeping the bevels even. Finish with a few passes of a fine stone, then check the edge by eye — it should not reflect light. If you can see a bright line along the edge, it is still blunt.

Billhooks and sickles are usually sharpened on one side only. Work the bevelled face with a file or stone, keeping the flat side flat. For a slasher or brush hook, a slightly coarser edge is fine; these tools are for clearing, not surgery.

Oiling and Storing for the Long Term

Every tool should be cleaned, dried, sharpened and oiled before it goes away. This is the habit that separates a tool that lasts thirty years from one that lasts three. Wipe a thin film of camellia oil or light machine oil over all metal surfaces after every use. For anything going into storage, a smear of petroleum jelly or beeswax gives longer-lasting protection against damp sheds and cold workshops.

Wooden handles deserve attention too. A rub of boiled linseed oil once or twice a year keeps ash and hickory from drying out and splitting, and a light sanding with fine paper will deal with raised grain and splinters. Never leave tools lying on damp ground or in a bucket of water, and never store them with the blades unprotected. A simple leather sheath, a strip of card taped over a blade, or a wooden tool roll will keep the edges from knocking against each other.

Hang secateurs on a nail, not in a tangle at the bottom of a trug. Keep axes in a rack with the heads covered. A tidy tool store is not about tidiness for its own sake; it is about picking up a tool that is ready to work and putting it back in the same condition. Do that, and your kit will reward you every season.