What to do on a rainy day
It’s the weekend, you have been hoping to work out in your garden, but Mother Nature has other plans…. It’s raining! You think briefly about going back to bed but really, it’s the perfect day to collect all your tools and clean and sharpen them.
Usually, after gardening, the best I can do is give them a squirt with the hose because I’m so tired. Tools need regular maintenance to stay ready for game day. Especially your hand tools. The quick squirt with the hose is inviting Rust. The rainy day gives you the opportunity to go over every tool, clean and dry them, give them a shot of 3 in 1 Household oil and wipe down with a soft rag. Wooden handles need to be cleaned first then rubbed with boiled linseed oil. This oil will “harden” after 24 hours. It’s mixed with a solvent to keep it from hardening in the can that needs to evaporate. 1 Boiled Linseed Oil is available at Home Depot, etc. in their paint department. Because this oil penetrates the wood, you should only have to do this step annually.
You need several things for your tool maintenance: A double sided utility file which has both coarse and fine sides. “Rust Erasers” which are pliable rubber-like blocks with abrasive embedded in them. These come in multiple grits so you can progressively, remove the rust and end up with a polished surface. (If you do not have Rust Erasers, you can spray with something like “Scrubbing Bubbles”. Wipe that off then use a Brillo Pad to get the rest of the rust off.) A stiff bristled brush is necessary for removing larger pieces of soil and small wire brush for getting in the cracks and crevices. Most long handled garden tools like shovels and hoes don’t need to be sharpened as much as have a clean honed edge. 2
Snips and pruners do need a sharp edge. There is nothing more frustrating that having them dull. Plus, a clean cut on a plant heals more rapidly and leaves less time for bacteria and disease to set in. Sharpening is facilitated by utilizing diamond and carbon steel sharpening/honing tool which may also be advertised as Tungsten Carbide. Again, with coarser and finer sides. Most important in sharpening cutting tools is to observe the way the blade has been made. Hori Hori and regular knives have two beveled sides, clippers have one flat side and one beveled side. After removing the dirt and rust, take the sharpening tool and swipe it in long strokes away from you. Keep between a 20° and 45° angle between the tool and the blade you are sharpening – on the beveled edge only!
If you want to take your clippers apart to really clean them, there’s a YouTube for that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeodDfdjMlY It’s important to sanitize your tools before using them again. 10 to1 solution of water/bleach can be used in a spray bottle. 3
In fact, there are quite a few YouTube videos on cleaning and sharpening tools that can give you an idea. There is even a video showing you how to restore that pair of clippers you lost then found and are really rusty.4 Taking a close look at the tool in question can help. I have a big pair of loppers that were so bad, I figured I’d do better chewing the branch off. Grrr, but when I looked closely, there was a screw that could be tightened to align the blades to make the cut more precise. DOH.
There are lots of videos out there to help you clean and sharpen your tools, several rust removing methods and good advice to keep in mind. Clean, well-maintained tools last longer, are more efficient, cut better and make gardening easier. So, take the next rainy day to catch up on these important tasks. You will be much happier when you go to use them on the next sunny day.
