How to clean and sharpen pruning shears

[Nham]

We love our gardening and spring is a good time to clean and maintain those garden shears. I have a very used and old Fiskars pruning shears and instead of buying a replacement - you can just do some maintenance and they as good as new. It is very easy and will take less than 15 minutes to do.

Materials

Cleaning Cloth

Sand paper

Tools

Socket set

Steps

Step 1

Depending on your pruning shears. the two sides of our Fiskar shears were held in place by a threaded bolt. Just undo the nut using a socket set. 

  

Step 2

Remove the shears from their plastic arms and give everything a good clean. There will be build up of dirt between the shears and this needs to be removed using a cloth. I then just sanded down the surface of the blades using 120 grit sandpaper. 

   

Step 3

Reassemble the shears and add some oil if you want. You can also adjust the tension of the shears by tightening the threaded bolt and nut. 

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Nham,

This is some fantastic advice, which is very timely coming into the peak growing period for the year.

A pair of sharp and clean secateurs will ensure you get nice clean cuts when you are pruning. Clean cuts mean quick recoveries, which is essential for your plant's health.

Thank you for sharing your excellent guide on cleaning and sharpening secateurs.

Jacob